A Bluestem Prairie

Congressional-Executive Commission on China: 2008 Olympics and Human Rights

From the department of we missed it: the Congressional-Executive Commission on China held a hearing on February 27 on The Impact of the 2008 Olympic Games on Human Rights and the Rule of Law in China. Statements are online and a transcript will soon be available. The Washington Post reported China's Offer To Resume Rights Talks Is Discounted and USA Today, US lawmakers urge China to fulfill Olympic commitments to protect human right.

Congressman Walz, who taught high school in China, is a member of the Commission.

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.

Friday news digest: Mr. Walz, educator

Andy Birkey at Minnesota Monitor and Eric Ostermeier at Smart Politics live-blogged Representative Walz's speech at the Humphrey Institute, and today's Strib covers the event in Walz: Bush preoccupied with national security:

Since 9/11, Bush administration foreign policy has been myopically focused on national security, U.S. Rep. Tim Walz told a Minneapolis audience Thursday.

National security is a priority, Walz said at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute, but not the only one. And the single-minded focus has undermined the United States' standing in the world and other important interests, he said.

. . .In a talk titled "Tomorrow's Foreign Policy," Walz said the worst thing about politics is the tendency to reduce everything to false dichotomies, as if every question must be answered in black or white terms. Walz, a Democrat, said that was typified by Republican efforts to portray all alternatives to President Bush's Iraq policy as "cut and run." . . .

The article concludes with one of the speech's laugh lines:

The U.S. standing in the world is at an all-time low, Walz said, "and that matters."It may make a good country song to say, 'The heck with you, we're tough enough and we don't care what you think," Walz said, "but it doesn't make a good foreign policy."

After the speech at the U, Walz went home to talk about foreign policy at Mankato West High, were he taught global geography for many years. The Free Press reports:

. . . his lecture seemed less like a homecoming than a quiet visit.

The name of his press secretary, Meredith [Salsbury], is still printed above the chalkboard as recognition for a perfect score in a college-level test.

Scott Urban, a fellow teacher who hosted the visit, called Walz a “regular guy.”

And Jenny Buesing, a senior, had Walz as a teacher last year but worked on his campaign during the summer and fall. She admitted it was a bit “weird” to see her former teacher — the funny guy who was big on discussion, not homework — as a United States Representative.

He divided his time between a lecture on foreign policy — where he argued that the political ascension of China will make more of a lasting impact on these students than the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 — and a Q & A session.

On the calendar today (from the Rochester Post Bulletin):

Farm forum, St. Joachim's Church and School, 900 W. Broadway, Plainview. 11 a.m. Lawmakers, including state Rep. Sandy Wollschlager of Cannon Falls, and U.S. Rep. Tim Walz will discuss the Farm Bill and other topics.

Tomorrow, Walz will be in St. James:

Saturday, April 14, 2007 ·      
3:00 p.m. - St. James
Farm Bill Meeting
St. James Community Center Theater,
505 1st Avenue

Albert Lea Tribune: Rep. Walz proud of work done

Albert Lea Tribune staff writer Sarah Light talked to Tim Walz about his first 100 days in office. Some excerpts:

. . .His proudest achievement thus far, said the 1st District Congressman from Mankato, is the work he’s been able to support on veteran’s care, especially in light of his 24 years in the U.S. National Guard. Some of the legislation related to veteran’s care that he has worked on include fully funding the transition period from when soldiers are out serving to when they return home.

During his time so far in office, he’s also been appointed to three committees — the House Agriculture Committee, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee — and has served as the vice president of the Democratic freshman class. Most recently, he was appointed to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. . . .

. . .Now, he’s in the middle of several farm bill discussions around the district, receiving input from local farmers, citizens and community leaders about concerns and suggestions for the legislation.

The 2007 Farm Bill, Walz said, will provide funding for several federal priorities important to Minnesota, including the farm safety net programs, conservation, rural development, renewable energy research, school lunch programs and disaster assistance.

He will be in Albert Lea Monday for another farm bill meeting at 2 p.m. at Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services.

Walz reflects on first 100 days

Today's New Ulm Journal reports that Walz pleased  with his start in Congress:

As the first 100 days of the U.S. Congress draw to a close, First District Congressman Tim Walz says he feels good about what the Democrat-controlled Congress has achieved in that short period of time.

“I’m pleased to be sitting on the three committees I’m sitting on and exercising my responsibility on one of those, meeting with the organization of 30-some veterans service organizations up here in Minneapolis and meeting with the directors of both the Veterans Home and the VA hospital and talking about ways that the legislation we’ve passed in those first 100 days is affecting them,” the first-term Democrat told reporters by phone Wednesday.

“In those 100 days, it’s the most sweeping change in the Veterans Affairs Committee in the history of the nation, and the largest increase in the VA [Veterans’ Administration] since its inception years ago — so I’m very proud of my role in that and we’re only beginning,” Walz said.

”We’re going to start holding, hopefully, some field hearings on veterans homes and trying to make sure we are able to take care of our veterans the way that we should,” Walz said. . . .

There's more, on farm policy, China, transportation, and Iraq in the Journal article.   Elsewhere in the paper, a local bank president writes in asking readers to Support our troops, wear Red on Fridays:

Recently I became aware of a group called Red Friday, who is encouraging Americans to, as their name implies, wear red on Fridays to show support for their fellow Americans serving in the armed forces. At this moment many thousands of American service men and women are on active duty around the world, many of them in harms way, leaving their families to carry on at home. Whether we agree with the politics surrounding the war in Iraq or not, these men and women are making tremendous sacrifices for the well being of all of us at home, and they deserve the respect and support suggested by the Red Friday group. . . .

The MFU was in Redwood Falls educating farmers about carbon credits.

We're sure to have more later in the day as the district's mid-day dailies publish.

Strib: Walz gets China assignment

Last week we noted that Congressman Walz had been appointed to the Congressional Executive Commission on China; this evening, the Strib includes the assignment in its DC Dispatches column:

Nearly 20 years after teaching in China, this time Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., is the one getting the assignment: to serve on the Congressional Executive Commission on China.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Walz last week. "His extensive background working in China and his knowledge of the Chinese people will be great assets as Congress moves forward on the crucial issues facing our two countries," she said.

Walz was one of the first government-sanctioned U.S. high school teachers in China, where he taught English and American history in the 1989-90 school year. The commission, created in 2000, monitors human rights and the rule of law in China and files an annual report with the president.

"It is extremely important that America continues to pay close attention to human rights in China and that we are careful about further expansion of our trade relationship with China," Walz said.

Tim Walz appointed to Congressional-Executive Commission on China

We just received a press release from Tim Walz; he has been appointed to a commission on China. Walz, who speaks Mandarin, taught in China as well as conducting summer trips to the country with his wife, Gwen, through the small business they started, Educational Travel Adventures. The release:

Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Rep. Tim Walz to serve on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. The exclusive Commission includes nine members from the House of Representatives and nine from the Senate, as well as five senior Administration officials appointed by President Bush.

"I am honored to be chosen to serve on this exclusive Commission," said Walz. "It is extremely important that America continues to pay close attention to human rights in China and that we are careful about further expansion of our trade relationship with China. There is great potential in China for our ag producers and for other industries, but we must ensure that we act in a measured and conscientious way in order to realize that full potential without losing additional American jobs."

"Tim Walz will provide the commission with a strong voice on the U.S.-China relationship. His extensive background working in China and his knowledge of the Chinese people will be great assets as Congress moves forward on the crucial issues facing our two countries," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

During the late 1980s, Walz was one of the first government-sanctioned American high school educators to teach in China. After returning from China, Rep. Walz created a nonprofit called Educational Travel Adventures, Inc. through which he and his wife Gwen accompanied hundreds of students on annual educational trips to China.

The China Commission was created by Congress in 2000 and is tasked with monitoring human rights and the development of the rule of law in China. The Commission reports its findings annually to the President and to the Congress. Representative Sander Levin (D-MI) and Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) are the current co-chairs of the Commission.

More information on the Congressional - Executive Commission on China