Bluestem Prairie: news about Tim Walz (MN-1)

Saturday mid-day news digest: policy and politics edition

The Rochester Post Bulletin reports on Congressman Walz's visit to the HESS project yesterday in Walz-supported bill would fund promising Rochester-based energy system:

. . .At a macro-level, if the vision behind this research becomes reality, America could find itself less dependent on fossil fuels to generate electricity. At the individual level, it could mean a home heating bill for the average consumer reduced by two-thirds, said Hal Ottesen, a professor at the University of Minnesota-Rochester. . .

. . .A bill supported by U.S. Rep. Tim Walz would free up more money for such research. It would do so by opening up more offshore areas to oil and gas exploration and using royalties from increased drilling to fund research like the HESS project.

"We're not talking about leaving fossil fuels tomorrow," Walz said at a press conference Friday in the shed-like annex where the HESS project has been conducted. "What we're talking about is making sure we shrink that dependence on those fossil fuels by coming up with alternatives.". . .

When the bill's supporters talk about supporting conservation, this is the sort of projects they mean. Conservation isn't simply a matter of carpooling or making sure the house is sealed up for winter, but also seeking better, more efficient ways to use energy. From what we've read about the HESS research, it would help both the consumer and the society.

We've posted a photo we requested from the Walz congressional office of the congressman's visit. Readers can learn more about the HESS project and H.R. 6709 here.

The Post Bulletin also takes a close look at Walz's tax legislation in Walz tax cuts geared to help middle, lower classes. It's definitely worth the read. 

Perhaps the most entertaining bit comes just after Senator Day himself suggests a different approach. Rather than addressing tax policy, the Davis campaign bites down harder on the one talking point the NRCC stuck in its mouth. From the PB article:

Brad Biers, campaign manager for fellow Republican challenger Brian Davis of Rochester, similarly said Walz's bill does not address the top issues facing middle class constituents, namely high gas and food prices. (Walz separately joined a bipartisan group in the House behind an energy bill that would expand oil drilling along the outer continental shelf, but rules out drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge).

Yep, folks, there are issues other than just those dealing with gas prices. Amazing how that's common knowledge for everybody except Brian Davis, who couldn't even answer a  yes-or-no question about the Farm Bill at Farmfest. Maybe Davis and his minions will read the article about Congressman Walz's visit to HESS and be prompted to actually understand the comprehensive energy policy direction proposed in H.R. 6709.

The Mankato Free Press gives a thumbs up to the political forums at Farmfest. The editorial specifically mentions the senate debate, but concludes generally:

Including political debates and other forums at Farmfest gives those who attend a well-rounded experience and highlights that agriculture is still a key part of southern Minnesota.

A writer at the WSJ whines about how the Senate version of the bill, proposed by the bipartisan "Gang of Ten," takes the issue off the table for the Republican campaigns. Um, Kim, take a deep breath: the work in both groups in the senate and the house is aimed at coming up with a solution, as the National Association of Manufacturers recently noted. The Senators and Representatives who are working on this aren't hoping to get the issue off the table. They aim to solve it--regardless of the electoral goals of their parties' leadership.

What's more, her argument that drilling in ANWR has to be on the table must come as a shock for Third District Republican Erik Paulsen, running in a toss-up race. Paulsen, like DFLer Ashwin Madia, opposes drilling in ANWR. Sullivan's column is a textbook example of a writer who has lost the ability to distinguish between campaigns and policy making.

The average person we've talked to isn't impressed by the preservation of talking points for one side or the other. They just want some stability in prices. And as an old political hand (and friend) recently observed, when campaigns whine about proposed legislation being a "sham" or "political," it means they got nothing.

The wind industry is growing; its annual convention is now too big for Minnesota's space, accroding to the Strib article Wind power convention outgrows Minneapolis. They may end up in Orlando or Las Vegas. No telling.

Kenneth Hamilton writes the Owatonna People's Press to say Walz works hard for the middle class. The letter mentions the tax bill and 6709.

A letter writer to the Mankato Free Press says the Clean water act needs support. She makes a reasonable case, but Congressman Walz opposes the bill because of the concerns farmers and other constituents have brought to him.

The Winona Daily News reports Walz nervous about TRW’s future, jobs. As we noted yesterday, the coming lay-offs at TRW flared in a spat between Senate rivals Al Franken and Norm Coleman. While Walz is working to get TAA funding for the TRW workers whose jobs are heading to Mexico, he's also looking at the larger picture of policies that encourage shipping American job to other countries.

WDN staff writer Mark Sommerhauser writes:

Ann Schaub says her bosses at Winona’s TRW Automotive plant gave her and other employees a directive earlier this year: Increase your production, and your jobs should be safe.

So Schaub and other workers rolled up their sleeves and set records for production, said Ben Hovell, spokesman for United Auto Workers at the plant.

The workers’ reward? Pink slips for 66 employees so far, with another 16 layoffs expected in the coming months, Hovell said. Schaub is one of the employees now out of work.

“To this company, you’re like a number, a face. And when they need profits higher, you’re a nobody,” Schaub said.

On Friday, Rep. Tim Walz, DFL-Minn., said he is “nervous” about the prospect of keeping the remaining jobs at the plant after conversing with TRW corporate leaders. Walz also said the layoffs — reportedly part of a shift of TRW manufacturing jobs to Mexico — underscores the need for changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The extent of TRW layoffs in Southeastern Minnesota:

TRW, a leading global auto-parts maker, has repeatedly declined to comment on the layoffs. Company officials have spoken with Walz, but the lawmaker said TRW officials wouldn’t tell him if more layoffs are planned at the Winona facility, which employs nearly 700.

TRW also employs nearly 300 workers at facilities in Galesville and Ettrick, Wis., but eliminated nearly 200 jobs when it closed its Rushford, Minn., plant in 2006.

The article looks at Walz's concerns about the triumph of free trade over fair trade, then covers those short-term measures he and other federal and state lawmakers are pursuing. Winona's state senator is on the job:

. . .About a week earlier, state Sen. Sharon Erickson Ropes, DFL-Winona, requested the same aid, which would offer income assistance payments to workers who pursue retraining after their unemployment expires.

Ropes said global corporations like TRW must react to economic conditions, but also must weigh the social and environmental repercussions of its actions.

“The parent company has an enormous ethical responsibility to its workers to be doing the right thing,” Ropes said.

The union will hold a press conference on Monday about the lay-offs, followed by a town hall meeting, according to a press release we received from the UAW Local #958:

United Autoworkers Union Local #958 President Ben Hovell will hold a press conference on Monday, August 11, 2008 at 3:30 pm, at the Winona Education Association office at 1201 Gilmore Avenue in Winona,  concerning the recent lay-offs at TRW in Winona and the out-sourcing of some of the jobs to Mexico. Following the press conference, the local union will hold a Town Hall meeting hosted by State Senator Sharon Erickson Ropes. Community leaders will be at the Town Hall meeting to discuss the impact of the job losses to our community and the community response. The town hall meeting is open to the public.

Also in attendance will be Alicia Ranney, Coordinator for the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition, to discuss the impact that Free Trade Agreements are having on our communities.

Representatives from local government and non-profit organizations have also been invited to discuss both short-term and long-term aid that may be available to workers and their families.

That town hall forum should prove interesting. Those who are able and interested should attend. Winona Radio reports TRW layoffs-Federal help.

The Post Bulletin has published a letter from Shane Baker praising how Coleman, Klobuchar and Walz show compassion for AIDS victims through their leadership in continuing and expanding the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief.

For all the woe in the papers, it's a beautiful morning out here on the prairie after an early thunderstorm. Just after dawn, we spotted two cottontails playing in our backyard just as a rainbow shimmered in the southwestern sky. Naturally, we thought about a divine promise in an old book, followed immediately by a recollection of this happy song from our younger days.

Rochester public access cable alert: Walz on this week's Belau Report

The Rochester Post Bulletin notes that Congressman Walz will be on Rochester's Charter Cable Channel 10 tonight, Wednesday and Thursday:

On the Belau Report this week, 1st District Congressman Tim Walz is interviewed by Jane Belau on issues of energy, agriculture, foreign policy, veterans affairs, the economy and his proposed "middle class economic initiative" announced this week. It will air at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on Charter Cable channel 10.

Albert Lea students write to Walz about Darfur

In Sophomores are telling people about Darfur, Albert Lea sophomore Abbey Arends writes about a history project in the local high school:

Sam Sickels, one of Vogt-Erickson’s students, along with her fellow group members took action by writing a letter to U.S. Rep. Tim Walz of Minnesota. Along with the letter they sent a petition with 152 signatures urging Walz to spread awareness about the genocide.

“It makes me want to donate more time and tell more people about,” Sickles said. “A lot of people don’t know about Darfur.”

We think the students' petition and letter will meet with a receptive audience in Congressman Walz, who wrote his master thesis about teaching genocide studies and who has been talking publicly about Darfur since early in his term. He is a member of the Sudan Caucus.

NPR: Walz and student on predicting Rwanda massacre

Congressman Walz and a former student talk to Weekend Edition about their experience:

In 1993, Rep. Tim Walz of Minnesota, then a high school geography teacher in Nebraska, had his class do an exercise in which they ended up predicting the Rwandan genocide the following year. Tim Walz and one of his former students, Travis Hoffman, talk with John Ydstie about the prediction.

Audio is available.

NYTimes: "lessons of a classroom in Alliance 15 years ago still matter"

Last March at the Darfur town hall in Minneapolis's Plymouth Congregational Church, we heard Congressman Walz touch on this project.  Now Columbia University J-school prof Samuel G. Freedman write up the full story in High School Project on Genocide Was a Portent of Real-Life Events.  It's a moving story about small town kids learning about the way the world can sometimes sadly work:

In 1993, when Travis Hofmann was a freshman of 15, he had traveled little beyond the sand hills that surrounded his hometown, Alliance, Neb. He was the son of a railroad engineer, a trumpeter in the high school band, with a part-time job changing the marquee and running the projector at the local movie theater.

In Travis’s class in global geography at Alliance High School, however, the teacher introduced the outside world with the word and concept of genocide. The teacher, Tim Walz, was determined that even in this isolated place, perhaps especially in this isolated place, this county seat of 9,000 that was hours away from any city in any direction, the students should learn how and why a society can descend into mass murder.

Mr. Walz had already taught for a year in China, and he brought the world into his classroom in the form of African thumb pianos and Tibetan singing bowls. For the global geography class, he devised something far more ambitious than what the curriculum easily could have been — the identification and memorization of capitals, mountain ranges and major rivers. It was more ambitious, too, than a unit solely on the Holocaust of the sort many states have required.

“The Holocaust is taught too often purely as a historical event, an anomaly, a moment in time,” Mr. Walz said in a recent interview, recalling his approach. “Students understood what had happened and that it was terrible and that the people who did this were monsters.

“The problem is,” he continued, “that relieves us of responsibility. Obviously, the mastermind was sociopathic, but on the scale for it to happen, there had to be a lot of people in the country who chose to go down that path. You have to make the intellectual leap to figure out the reasons why.”

So Mr. Walz took his students — Brandon Bell, the wrestler; Beth Taylor, the cheerleader; Lanae Merwin, the quiet girl always reading some book about Queen Elizabeth; and all the other children of mechanics, secretaries and a town dentist — and assigned them to study the conditions associated with mass murder. What factors, he asked them to determine, had been present when Germans slaughtered Jews, Turks murdered Armenians, the Khmer Rouge ravaged their Cambodian countrymen?

“It was different and unusual, certainly not a project you’d be expecting,” Mr. Hofmann, now 31, of Phoenix, remembered recently of the class. “The biggest part was just the freedom to explore things. No matter how abnormal or far-fetched an idea might sound, you can form an opinion. Instead of just going in and having a teacher say, ‘Here’s information, learn it, know it, you’ll be tested on it,’ it was, ‘Here’s an idea, run with it.’ ”

For nine weeks through the winter and early spring that school year, through the howling blizzards and the planting of the first alfalfa on the plains, the class pored over data about economics, natural resources and ethnic composition. They read about civil war, colonialism and totalitarian ideology. They worked with reference books and scholarly reports, long before conducting research took place instantly online.

Most, like Mr. Hofmann, had spent their entire lives in and near Alliance. A few had traveled to Washington, D.C., with the school marching band. A few had driven four hours to Denver to buy the new Nirvana CD. Mostly, though, the outside world was a place they built, under Mr. Walz’s tutelage, in their own brains.

When the students finished with the past, Mr. Walz gave a final exam of sorts. He listed about a dozen current nations — Yugoslavia, Congo, some former Soviet republics among them — and asked the class as a whole to decide which was at the greatest risk of sliding into genocide.

Their answer was: Rwanda. The evidence was the ethnic divide between Hutus and Tutsis, the favoritism toward Tutsis shown by the Belgian colonial regime, and the previous outbreaks of tribal violence. Mr. Walz awarded high marks.

Then summer arrived and school let out. The students did what teenagers did in Alliance over the summer. They water-skied at the reservoir, swam in the Bridgeport sand pits and mostly “cruised the Butte,” endlessly driving up and down Box Butte Avenue.

THE next April, in 1994, Mr. Walz heard news reports of a plane carrying the Rwandan president, Juvenal Habyarimana, being shot down. He told himself at the time, “This is not going to end up good.”

It did not. Over the next three months, militant Hutus killed 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The reports reached even The Alliance Times-Herald, the local daily newspaper. Mr. Walz’s students, now juniors, saw their prophecy made into flesh and blood.

“It was terribly chilling,” Lanae Merwin, now 31, of Hastings, Neb., recalled in a recent interview. “But, to us, it wasn’t totally surprising. We’d discussed it in class and it was happening. Though you don’t want a prediction like that to come true.”

Mr. Hofmann remembered having a similar reaction. “It was just strange to know that something was discussed not too long before that could actually happen,” he said. “Just a surreal feeling. To everyone else, it’s 8,000 miles away — no one cares. How can you grasp it? But to us, it was, we talked about it. For us, it was something that reached us directly.”

Years have passed. Mr. Walz left Alliance and moved to his wife’s home state, Minnesota; he is the only active teacher now serving in the United States Congress. His former geography students have moved as adults to Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and New York. Ms. Taylor lived in Poland for a while.

Now, in 2008, April has come again. It is, among other things, the month for genocide remembrance — the month when Rwanda was convulsed, when the Khmer Rouge conquered Cambodia, when Armenians commemorate what they call the Great Catastrophe, when Yom HaShoah, Holocaust memorial day, almost always falls. (Though this year, because of the Jewish lunar calendar, it will be observed on May 1.) The lessons of a classroom in Alliance 15 years ago still matter.

“You have to understand what caused genocide to happen,” Mr. Walz said, with those grim anniversaries in mind. “Or it will happen again.”

Does the road to Islamabad run through Owatonna?

Back in late December, we posted about the grief Owatonna resident Shah Ashraf was feeling at the loss of his childhood friend and political ally, Benizar Bhutto. Despite the tragedy, Ashraf still planned to try for a senate seat in his native land.

Yesterday's the local paper provided an update on his plans.

In Owatonnan eyes Pakistani senate seat, Owatonna People's Press reporter Jeff Cagle reports that Ashraf will be going back to Pakistan next month to campaign for a senate seat. In Pakistan's electoral system, senators are chosen by the elected members of the national assembly; Ashraf's Pakistan People's Party won at least 87 of 268 seats to finish first in last Monday's parliamentary election. He won't know if he has earned a nomination until October.

Ashraf is feeling hopeful about Pakistan's future because voters also chose assembly members from moderate parties, rejecting a fundamentalist party sympathetic to the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan. He thinks voters' rejection of extremism will make it more difficult for al_Qaida to operate in the region.

Ashraf, who holds a dual citizenship, told the reporter he's been working with two Minnesota representatives to strengthen ties between Pakistan's moderates and the United States:

Ashraf said Pakistani residents are more moderate and consider the United States a friend, which will benefit U.S. foreign policy, business and trade.

To make these relationships better, Ashraf said he is working with Reps. Tim Walz and Keith Ellison, two Minnesota Democrats.

"We can change the world without firing a single bullet," he said. "Now it is up to us."

In an editorial a while back, the Owatonna People's Press wondered what the return was for the cost jet fuel for Walz's trip to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq in January.

Putting aside the fact that part of the trip was on a military cargo plane bearing a critically needed MRAP ambulance to troops in Afghanistan, we think travel to Pakistan was a pretty good investment, if we read yesterday's news in the OPP correctly.

Tuesday afternoon news digest: Kosovo, economy and a new kid in the District

Congratulations to Jennifer and David on the birth of Sage Elizabeth, 6 lbs, 10.5 oz. May she grow to be as good-looking, bright, strong, and courageous as both her parents, as kind as her grandmother Darlene, and as dedicated to community and country as her late grandfather Steve.

Iraq and Afghanistan aren't the only place where Americans serve. About 400 Minnesota National Guard members are helping to keep the peace in the newly-independent nation of Kosovo. The Albert Lea Tribune tells the story from the perspective of guard members stationed in Vitina. A very interesting read; the soldiers are highly regarded by local people:

NATO soldiers met with local officials prior to the declaration on the importance of keeping Kosovo peaceful when in the world spotlight.

Overall, he said, the presence of the troops have been well-received in Kosovo. He said the soldiers are “well-respected” by the Serbians and “much more well-respected, even revered” by the ethnic Albanians.

He said when the independence was declared the soldiers made sure Serbs were protected while Albanians celebrated.

The Mankato Free Press reports Local troops calm Kosovo tensions.

Congressman Walz worked hard last March to make sure the Guard in Kosovo kept receiving imminent danger pay.

In Fighting to improve US economy, a column published in today's Winona Daily News, Walz concludes:

In the past seven years, Bush has added an incredible $4 trillion to our national debt. I’m pleased that Congress, under its new leadership, has started to get a handle on spending by passing pay-as-you-go budget rules that require new government spending to be paid for. This is a good start, but more needs to be done.

With the passage of this stimulus package, it seems that Congress and Bush have begun to realize that we’re all in this together. The stimulus package is one example of the good things that can happen when Congress and the president work together, but we can’t stop there.

Next, we need to build on that accomplishment, set aside our differences and take some hard steps to balance the budget and reduce our national debt. It won’t be easy, but the work we do now will have a lasting impact on the economy and the types of economic opportunities our children have available to them.

The Owatonna People's Press looks at the economic and politics of ethanol in two stories: Corn prices tied to the crude oil rollercoaster and Ethanol's environmental impact under debate.

Walz, Betty McCollum, and Colin Peterson are among 52 Members of Congress [who] Press Secretary of State To Challenge Azerbaijan's Threats of Renewed Aggression:

More than 50 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives called upon Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Friday to challenge Azerbaijan's threats of renewed war against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, and to take concrete action to hold leaders in Baku accountable for actions that directly undermine the Administration's policy of fostering peace and stability in the South Caucasus region, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

The letter, initiated by Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairmen Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ), cited specific recent threats by Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and stressed that, "these fear tactics and threats of war go directly against the United States' goal of peace and stability in the South Caucasus region. Azerbaijan has been threatening war with Armenia for years. However, these recent public comments made by high-ranking government officials prove that their rhetoric has turned into a very real and dangerous threat."

The Winona Human Rights Commission extends A diversity training invitation for Drazkowski, as well as offering a civics lesson:

Drazkowski expressed his concerns in an opinion column Feb. 6 about the budget difficulties in our courts. As our representative in the Legislature, he should have that concern.

He is also concerned about the high cost of administrative services within the court system. This is a legitimate concern. Among these costs is the cost of interpreters for those who don’t speak English or do not speak English well.

Drazkowski seems to be proposing that non-English speakers no longer receive the assistance of an interpreter within the state court system unless they bear the cost of interpretation themselves.

The Winona Human Rights Commission is concerned about such a proposal because it stands in direct contravention of existing law, specifically the United States Civil Rights Act, a law that requires an interpreter be provided in this setting.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act is the “Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons.” For guidance, see www.hhs.gov/ocr/lep/revised lep.html.

The Waseca Historical Society presented a program about Waseca's Black History remembered. Interesting snapshots from history; we find the story of the three African-American baseball players on the town's 1900 state championship town to be especially ironic in light of the knuckleheaded racist remarks former Twins owner Calvin Griffith made to the Waseca Lions Club in 1978..

The Owatonna People's Press reports that his late grandfather's need for blood transfusions has inspired  Joe Gibson to work to for change in  Blooming Prairie teen behind bill to lower state's blood donor age to 16.

He had contacted state Rep. Patty Fritz with a petition and just expected to have his idea turned down. Instead, Fritz met with him to work on the bill's language. Both Fritz and Gibson expect it to pass.  More in the Rochester Post Bulletin story, Teen on quest to lower blood-donor age to 16. Kids these days! 

Walz on way home from Iraq and German segments of trip

Like Ed Felker at the PB Political Party, we got the press advisory about Walz returning from the final leg of his congressional travel delegation. He writes:

Freshman Rep. Tim Walz, D-Mankato, is due back in Washington this evening from his first trip to Iraq, his office said today. An announcement of a press event tomorrow from Walz's office confirmed that his trip with other lawmakers included time in Iraq and Germany.

Walz spoke with reporters Friday about his four days in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but would not outline the rest of the trip due to security restrictions. While some lawmakers arrange press calls when visiting Iraq, most congressional delegations do not publicize their itineraries until after they have left Iraq or Kuwait.

While Walz's office on Friday asked reporters not to speculate about his further stops, the Post-Bulletin did not do so based on two other factors. One, he gave no details whatsoever about his plans, and those could have been canceled at any time. Secondly, an intelligent observer can deduce that by not immediately coming home, and having traveled to Afghanistan to meet with American commanders and troops, Walz was on his way to Iraq.

Actually, we had speculated to ourselves about the congressman's whereabouts days before the impromtu press call last Friday.  First, working on the 2007 highlights reminded us that an earlier trip to Iraq, Afghanistan and other stops in the journey of wounded warriors made us curious about when the congressman would reschedule. 

Second, we noticed that the congressman's calendar had emptied to Bachmanesque quietude during a recess--a sharp departure from the usual schedule (heck, even on weekends when Congress is session), and figured that this would be a likely time for the trip.

Finally, the mission itself: when Congressman Walz mentioned in the press call talking to wounded soldiers and those who care for them, we pieced that part together.  Not rocket science.  The surprising part of the trip was to Pakistan.

Felker observes that television stations and at least one blogger (us) mentioned Walz being in the middle east, which the Post Bulletin didn't report. An interesting distinction: we wondered whether to place Afghanistan in the middle east or southwest Asia. Once the television statoins went with the middle east/mideast, we went with that.  Originally, we'd only mentioned the two countries where we knew for sure Walz had been.

Felker concludes with an observation about the security:

It certainly says something about Iraq, five years since the U.S. invaded, that members of Congress cannot say they are going there until they leave.

Some readers may remember that former Sixth district congressman Mark Kennedy famously said after visiting Iraq that soon families will vacation there.  Sadly, that prediction doesn't seem to beoming true anytime soon.

Sunday afternoon news digest: molasses in January edition

District news is still a bit slow with the recess and news about the rest of Representative Walz's Middle Eastern trip under a security blanket. We evoke the old cliche about molasses this time of year, but are prepared to move quickly, since molasses can be rather fickle (and deadly). We'll try to post news ASAP.

The Winona Daily News picks up the AP wire story in Walz concerned about conditions in Afghanistan, Pakistan.

The Owatonna People's Press reports that representatives of the Divided We Fail makes campaign stop. The Divided We Fall campaign was created by AARP, the Business Roundtable, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the National Federation of Independent Business a year ago to push elect officials to find a bi-partisan solution to health care insurance issues. If that peculiar coalition doesn't get lawmakers' attention on this issue, what will?

Members of the Legislative Commission to End Poverty by 2020 visited Worthington, St. Peter, Mankato, St. James, Windom, Mountain Lake, Jackson and Marshall, according to the Worthington Globe's report, Group aims to put end to poverty.

The Globe editorial board asks that Congress Keep encouraging wind investment. Apparently the free market alone isn't enough to keep Southern Minnesota's turbines turning. A tax credit is needed:

Washington legislators have allowed the credit to expire three different times in the last decade, and the effect on the wind energy industry shouldn’t be surprising. In fact, construction of new wind farms reportedly dropped by 75 percent one year after Congress’ 2003 decision to let the credit lapse.

In the netroots, DB's Political Muse looks at Michele's "Coming Out" Party, contrasting Walzs' service on three committees and multiple town hall forums with Bachmann's lackadaisical approach to serving her constituents.

Travels in the Mideast: Walz on Afghanistan and Pakistan

Some software problems tied up our time last night, so we didn't get around to post our own write-up of Friday's telephone press conference with Congressman Walz, who is in the Mideast as part of a congressional travel delegation.  Here's a digest of news about the trip.

KEYC-TV reports (with video) in Tim Walz On Confidential Trip In Middle East:

Representative Tim Walz is part of a Congressional Delegation currently in the Middle East. His itinerary is being kept confidential, however we've learned about two focuses on his trip: the continued care of U.S. troops in the Middle East and the regional security in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Congressman says if the economic and developing goals in Afghanistan aren't stabilized, the security efforts of our troops will deteriorate. Representative Tim Walz says, "It's the same thing we've been saying all along: you can put these warriors in there, and open up a window of opportunity for peace, but if there's not a change in how we're viewing the situation, broader and, I think, much deeper, we're going to slip back. So, yes I think the situation is either to figure out how to get our NATO allies to commit to what they said they would do, or for us to figure out a way to get our development teams in there." Again, the whereabouts of Congressional delegation is being kept confidential; no word on when Walz will return to the U.S.

Congressman Walz had spent two days in Afghanistan, meeting with those charge of wounded soldiers' care, as well as learning about economic development and military efforts there. He did mention that he had a chance to talk to soldiers, including some wounded members of Afghanistan's military.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune goes somewhat more in depth in Walz takes sobering trip to Afghanistan, Pakistan:

In Afghanistan, any continued stalling of economic redevelopment efforts could "put our mission at risk," Walz said during a fact-finding trip. "I'm concerned Afghanistan isn't stabilizing as quickly as it should."

In Pakistan, Islamic militants threaten to destabilize the country, and pressure by the United States on the Pakistani government to act in the frontier regions "risks losing their public support."

During a conference call with reporters, the first-term congressman from the First District said the fact of a nuclear-armed Pakistan "obviously makes me nervous." But Walz said he was reassured by officials responsible for that arsenal that "they take the security of their nuclear weapons very seriously."

In a similar vein, Pakistan's religious affairs officials said they would take steps to rein in the madrassas, the private schools where militant Islam is taught, Walz said.

One of the steps that The government ministry is taking is having the schools teach the country's national curriculum from the public schools, in addition to religious education. In our opinion, this step isn't much different than state's expecting parochial schools to teach a general curriculum. We hope the measure will counter more radical religious instruction.

For AfghanistaN:

The solution in Afghanistan isn't more American ground troops, but ramping up the number of State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development personnel, Walz said.

In addition, he said, NATO allies who have pledged development aid to Afghanistan have to do more.

"Promises made by NATO are not all being kept," Walz said. "We need that and to get more development teams in there."

The Associated Press's story gets picked up by the Worthington Globe with the headline: Walz concerned about conditions in Afghanistan, Pakistan. The story is fairly close to von Sternberg's article in the Strib.

MPR has rewritten its midleading headline, Rep. Walz returns from visit to Pakistan and Afghanistan (which still turns up in Google searches) to Rep. Walz concludes visit to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, the headline writer at the Post Bulletin must have read the MPR head when he or she set the title for Walz, delegation return from Pakistan.  Felker's lead makes it clear that's not the case:

Pakistan, reeling from the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and a fresh terrorist bombing on Thursday, remains tense but hopeful, Rep. Tim Walz said Friday following a four-day visit there and to neighboring Afghanistan.

Walz, a Mankato Democrat making his first overseas trip since taking office a year ago, told reporters by phone that the trip was originally planned to coincide with planned parliamentary elections. Those elections were postponed until next month after the Bhutto slaying on Dec. 27.

Walz was still out of the country on Friday and declined to specify the upcoming travel plans due to security restrictions. His staff said he will be in Washington for votes when the House reconvenes this coming week.

His group, which included other members of Congress, was to assist with international election monitoring, Walz said. Instead, they used their time to meet with senior leaders in the Pakistani government, along with U.S. officials in Pakistan and in Afghanistan.

"The feeling in Pakistan is obviously very tense, especially after the Lahore bombing," Walz said, referring to Thursday's suicide bomber attack that left 24 dead. "But it's still one that's hopeful." . . .

The Post Bulletin report is the most comprehensive of the article published so far. Go read the rest at the PB.

Representative Walz was to have gone to Iraq and Afghanistan in August, but excused himself from that trip in order help attend to the massive needs created by catastrophic flash flooding in Southeastern Minnesota.

It's not unusual for a news black-out to be observed for official travel in areas of conflict like the Middle East; such security precautions are in effect to guard not only the safety of the official delegations, but also to avoid putting military forces and civilians at risk. 

We had speculated to ourselves that the congressman was out of the country, but hadn't shared those thoughts with our readers since we have friends deployed in the region. Kind of makes a heifer sensitive to security concerns. 

On the other hand, our readers might have wondered why our content suddenly shifted to tales of Senator Klobuchar's wit and snapshots of albino squirrels. We considered Friday cat-blogging, but the Wege was unhappy enough already.