A Bluestem Prairie

Rochester Post-Bulletin: Minnesota's congressional delegation split on war vote

The Rochester Post-Bulletin's Ed Felker clearly frames the divergent votes on the Iraq funding bill by Minnesota's U.S. senators and southern Minnesota's congressmen, Walz and Kline in Minnesota's congressional delegation split on war vote

When Minnesota's senators and two southern representatives last week split evenly over the $124 billion war spending bill and Iraq troop withdrawal timetable, it was no casual decision. All four argued passionately that the bill was either a misguided attempt to prematurely leave Iraq or an overdue move to put limits on an open-ended military commitment.

President Bush was expected to veto the bill because of the timetable, which calls for troops to start coming home in October. As passed by narrow, mostly party-line majorities in the Democratic-controlled House and Senate, the bill includes about $100 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and $24 billion for veterans care, farmer drought relief, Katrina rebuilding efforts, and other domestic programs.

It was clear from interviews and statements that the four split over how much confidence they had in the arguments by military commanders and the Bush administration that stability in Iraq is possible with the right military strategy. For Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., the arguments by Army Gen. David H. Petraeus were critical, as they were for Rep. John Kline, a Republican from Lakeville and former Marine Corps colonel. Both voted against the bill.

Taking the opposite side were Rep. Tim Walz, a freshman Democrat from Mankato, and freshman Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar. They pointed to the unpopularity of the war, the unyielding sectarian violence and the urgings of the Iraq Study Group that the United States begin withdrawing its troops.

Walz, in particular, criticized Iraqi officials and Vice President Dick Cheney for failing to acknowledge the lack of progress to date, and he and Klobuchar said the Iraqis won't move toward peace unless they know the United States is going to leave. . . .

Recent articles in the Washington Post about the judgement of generals in Iraq (Army Officer Accuses Generals of 'Failures) and the failure to meet benchmarks for progess ( U.S. Rebuilding Missing Key Goals, Report Finds) underscore Walz's position.

 

Quiet Monday: readings from the Washington Post

It's a pretty quiet morning on the prairies, so here's some interesting reading from the Washington Post. U.S. Rebuilding Missing Key Goals, Report Finds:

The U.S. project to rebuild Iraq remains far short of its targets, leaving the country plagued by power outages, inadequate oil production and shortages of clean water and health care, according to a report to be issued today by a U.S. government oversight agency.

The 232-page quarterly review by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction presents a sobering picture of the challenges of reconstruction in a war zone. . . .

In War Called Riskier Than Vietnam, we read:

President Bush recently said that "there's a lot of differences" between the current war in Iraq and the Vietnam War.

As fighting in Iraq enters its fifth year, an increasing number of experts in foreign policy and national strategy are arguing that the biggest difference may be that the Iraq war will inflict greater damage to U.S. interests than Vietnam did.

On another topic, an interesting op-ed on immigration reform: Lazy, Job-Stealing Immigrants? Nativist Nonsense  Distorts a Critical Issue.  Mallaby concludes that "And the demagogues and nativists are allowed to spout unchallenged nonsense."

It's certainly happening in the First. At times, southern Minnesota's own anti-immigration forces let slip that it's not just a question of undocumented immigrants.   Earlier in the month, Albert Lea's  "immigration reform" leader Paul Westrum argued in an Austin forum that legal immigration should be reduced by 80%.

Shortcut Sunday: media edition

Winona Daily News photography editor Jim Bowey soon will head to Dekalb, IL, where he will edit the Lee Media newspaper chain's venue. Meanwhile, his series of photos of Tim Walz from last year's campaign has received an award in the Minnesota Associated Press Association's annual contest.

The Strib includes a Tim Walz quote from April 24's NYTimes article, Congressman, Teacher, Soldier, and He’s Back in Town for a Visit in its "Shortcuts" section:

"I can tell you for a fact," Mr. Walz told the lingering students, "there have been far better debates held in rooms like this than on the floor of Congress."

From a report on U.S. REP. TIM WALZ'S visit to Mankato West High School, from which he is on leave as a tenured faculty member, New York Times.

Given its focus on Walz and NCLB, the Times article was excellent.  Unfortunately for the Strib, the Mankato Free Press's April 12 coverage of the visit, Walz visits classroom, included the quote.  Fawning over the Times makes the Strib look like a bunch of rubes toadying up to Paris Hilton visiting their one stop-and-go light town. 

Elsewhere in the Strib's op-ed section, conservative columnist George Will recalls the Dust Bowl, with a nod to federal soil conservation policy at the end.  While we're not a fan of the prissy pundit, his piece does underscore the importance of the 2007 Farm Bill for those whose eyes glaze over at talk of farm policy.  Ever the educator, Tim Walz's first franking mailer was intended to educate constituents about the wide range of programs included in the Farm Bill, from conservation to Food Stamps.

While Dick Day may oppose the very concept of the minimum wage, he'll get no back up from the editorial board of the Mankato Free Press.  Today's editorial "Working poor deserve better,"  looks at the plight of the working poor in South Central Minnesota:

. . .From 2003 to 2005 in south-central Minnesota, the share of jobs that pay less than a family-supporting wage for a two-worker family has gone up by 24 percent, according to research by JOBS NOW, a group with members that include food banks, housing agencies, unions, religious groups and other nonprofits that help those with low incomes. To cover the costs of a family of four, the study says, each worker must earn at least $10.50 per hour to meet basic needs. More than two out of five jobs in Region Nine pay less.

The research also notes the state’s minimum wage of $6.15 hour has lost nearly a third of its value since 1968, when it was $1.60 per hour. If its value had kept pace with inflation, the report says, it would be $9 per hour. In this region, 21 percent of the jobs pay less than that.

So although there is movement afoot to increase both the state and federal minimum wage to amounts of more than $7 an hour, those amounts still fall short of what working poor need to get ahead. If you can’t afford to pay for a security deposit and a month’s rent, you’re not going to be able to afford day care, transportation or schooling. And if you can’t pay rent, how will you ever be able to buy your own house — and contribute property taxes to public coffers? . . .

. . . Like every large social, economic problem, there is no simple, quick solution. We can, however, support lawmakers who back living-wage increases with cost-of-living adjustments. We can, however, shop at stores that are known for treating their employees well. And we can, however, take the time to appreciate workers — this includes generous tipping when applicable — who work in food plants, pick our produce, bag our groceries, clean our hotel rooms and mop our office floors.

The editorial was prompted by a speech by Barbara Ehrenreich at Gustavus last week.

Another important piece of the Farm Bill is renewable energy, but discussion of renewable enrgy isn't limited to farm policy.  In fact, renewable energy and green solutions are popping out as fast as new leaves throughout southern Minnesota.  Olmsted County's main skating rink will use geothermal power to generate ice as will Lanesboro's Eagle Bluff Environmental Center, according to news accounts from Rochester and Winona. The environmental center hopes to become a demonstration site for renewable energy by 2010.

Injured DM & E worker awarded $4.6 million

The DM & E is back in the news, this time for a lawsuit over an on-the-job injury:

A railroad worker whose hand was crushed in a railyard accident was awarded $4.5 million in damages Friday.

Steven Tennant, 48, of Helena, Mont., contended he lost the use of his right hand when a load of wood shifted and crushed it as he tried to push a piece of wood back onto a Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad car in Rapid City, S.D.

“The railroad lied at trial, and we caught them. The incredible injury and damages prove it,” said attorney Bill Jungbauer. . . .

More at the Mankato Free Press.

KEYC: Proposal For More Money For Science Education

We've spent most of the day birding at a friend's farm. Meanwhile, KEYC reports on Walz's support of legislation to improve math and science education:

Two new bills passed this week in the US of representatives that will help to bring science, math and engineering studies to the forefront of education. Representative Tim Walz supports a new legislation pushing for an increase in money spent on recruiting teachers in the areas of math and science. Local school officials welcome the change. Science and math is so important in terms of continuing with the technology that we have that's made us so successful in the marketplace and so we need to teach other young people those skills. We need those teachers so this is a very positive move. The first of the two bills provides college scholarships for math and science professionals who agree to go into education for a number of years. The second bill will provide grants for young researchers.

Friday rare bird edition: spotting Walz in the news

It looks like it'll be another beautiful day in southern Minnesota, where the spring migration is well under way.  For our afternoon birding we're torn between going to Olmsted County, where a scissor-tailed flycatcher has been spotted, to Fairbault County for a glimpse of long-tailed ducks, or to a WMA in Watonwan County, where a birder saw big-tailed grackles, according to the MOU's weekly RBA.  There's also a Western Tanager in Freeborn County.

This morning, though, we've scoured news sources and blogs for tales of MN-01's own good bird, Congressman Tim Walz. Fortunately for a Bluestem Prairie, Walz sightings are common, however rare a talent Rep. Walz may be.

The Mankato Free Press contrasts Walz's views on the Iraq War funding bill with those held by Senator Coleman in Coleman, Walz: Revisit Iraq issue in future:

Democratic Congressman Tim Walz and Republican Sen. Norm Coleman were on opposite sides of legislation Wednesday night and Thursday morning setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, but they agreed that the issue needs to be revisited in coming months.

The legislation to continue funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which passed the House Wednesday and the Senate Thursday, is certain to be vetoed by President George W. Bush because of his objection to the requirement that a draw-down of troops from Iraq begin by Oct. 1 if certain benchmarks are not met.

Following the veto, Walz said he will push for a funding bill that takes care of the needs of the troops for 90 days — forcing a review of the status of the war this summer. That sort of oversight is a crucial responsibility for members of Congress, particularly when the majority of the public and many foreign policy and military experts believe the war is going badly.

“It’s an absolute sacred duty to ask those questions,” said Walz, the first-term lawmaker and retired National Guard soldier.

Unlike Walz, Coleman voted against the legislation. But Coleman said that shouldn’t be interpreted as blind support for Bush or for the war.

“I’m not for an open-ended commitment. I’m not for a blank check,” Coleman said. “... We’re going to have to have a Plan B.”

Coleman visited Iraq last weekend and said there is some indication that a surge in U.S. troops ordered by Bush is helping in some regions of the war-torn country. And the surge deserves to be fully implemented before judgments are made about whether it can be successful.

Coleman, who faces reelection next year, also said that Americans need to think about the outcome if the Iraq war is lost. He envisions an emboldened al-Qaida that will be able to spread its anti-American movement to other parts of the Islamic world.

“Part of our responsibility is to talk about the consequences,” he said.

Walz said the Iraq war isn’t about defeating al-Qaida — it's a sectarian civil war that’s distracting America from the battle against al-Qaida. The legislation passed by Congress would provide U.S. generals leverage with Iraqi leaders as they attempt to force Iraqis to take more responsibility for ending the violence between different religious sects.

“This gives our generals in the field the ability to tell the Iraqis this is not an open-ended commitment,” Walz said.

Walz said he is pessimistic Bush will ever admit the war has become a quagmire and will never voluntarily agree to any accountability benchmarks from Congress.

“The president just refuses to face the reality,” said Walz, who believes Congress has a constitutional duty to continue pressuring the president to reconsider his strategy. “... The beauty of the country is that there’s three branches.” . . .

. . . .[Coleman] expects honest answers from Petraeus, who promised to provide an update for Congress in September, including a candid admission that the war is no longer winnable if he believes that.

Walz doesn’t expect to hear it if Petraeus ever reaches that conclusion.

“When the president disagrees with generals,” Walz said, “he just removes them.”

Our friends who are more politically connected than we are insist that articles pairing Walz and Coleman made the Senator nervous before speculation ended on a potential Walz bid for Senate.  Perhaps that's why Norm is now stressing nuance.

Norm wants to listen to the generals; the Washington Post reports that Army Officer Accuses Generals of 'Failures':

An active-duty Army officer is publishing a blistering attack on U.S. generals, saying they have botched the war in Iraq and misled Congress about the situation there.

"America's generals have repeated the mistakes of Vietnam in Iraq," charges Lt. Col. Paul Yingling, an Iraq veteran who is deputy commander of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. "The intellectual and moral failures . . . constitute a crisis in American generals."

Yingling's comments are especially striking because his unit's performance in securing the northwestern Iraqi city of Tall Afar was cited by President Bush in a March 2006 speech and provided the model for the new security plan underway in Baghdad.

He also holds a high profile for a lieutenant colonel: He attended the Army's elite School for Advanced Military Studies and has written for one of the Army's top professional journals, Military Review.

The article, "General Failure," is to be published today in Armed Forces Journal and is posted at http://www.armedforcesjournal.com. Its appearance signals the public emergence of a split inside the military between younger, mid-career officers and the top brass.

Many majors and lieutenant colonels have privately expressed anger and frustration with the performance of Gen. Tommy R. Franks, Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno and other top commanders in the war, calling them slow to grasp the realities of the war and overly optimistic in their assessments.

Meanwhile Fox News carries an Associated Press articles that is anything but nuanced in  New Congress: Campaigning Never Stops.  The article centers on Walz's DC roommate, iraq War vet Patrick Murphy. Walz gets a mention:

Recognizing both the vulnerabilities of the freshmen class and the freshness they brought to Washington as part of a new class, party leaders have put them out front on key issues. Murphy, along with Minnesota Rep. Tim Walz, another freshman military veteran, have helped lead the fight to withdraw troops from Iraq.  

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee put a link on its Web site targeting six "Republican reruns" that press reports have indicated could be back in the race. Among them is former Republican Rep. Mike Sodrel in Indiana, who nearly beat Rep. Baron Hill in 2002, beat Hill in 2004, then lost to him in 2006.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who chairs the Democrats' campaign committee, said Republican challengers will have their work cut out for them.

"If the last election sent one clear message, it was people were tired, they were sick and tired of the Republican Congress and where they'd taken the country," he said.

The Republicans, who lost control of the House for the first time in 12 years, are already trying to shape their message for 2008 _ telling voters that Democrats have quickly shown they are not agents of change. They've sent out 1 million e-mails to 11 congressional districts to tell what they say is "The Real Democrat Story."

We're not sure which to appreciate more-- the GOP's misuse of adjectives as a campaign strategy,  or  Tim Walz's absence from that list of eleven targets. Oddly enough, given Fox News report's focus,  Patrick Murphy isn't on the list either.

In the New Ulm Journal, we spot Walz seeks incentives   for science, math teachers:

First District Congressman Tim Walz is going to push for passage of two bills that will not only try to get the “best and brightest” teaching mathematics and the sciences but also help young researchers make their marks early on.

Walz told Minnesota reporters during his weekly “call-in” news conference Thursday that the two bills “are important to me because they deal with teaching and innovation.”

The Democratic Congressman taught at Mankato West High School before being elected to Congress last November.

The bills are HR 362, “10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds Science and Math Scholarship Act,” and HR 363, “Sowing the Seeds Through Science and Engineering Research Act, and both are fresh out of the U.S. House of Representatives’ science committee, Walz said.

Walz thinks there's a special place for science and technology learning in the First, according to the Journal:

Walz sees the alternative energy source arena as a beneficiary of this effort to spur on scientific research, particularly among young researchers.

“I’m most proud that I see the First District of Minnesota playing a key role in this. We have, for example, the City of Austin [with its] new slogan which is ‘Grow Science, Grow Austin.’ Everyone is focusing on the things they can do in Austin to bring high-tech industry in to replace some of the industries that we’ve lost,” Walz explained.

“Things like the Hormel Institute and the world-leading research of cancer that is happening down in Austin are absolutely something we need to be incredibly proud of, and I’m hoping that both of these acts will continue to do that,” Walz said.

“I’m also seeing the renewable energy, of course. We’ve been a leader in that. We are the fourth largest wind-power producing Congressional district in America, and we’ve got sights on growing that significantly.”

2008 Challengers
One of Tim Walz's declared opponents, Dick Day, tells the Owatonna People's Press that he is simply against the idea of a minimum wage itself, period, in an article about the Ruby Tuesday franchise seeking a tip credit provision in Minnesota's state wage laws. 

Wings on the Prairie
Back to the rare birds. Windom's Cottonwood County Citizen reports that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will release Trumpeter Swans at the Wolf Lake WMA on May 5.

Hurried Thursday news digest

It's a busy day at work, so we'll post a few quick hits and be on our way. The Strib reports on yesterday's Iraq War vote in House: Begin troop pullout by Oct. 1 and Minnesota Democrats for, Republicans against pullout plan.  From the former article:

The House Wednesday night brushed aside weeks of angry White House rhetoric and veto threats to narrowly approve a $124 billion war spending bill that requires troop withdrawal from Iraq to begin by Oct. 1 with a goal of ending U.S. combat operations there by next March.

The Senate is expected to follow the House's 218-208 vote with final passage today, completing work on the rarest of bills: legislation to try to end a major war as fighting still rages. Democrats hope to send the measure to the White House on Monday, almost exactly four years after Bush declared an end to major combat. . . .

The West Central Tribune reports on the vote in Minnesota lawmakers divided on Iraq troop withdrawal.  Walz quoted in the Forum chain's article

The bill would hold both Bush and Iraqi leaders accountable and prevent the war from turning into an “open-ended commitment of American troops caught in the middle of a civil war,” said Rep. Tim Walz, a Democrat from southern Minnesota’s 1st District.

“The Bush administration has failed both to take care of our veterans and to hold the Iraqi government to the benchmarks it previously set,” Walz said Wednesday in a statement. “So today, Congress will ask the president to uphold his end of the bargain.”

The Washington Post reports Iraqi Divisions Stall Political Aims:

Officials see little or no progress in achieving three key benchmarks set by the Bush administration.

An Armenian news source notes Walz's presence at a ceremony remembering the Armenian Genocide in the early 20th century.

Netroots: Minnesota's progressive bloggers respond to the New York Times article
Walz Right at Home in Times -- and Mankato (MNCR), NYTimes to Walz: You’re Awesome (MnPublius), Washington Walz In The New York Times (Mn GOP Watch), New York Times on Tim Walz the Educator (Vox Verax), politics { Walz (Cube Zoo), and Authenticity, links, and subpoenas (Norwegianity).  The Wege  adds:

And speaking of Bluestem, my understanding is they were strongly considered for a City Pages' blog award, but were just too far outside the metro area to win. Not to detract from Spotty, who puts a lot of work into his mixed doggy bag of a blog, but as a reminder that there are no shortage of quality lefty blogs around, even if we don't all have the Mr. Roboto audiences the wingnuts give to Powerblinders and the other big readership Minnesota rightwing blogs.

We'd have gone with the dalmatian, too, but what do hick bovine bloggers know?  (We'll buy the Wege ale, even if he did vote for Nader in 2000. Nobody's perfect).

MNspeak notes the NYT article in Walz: Better Debates in High School than Congress.

Cube Zoo publishes a note about civil liberties from the representative  in response/politics { Tim Walz responds to my email.

Walz statement on Iraq Supplemental Conference Report

Just in the from the Walz communications staff:

WALZ STATEMENT ON IRAQ SUPPLEMENTAL CONFERENCE REPORT

(Washington, D.C.) - Today, the United States House of Representatives will
vote on the Conference Report on H.R. 1591 , "U.S. Troop
Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq Accountability Act."  Congressman Tim
Walz will vote in favor of the Iraq Supplemental Conference Report.  Rep.
Walz issued the following statement on H.R. 1591:

"H.R. 1591 holds the President accountable for meeting his own military
readiness standards.  It seeks to hold the Iraqi Government accountable for
meeting political, economic and security benchmarks established by the Bush
Administration and the Iraqis themselves.  This bill reflects an important
compromise between the House and Senate that both supports our armed forces
and protects the President's constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief.
This legislation does not interfere with the tactics of the generals on the
ground, but rather ensures that this war will not be an open-ended
commitment of American troops caught in the middle of a civil war. 

"This bill provides needed funding for our nation's troops and veterans,
including $2.1 billion more for military health care and $1.8 billion more
for veterans' healthcare than the President requested.  This funding will
support research on Traumatic Brain Injury, provide counseling to soldiers
suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, improve the Walter Reed Army
Medical Center and reduce the claims backlog at VA and provide better care
for veterans suffering from mental illness.

"The Bush Administration has failed both to take care of our veterans and to
hold the Iraqi Government to the benchmarks it previously set; so today,
Congress will ask the President to uphold his end of the bargain.  While
President Bush continues to criticize the benchmarks of success this
legislation provides, both Secretary Gates and General Petraeus have
admitted that there is no military solution to the religious civil war in
Iraq.  This legislation supports the troops by propelling forward the
political solution so badly needed in Iraq."

New York Times: Congressman, Teacher, Soldier, and He’s Back in Town for a Visit

Just before Congressman Walz's speech at the Humphrey Institute several weeks ago, we overheard Walz's press secretary mention that her boss was outside talking to a writer from the New York Times.  Today, the article's out: Congressman, Teacher, Soldier, and He’s Back in Town for a Visit.

After the Humphrey Institute speech, Walz traveled home to Mankato to visit West high school, where he had taught since 1996. The Free Press wove a light-hearted portrait; the Times' Samuel G. Freedman goes for more substantial fare, relating the tale of one teacher and legislator's journey from West Point, Nebraska to the halls of Congress:

His return to Mankato West, though, was more than nostalgic. Of the 535 members of Congress, Mr. Walz, 43, is the only active schoolteacher, still a tenured faculty member here. As the federal government has grown deeply enmeshed in public education, exemplified by the No Child Left Behind law now up for reauthorization, only Mr. Walz among his colleagues has experienced its effects in his own classroom.

Until he went on leave last April to run for Congress, he was teaching 167 students in five classes a day and meeting individually each week with 40 special-ed pupils. His wife, Gwen, was and remains the administrator in charge of Mankato’s compliance with No Child Left Behind.

MR. WALZ’S former domain, Room 112, contains a geography teacher’s adornments:  a Yucatan hammock, an AIDS-prevention poster from Kenya, a full-size replica of a terra cotta soldier from Xian, China. The objects measure the distance he has traveled from his hometown of West Point, Neb., where he graduated from high school in a class of 25 that included 12 cousins.

An interesting read.

RochestePost Bulletin: A couple of fundraisers
Not so much news in the district's papers, other that this invitation in the Post-Bulletin:

DFL Senate district 29 and Dodge County fundraiser, Plumbers & Pipefitters Union Hall, 1470 Industrial Drive N.W., Rochester. 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Meatball dinner with U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, state Rep. Kim Norton, candidates Al Franken and Mike Ciresi. Enter the Death by Chocolate contest. Bring a "blue donkey" item to auction.

Another highly worthy, though nonpartisan, fundraiser takes place the next day in Rochester:

Pancake fundraiser, National Guard Armory, 1715 Marion Road S.E., Rochester. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. The event is a fundraiser for the Family Readiness Group of the 79th Military Police Company. Cost is $5 for pancakes and sausage; $6 to include eggs.

Our friends in the Guard and Reserves talk a lot about how important family groups are for the troops.  Fundraisers and community support means a lot for those serving.  And as the Pioneer Press pointed out last week while praising the Iraq steak feed coordinated by Mancini's, it's important to keep these events non-partisan:

[St. Paul City Council Member Pat] Harris said he is particularly proud that the events have remained nonpartisan. He said he's worked with the core group of organizers since 2004 and still doesn't know - or want to know - their views on the war itself.

It's a good point. Despite the divisive politics surrounding Iraq, we've been pleased to see that nonpartisan - and bipartisan - outreach to Minnesota troops and their families can flourish.

Efforts like the Minnesota National Guard's "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon" campaign, spearheaded by chaplain John Morris, focus on the long-term implications for soldiers and their families.

Also helpful are initiatives from both sides of the political aisle that focus on the real, long-term needs of Minnesota's volunteer soldiers and their families. Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's three trips to visit the troops in Iraq and his legislative proposals strike us as sincere efforts to help. Likewise, we welcomed DFL Attorney General Lori Swanson's legislative proposals to supplement the federal GI bill. And the Minnesotans' Military Appreciation Fund, which provides grants to combat soldiers and to the families of those killed in action, is deserving of our support.

The price of war is high. These efforts recognize the individuals who are paying more than the rest of us. They begin to account for that difference by helping to ensure that our broader obligation to soldiers will persist.

Mid-day post: justice for Darfur, help for blufflands

It's Earth Week.  That may not seem have any connection with the crisis in Darfur.  However, back in a March town hall meeting when Tim Walz answered a question about the roots of the conflict,  he referenced the impact of the advance of the Sahara Desert into areas where diverse peoples had once lived peaceably in times of greater adundance.  Dwindling resources helped ethnic and religious differences become flashpoints.

Thus, it's no stretch to group new material on Darfur and conservation into one post.

First, a press release about Darfur from Walz's office:

REP. WALZ CALLS FOR WORLD COMMUNITY TO MORE URGENTLY PRESS FOR ENDING
GENOCIDE IN DARFUR

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - This week, the Save Darfur Coalition is sponsoring national "Global Days for Darfur."  In Darfur, more than 200,000 people are dead and 2.3 million people have been displaced since the genocide began three years ago.  Civilian killings are frequent and large-scale attacks,rape and torture are commonplace. 

Rep. Tim Walz issued the following statement in support of the international movement to end the suffering in the Darfur region of Sudan.  Walz is a past Belfour Fellow at the United States Holocaust Museum.

        "The genocide in Darfur is unconscionable and unacceptable. We teach our students about the Holocaust and they repeat the phrase "never again" and yet again and again we as a government fail to prevent genocide.  As the most powerful nation on earth, it is our duty to work to prevent genocide, to intervene when genocide begins and to recognize all instances
of genocide, both past and present.

        We witnessed progress last week when the Sudanese government announced it would accept the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force that is has opposed since November.  The United States, in partnership with the rest of the international community must act with urgency to ensure peacekeepers enter and secure the region before the Sudanese government again changes its mind.

         The world community has an obligation to the people of Darfur - including millions of suffering children - to not rest until the Sudanese government complies with international agreements and allows the full deployment of this new peacekeeping force. 

        I am humbled by the citizen activists across the world and in this country who fight daily for justice in Darfur and everywhere.  I can only hope that Congress and the international community will follow their lead and work to end the genocide as quickly as possible."

Next, the Rochester Post-Bulletin's coverage of yesterday's belated Earth Day celebration at Whitewater State Park in Blufflands receive renewed attention at Earth Day event:

. . .Trout Unlimited, which sees the streams as some of the best in the country, began its own driftless program a few years ago and now is part of the initiative, along with the NRCS, National Wild Turkey Federation, The Nature Conservancy and many other groups.

That cooperation is critical, said U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, a Democrat from Minnesota. "We are on the cusp of something big here," he said. "It is absolutely the way government should work."

Muedeking said she would like to see more such projects. "This is a precursor for what could be more commonplace," she said. It doesn't create new programs, it just coordinates them better and gives them more money to work, she said.

While the initiative is a way to work in the future, it also gives a nod to the past. The first watershed conservation program in the country was in Coon Valley in the blufflands of Wisconsin. The second was in Burns Valley near Winona and the first large one was in the Whitewater Valley where the Earth Day celebration was Monday. . . .

The crisis in Darfur and the gorgeous, yet fragile driftless blufflands in southern Minnesota are a world apart.  Wise use of natural resources in the United States is a way of keeping the peace at home.  Good policy may help bring Darfur and its people back from an ongoing catastrophe.

Early Tuesday morning digest: ethos in April edition

The Mankato Free Press editorial board praises Representative Walz's call for new ethics committee legislation in A sound idea on guarding ethics:

. . .Walz has joined other freshmen in pushing for a new independent ethics commission that would be made up of 12 retired members of Congress, six from each party.

It’s a grand idea. The current Ethics Committee system, in which members of Congress are charged with reviewing and punishing wrongdoing, doesn’t work. In recent years, the committee sat on its hands while the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal unfolded. It did nothing while two Republican representatives were convicted after the FBI caught them taking bribes. And the list goes on.

An independent commission would have less fear of upsetting fellow congressmen.

And in an ingenious twist, Walz and the other freshmen pushing the idea would have Democrats in Congress pick the six former Republican congressmen for the commission and Republicans would pick the six Democrat members. It’s a great way to ensure the members would be the least partisan. . . .

In an earlier post, we had noted that MN-01 and Walz were not on the now famous list of vulnerable Democratic House seats featured in Karl Rove's briefing to the GSA in late January. The Washington post reports that GSA Briefing Now Part Of Wider Investigation:

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is expanding its investigation of a January videoconference, conducted by Karl Rove's deputy for General Services Administration appointees, to look at whether the political dealings of the White House have violated the Hatch Act, its chairman said last night.

Not long into its investigation of the presentation, Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch said, his office had collected "a sufficient amount of evidence" that merited a deeper examination of whether the White House was running afoul of the law.

The Jackson County Pilot reports on another one of Walz's Farm Bill listening sessions in Walz discusses farm bill, other issues.

The Owatonna People's Press reports that Immigrants seeing more of themselves on library shelves as they seek entertainment and help in learning English.  In the Austin Daily Herald, news that Centro Campesino opens Austin office.  Centro Campesino, which has offices in Owatonna and Montgomery, is a membership organization "founded in 1997 to create positive social change for immigrant workers."

The Rochester Post-Bulletin runs a heart-warming feature in Soldier meets students who sent care packages to Iraq.  A Pine Island Girl Scout troop and Rochester high school students met Minnesota National Guard Sgt. Scott Metcalf of Kenyon.  The Post-Bulletin reported in March that Metcalf had been injured in an IED explosion and an accident while in Iraq; his son, Marine Lance Cpl Nicholas Metcalf, had just returned from two seven-month tours in Iraq.  Metcalf had challenged former speaker Steve Sviggum in 2004 for Minnesota House district 28B. 

Monday morning hug a bluffland edition

Winona Daily News: Walz to celebrate late Earth Day at Whitewater
A short AP brief:

U.S. Rep. Tim Walz will celebrate Earth Day a day late in Winona County’s Whitewater State Park, where he plans to announce funding for the Driftless Area of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

Walz, a Democrat representing southern Minnesota, will join Christina Muedeking, regional assistant chief for the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s central region at the Earth Day event.

The event is intended to draw attention to a collaborative four-state effort to protect the blufflands region which covers 24,000 square miles of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois.

More details from a Walz press release:

Earth Day Event at Whitewater State Park
April 23, 2007 from 10:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m.
Whitewater State Park
19041 Highway 74
Altura, Minnesota

In the event of inclement weather, St. Mary's University of Minnesota in Winona, MN will be used as the secondary location.

Albert Lea continues today with its first-ever Earth Week, according to the Albert Lea Tribune.

Sunday morning digest: Aftermath edition

Strib: Dems answer Bush on war
H.J. Cummins'  article covers yesterday's veterans' meeting at VFW Post 555 in Richfield.  The reporter gives Representative Walz a lion's share of the coverage:

Minnesota's Democrats in Congress on Saturday answered President Bush's accusation that they don't support U.S. soldiers in Iraq with an accusation of their own: His administration doesn't support U.S. soldiers at home.

The spat stems from the president's threat to veto Democratic versions of supplemental funding for the war, saying that any deadline for bringing home all U.S. troops only weakens them -- and the whole war effort.

Both Senate and House versions contain more than $5 billion to $6 billion in additional money for military needs including health care for veterans, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and four members of Congress told an audience of about 70 people, mainly veterans, at a VFW post in Richfield.

"My district is telling me, 'Do what it takes to take care of our veterans,' " said Rep. Tim Walz of Mankato.

* * *
Since January, Walz said, the House has surpassed administration proposals for the Veterans Administration by $13.6 billion, including money in the supplemental bill that the president said he will veto.

* * *

Another woman, who declined to give her name, complained of the lack of care at the Minneapolis Veterans Medical Center for a friend back from Afghanistan who has post-traumatic stress disorder.

It took two weeks to get a return call last November, when he was offered an appointment in February, she said. Then it was canceled, as was one last week. He's now seeing a private therapist at his own expense, she said.

"The emotion coming from this audience is, 'We can't wait,' " Walz said.

Strib editorial: Democrats should be firm on war
Saturday's editorial, Minnesota Democrats should be firm on war, recommended that "should stick to their guns on a withdrawal deadline," concluding:

The American people are with the Democrats on this. A recent Los Angeles Times poll asked whether Congress should "refuse to pass any funding bill until Bush agrees to accept conditions for withdrawal." By a small margin of 45 percent to 43 percent, respondents said Congress should "withhold funding until Bush signs."

A CBS poll taken days later found that 67 percent of respondents think Congress should only allow funding with a deadline or should just cut off funding. Asked if Bush or Congress "should have the final say about troop levels in Iraq," 49 percent said Congress and 44 percent said Bush.

A historic confrontation is shaping up on this issue, and the Minnesota Democrats in Congress -- Tim Walz, Keith Ellison, Jim Oberstar, Collin Peterson and Betty McCollum -- should stand firm: If Bush wants the funds, he must accept the fall 2008 deadline.

Washington Post: Troop 'Surge' in Iraq Yields Mixed Results
The sub-head and lead paragraphs in Troop 'Surge' in Iraq Yields Mixed Results pretty much sum the article up:

Sectarian Killings Decrease in Capital; Suicide Bombings Across Country Rise

BAGHDAD, April 21 -- Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said the ongoing increase of nearly 30,000 U.S. troops in the country has achieved "modest progress" but has also met with setbacks such as a rise in devastating suicide bombings and other problems that leave uncertain whether his counterinsurgency strategy will ultimately succeed.

Assessing the first two months of the U.S. and Iraqi plan to pacify the capital, senior American commanders -- including Petraeus; Adm. William J. Fallon, head of U.S. forces in the Middle East; Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of military operations in Iraq; and top regional commanders -- see mixed results. They said that while an increase in U.S. and Iraqi troops has improved security in Baghdad and Anbar province, attacks have risen sharply elsewhere. Critical now, they said in interviews this week, is for Iraqi leaders to forge the political compromises needed for long-term stability.

Meanwhile, Council Head In Fallujah Shot Dead; 3 GIs Killed and Two Suicide Car Bombs Kill at Least 13 in Baghdad. In the latter article, this:

A man who was among the 82 wounded in Sunday's attack staggered through the wreckage.

"All our belongings and money were smashed and are gone. What kind of life is this? Where is the government?" he asked. "There are no jobs, and things are very bad. Is this fair?"

On Friday, the New Ulm Journal's editorial, How do they deal with it?, asked similar questions:

Imagine if similar disasters [1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the VT slayings] were being carried out every day, every week, in our largest cities around the country. That’s what is happening in Iraq. On Thursday, a series of explosions in Baghdad killed 183 people, a deadly end to a deadly week in which 363 people were killed. A total of 118 bodies were found dumped in parts of the city.

Could we comprehend that level of death and destruction in our cities, in our nation?

We have two schools of thought in this country. One says that we need to get out of Iraq as soon as possible so the deaths will stop. The other says that if we get out of Iraq before the deaths stop, we are setting ourselves up to become the target of these terrorists.

We wonder how much longer the Iraqi people can endure, waiting for the end of the tragedies that strike them every day.

Netroots
Mercury Rising (Breaking News (Unfortunately) and Minnesota Campaign Report Breaking and Entering at Walz Office in Mankato pick up on the Walz office burglary story. 

 

Platts Coal Trader: DM&E loan decision based on repayment doubts

In its premium content section, Platts Coal Trader reported on April 19 that DM&E loan decision based on repayment doubts. Marcin Skomial's lead:

A top official at the Federal Railroad Administration said significant skepticism about the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad's ability to repay a $2.3 billion loan it needed to become the third railroad to serve the Powder River Basin was the sole factor in the agency's decision to deny the loan. He deflected speculation that the agency's decision could have been influenced by the project's opponents.

Pressures from the two major western railroads that are serving the PRB and the opposition from communities along the proposed route had "absolutely no impact" on the agency's decision to deny the loan, FRA Deputy Administrator Clifford Eby told attendees at the National Coal Transportation Association's spring conference in Williamsburg, Virginia, Wednesday.

DM & E CEO and wannabe empire builder Kevin Schieffer complained on March 18 that other railroads had influenced the outcome of the FRA loan review in the Sioux Falls Argus article Sen. Thune: Competing railroads fought loan.  This article, in a truncated form, was picked up by the Associated Press and widely circulated.  The AP story ended with this paragraph:

He [Schieffer] also called the BNSF hypocritical for using FRA loans and grants "to compete against us for South Dakota corn and wheat traffic. ... That's good public policy, as opposed to bad public policy when somebody uses it against them."

But left off the final paragraph in the original article:

The BNSF does have a long corporate history with public largesse. In 1864, the federal government gave the railroad's predecessor, the Northern Pacific, right-of-way from Lake Superior to the Pacific Ocean and 40 million acres of public land to sell to raise capital to build that railroad.

The information isn't attributed to Schieffer or sourced in any way. It is curious, though, that the reporter would single out one historical predecessor from the BNSF's genealogy while ignoring another. In 1970, the Great Northern Railroad and the North Pacific were merged to become the Burlington Northern Railroad: the present configuration dates from the mid-nineties when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway merged with BNR.

The Great Northern was robber baron and empire builder James J. Hill's baby.  According to its amateur historical society:

Subsidies of large grants of land and cash had helped build earlier lines to the Pacific coast. Mr. Hill's venture was unique in that land grants or other government aids were neither sought nor given. Only government lands ever received by Mr. Hill's company were those attached to 600 miles of railway in Minnesota constructed by predecessor companies and acquired by purchase.

Most railroads received some kind of subsidies historically, so singling out the BNSF is somewhat perverse, given that the one "Pacific" railroad built without government funds is now part of the system.  What's more, the DM & E itself has received smalled loans in the past to upgrade its track, though not to expand.

Despite their differing views on using government largesse to expand their rail empires, the long-dead Hill and Schieffer do share one area of agreement: squeezing rail workers to make a buck.

Hill's losing battle with the striking American Railway Union in April 1894 is an important part of American labor history.  Schieffer and the United Transportation Union? Go read about the relationship here (page 12), and here.

Why the history lesson?  Must be something in the air other than just rain today. TheSioux Falls Argus-Leader reports that Train talk adds historical context to DM&E's quest. Augustana College is hosting a historical program today.

KEYC: Walz Office Burglarized In Mankato

On tonight's 10 p.m. news on KEYC 12, we just watched a story reporting that several office suites, including Congressman Walz's office, were broken into last night.  Here's the 6 p.m. report (identical to the 10 p.m. report): Walz Office Burglarized In Mankato:

A burglar strikes several offices in a downtown Mankato building, including one belonging to congressman Tim Walz.

Tonight authorities are still searching for a suspect. Officals with the Mankato department of public safety say employees at this office building on Broad and Main street, found several of their offices had been broken into this morning. Authorities believe the burglary happened sometime over night, and are not sure exactly what has been taken. They do, however, believe this is an isolated incident.

["]We haven't had an extensive burglary like this in sometime and I don't think anyone should be alerted or alarmed at this point. We don't have a rash or string of these that are occurring in our city or community.["]

If you have any information you are asked to call Mankato authorities.

We spoke with a representative for Walz this afternoon. They say no computers were taken, but the front window was broken and a mess was left behind.

Saturday, April 21: Veterans issues discussion at Richfield VFW Post 555

This just in from the Walz office:

Saturday, April 21       2:30 – 4:00 PM
Join your fellow veterans for a discussion with your members of Congress.

Please join us and discuss the issues that are important to you with the
following members of Minnesota's Congressional delegation:

Senator Amy Klobuchar
Congressman James Oberstar
Congresswoman Betty McCollum
Congressman Keith Ellison
Congressman Tim Walz

VFW Post 5555
6715 Lake Shore Drive
Richfield, Minnesota  55423

Phone (612) 522-1212

Friday news digest: ethos edition

Mankato Free Press: Walz wants independent ethics watchdog for House
In Walz wants independent ethics watchdog for House, Mark Fischenich reports:

Congressman Tim Walz has joined a group of other congressional freshmen in pushing for an independent ethics commission to judge wrongdoing by lawmakers, a commission that would replace the House Ethics Committee.

“I’m uncomfortable with members policing their own members,” said Walz, referring to the existing system.

The new commission would consist of 12 retired members of Congress, six from each of the major political parties. In a twist, the Democratic leader of the House would pick the Republican members of the commission, and the Republican leader would choose the Democrats.

The current House Ethics Committee is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, and the committee was often deadlocked in dealing with ethical complaints as members refused to cross party lines to punish a member of their own party. . . .

There's more.  Roll Call first reported on the bill on April 9; see our post here.

Albert Lea Tribune: Seven easy steps to kill your town
In its editorial, How to pull together for A.L., the paper reprints a letter that outlines the seven easy steps to kill a small town.

Cottonwood County Citizen: An admirable man
A self-described dyed-in-the-wool Republican mourns the passing of a Windom-area Democrat in In Knutson, community lost an admirable man.

Winona Daily News: Democracy in the park
In DemocraStock offers place for free speech, the Winona Daily News reports that a "Manifest Democracy" class at WSU is taking it to the streets:

It’s easy to get up on a figurative soapbox, posting opinions anonymously on the Internet. But when given a literal soapbox, will people have the courage to state the same convictions?

That’s what Kurt Hohenstein’s Winona State University “Manifest Democracy” class hopes to find out today at DemocraStock, a free speech celebration at the Lake Park Bandshell.

Getting on a soapbox has become more of a metaphor, but people used to get up on wooden crate soapboxes and speak their minds. People have been doing it at Speaker’s Corner in London’s Hyde Park on Sundays since 1872.

The class has made two actual soapboxes for people to say whatever they want. . . .
. . . Democracy was alive and well in class when Hohenstein, 51, suggested calling the event Democrapalooza. The students deemed it “too whack.” The students modeled DemocraStock loosely after the original Woodstock.

Jam bands … In the Attic from Winona and Piper Club from Woodville, Wis., will perform. There will also be free hot dogs and voter registration tables.

In the commitees: busy schedule
What sort of testimony has Congressman Walz been hearing this week in committee assignments? 

Today, Transportation's Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee holds a hearing on “FEMA’s (Federal Emergency Management Agency) Emergency Food Supply System.”  2253 Rayburn 2253 Rayburn.  Walz is a subcommitee member.

As a member of the Agriculture Committee. Walz sits on the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy Research, which met yesterday at 1 p.m. Open statements can be found here now; transcripts will be made available later. 

Two Minnesotans testified: David E. Nomsen (links to statement), Vice-president of Governmental Affairs, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, on behalf of Agriculture and Wildlife Working Group and the American Wildlife Conservation Partners, Garfield, and Loni Kemp (links to statement), Senior Policy Analyst, The Minnesota Project, Canton.  Garfield is northwest of Alexandria, but Canton is in southeastern Minnesota.

As a member of the Veterans Affairs committee, Walz sits on the  Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.  Yesterday, it met at 10 a.m. to hear testimony  on “Surgical Services at the W.G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center in Salisbury, North Carolina.”  On Transportation and infrastructure, Walz is on the Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee which held a hearing also at 10 a.m. on “International High-Speed Rail Systems.”

On Wednesday, April 18, the Veterans Committee met to markup H.R.1642, the “Homeless Veterans Housing at Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center Promotion Act”; and hearing on H.R.23, the “The Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act,” to provide benefits to certain individuals who served in the United States merchant marine (including the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service) during World War II.  In the same time slot, Transportation met to consider testimony on “Proposals to Downsize the Federal Protective Service and Effects on the Protection of Federal Buildings.”

We'll ask Walz's staff about what happens when there are conflicting committee schedules as in the cases above.

Update: Meredith Salsbury, Walz's communications chief, sent us this explanatory note:

Congressman Walz does what he can to be a part of both Committee hearings. When he is unable to divide his time between hearings, he sends staff to the hearings he can't attend and reviews the staff briefing afterwards. He also consults with colleagues who took part in the hearings.

Walz to speak at Whitewater State Park Earth Day Event

Note correction from the Walz staff--it's Monday, not Sunday.

Just in from the Walz's office:

On Monday, April 23, Earth Day, Rep. Tim Walz will join with members of the conservation community to announce funding for the Driftless Area of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.  Joining Walz will be Christina Muedeking, the Natural Resources Conservation Service Regional Assistant Chief, and representatives from several other conservation organizations and government agencies.

The event, which will be held at Whitewater State Park, will draw attention to and celebrate the collaborative four-state effort to unite organizations, communities, and individuals within the Driftless Area of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.  The Driftless Area encompasses 24,000 square miles of the upper Mississippi River, stretching across Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Earth Day Event at Whitewater State Park
April 23, 2007 from 10:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m.
Whitewater State Park
19041 Highway 74
Altura, Minnesota

In the event of inclement weather, St. Mary's University of Minnesota in Winona, MN will be used as the secondary location.   Detailed information regarding the location of the Earth Day Event will be left at (651) 602-7859. If you have further questions about this Event, contact Cutrina Moreland, Special Programs Coordinator for MN NRCS at (651) 602-7882.

Whitewater State Park is one of the more popular birding areas in Minnesota. We may have to go to this one.
Darn! It's Monday, and we have to work all day!

St. James Plaindealer: Farm Bill discussed in St. James

St. James' newspaper reports on Saturday's Farm Bill listening session:

U.S. Rep. Tim Walz was in St. James on Saturday to discuss the upcoming debate in Congress over the 2007 Farm Bill with local residents. Walz, who had been in office exactly 100 days as of Saturday, began the meeting by explaining how he used his first piece of franked mail to educate constituents about the Farm Bill and to solicit comments and concerns via an attached postcard. The mailing was distributed throughout the district, and to all postal patrons in the St. James area.

Read the rest of Farm Bill discussed in St. James.

Wednesday news digest: fundraising

The Owatonna People's Press looks at MN-01 fundraising in Walz, Day gathering funds for 2008 race. Walz is one of four frontliners who raised under $200,000 according to a Roll Call article, Frontliners Get Quick Cash Start.

In an unrelated item in the Hill, Gil Gutknecht makes it official: he's not running for Congress in 2008.

Evening update: Walz is mentioned in No Jest in Franken’s Senate War Chest, But He Has Democratic Company.