Political representatives in the Alexandria area say their
constituents do not support the gay marriage bill that was signed into
law by Governor Mark Dayton on Tuesday afternoon. Many, however, are
celebrating the decision.
Within minutes of the bill passing in
the Senate, Pastor Scott Keehn of Alexandria received a text message
from a couple in his congregation asking him to perform their ceremony.
He accepted.
“All this really does is expand the definition of
marriage to include loving couples who had been excluded,” Keehn said.
“It’s about granting civil and social rights.”
The church council will still have to approve same-sex weddings, but Keene believes that it will do so. The article notes:
. . .The First Congregational United Church of Christ has an “open and
affirming” process, meaning it accommodates for all people to be able to
worship.
“I think this will be a good thing for the Alexandria
community,” Keehn said. “Our government made the right choice in this
matter.”
. . .Pastor
Keehn is a member of the Inclusion Network (IN) in Alexandria, an
organization that educates the community about differences and promotes
the value of diversity. Steph Alexander will be speaking on the
transgender experience at Foundation Hall in Alexandria on June 19. For
more information, visit www.inclusionnetwork.org.
Photo: Rainbow wedding cake.
If you appreciate reading posts on Bluestem Prairie, consider making a donation via paypal:
Bluestem's world headquarters recently relocated to sunny Maynard in order to be closer to the upper Minnesota River, loveliest of prairie rivers.
The local watershed protectors, Clean Up the River Environment (CURE), will be hosting the Minnesota River History Weekend and Minnesota State Water Trails 50th Anniversary on Friday through Sunday. If you're a reader who wonders why the dirty hippies out here make such a fuss about threats to the upper valley's tranquility, consider checking this out:
Friday evening:
Grab some popcorn at Granite Falls' famous local Popcorn Stand and head over to watch a film and listen to great speakers!
with producers John Hickman and Jon Carlson (7 PM). This film tells
the story of people from all walks of life - academics, farmers,
natural resource professionals, anglers, homeowners, students, paddlers,
politicians, and citizen activists - who are working together to solve
the problems facing the Minnesota River. Read more about the film and speakers here.
with Erik Wrede, MN DNR Water Trails Coordinator and special guest Paul Ryberg (8 PM). Minnesota has the first and largest Water Trails system in the nation. Come
learn about the early years of the system, and the trip planning
resources and paddling opportunities that are now available. Plus, special guest Paul Ryberg will tell stories about growing up on the Minnesota River with his
family that will be honored for their efforts to "unleash the
recreational giant of canoeing." Read more about the presentation and
speakers here. Read more about the presentation and speakers here.
PRESENTATION. Reconnecting the Minnesota River by Luther Aadland, River Scientist, MN DNR (9:30 PM). His
work, research, and publications have included a wide variety of topics
that integrate physical and biological processes of rivers and the
design of river restoration, nature-like fish passage, dam removal,
erosion control, and flood damage reduction projects. Read more about Luther here.
Saturday's events include Paddling Theater, with options for riding on large fur-trading style canoes or on your own craft. Sunday is a self-organized paddling on the Chippewa River, Hawk Creek, Minnesota River and Yellow Medicine River meet at Memorial Park.
Late yesterday afternoon, the Minnesota House Majority comm department notified media that HF1054, state representative Karen Clark's marriage equality bill, would be heard Monday, May 6, by the Ways and Means Committee.
The Minnesota House has scheduled another committee hearing for a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in Minnesota.
The House Ways and Means Committee has scheduled a Monday hearing for
the bill after a fiscal analysis found legalizing same-sex marriage
would cost the state money.
Minnesota Management and Budget predicts that legalizing same-sex
marriage would result in 114 more people enrolling for state benefits
for their married partners. Fiscal agents estimate the added benefits
would cost $688,378 a year.
The fiscal note also projected that 5,186 same-sex couples would get
married over the next two years if same-sex marriage were legalized in
Minnesota on August 1. The estimate found that couples paying the $90
marriage licenses would generate roughly $190,135 to the state's general
fund and another $146,930 to other special revenue funds.
Although there's little time to contact these committee members, their contact information is at the links below (be polite in email and phone calls; we'd recommend polite emails sent today, since no one is working today to answer the phones at the Capitol):
Several suburban Republicans whose districts voted against the amendment serve on the Ways and Means Committee as well. Although no member of the minority caucus in the Minnesota House has come out to support marriage equality, those from districts that turned down the amendment might be reminded of the choice voters made in November.
Again, time is short, but those who wish to contact them can find info at the link under each member's name; be polite in emails and phone calls.
McNamara (Hastings) is a co-author of HF1687, the first civil unions bill submitted by Rep. Tim Kelly (R-Red Wing). Unlike Kim Norton--whose name is stricken on the first iteration and a co-author of HF1805--McNamara didn't sign on Kelly's replacement "civil unions for everybody" bill that was offered days after the first bill reserved marriage for straight couples, while allowing both straight and gay/lesbians to enter into legally recognized civil unions.
The first bill was criticized for creating "separate but equal" arrangments for gay or lesbian couples who want to marry. Kelly responded with a bill that would "take government out of marriage."
Photo: Will the gay heirs of Paul Bunyan's legacy be able to marry in Minnesota soon?
56-year old Larry Duncan and 48-year old Randy Shepherd receive their marriage license in Washington State in December.
Photograph by Meryl Shenker.
If you enjoy reading posts like these on Bluestem Prairie, consider throwing some coin in the tip jar:
While yesterday's news of Representative Joe Radinovich's decision to vote yes on Clark bill to extend the freedom to marry to all couples rocked the headlines across the state, a glance at Greater Minnesota papers online reveals it's not the only story.
Seven members of First Congregational worked meticulously, well into the
afternoon Friday as they hung 100 intricate, ministerial stoles. Their
work was for more than just an art project, though.
Shower of Stoles is a traveling exhibit of more than 1,000 religious
garments donated by LGBT individuals who serve or have served in
ministry but have been defrocked by the church for their sexual
orientations. Martha Juillerat started the project when she stepped down
from the Presbyterian Church in 1995 and came out, according to the
project’s website, www.welcomingresources.org. She asked for other LGBT to send in their
stoles to display and received 80 within the first day. The next
spring, she had 200, so the first display was held in 1996 in
Albuquerque, N.M.
Over the years, clearly, the exhibit has grown. Now it is split up
into pieces, and First Congregational is hosting the exhibit for the
first time from May 3 to May 15. Member Vickie Spyhalski is one of the
seven who helped hang the stoles, which took several hours.
“The purpose is really to show the role that LGBT people play in the church and their role in the ministry,” Spyhalski said.
First Congregational has 100 of the stoles on display. Many of them
are coupled with the stories of the people who wore them and the
struggles they faced by coming out. Those stories, Spyhalski said, are
powerful. . . .
The Red Wing Human Rights Commission along with Red Wing PFLAG —
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays — invites the public
to a free performance presented by The Project 515 players.
The
performance will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday May 7 at Hobgoblin Stoney End, 920
Highway 19, Red Wing. Based in Minneapolis, “Project 515 - The Tour!”
has traveled all around the state, as far north as Bemidji, as far south
as Albert Lea and points in between.
Project 515 Education
Campaign is a non-profit organization working to teach Minnesotans about
the 515 current state laws that provide rights, benefits and
responsibilities based on marriage that are unavailable to same-gender
couples. The show is presented by a cast of six, each of whom plays
several roles in the performance. . . .
A next-door neighbor assumes that her lesbian neighbor can now
marry because the marriage amendment posed to voters last November
failed.
A man loses everything when his partner, a police officer, is
killed in the line of duty. His partner’s family — most of whom stopped
talking to him years ago — made all the decisions while he was left with
an empty house.
A young girl can’t sleep because she thinks
she’ll be taken away from her parents — two women who have been together
for years but can’t marry.
It was those moving snippets portraying the daily
struggles a same-sex couple experiences in Minnesota that moved
audience members like Joyce Atchison to tears. A self-proclaimed ally to
the LGBT community, Atchison was one of about 20 people who braved the
May Day blizzard for a performance of “515-The Tour!” at the
Congregational United Church of Christ in Faribault. . . .
Read the rest in the Daily News.
Grand Forks: Lake Park mayor Aaron L. Wittnebel's column
Clear across the state in the Grand Forks Herald,Lake Park mayor Aaron Wittnebel's column, Support the freedom to marry in Minnesota, has been published in the op-ed section. In the commentary, first published in MinnPost, Minnesota's only currently out gay mayor writes:
As the only openly gay mayor in Minnesota -- and having been born and
raised in the town I represent in Greater Minnesota -- marriage is
something that is important for me as a friend, a leader and a
Minnesotan.
Growing up in my small rural town in Greater
Minnesota and attending our local Lutheran Church, I learned the value
of commitment and family. Although I am not currently in a relationship,
I was for some time.
Michael and I had a great many plans for
the one day when we would have the freedom to get married in the state
we call home. We planned on getting married, raising a family and living
our lives together. . . .
Unfortunately,
Michael passed away from meningitis in 2006, a few short months after
his 30th birthday. Thanks to his upbringing in a small rural town as
well -- with those same shared values of love, commitment and family --
his family and I were able to make the arrangements together that
respected his wishes.
Sadly, this is not true for many same-sex
couples throughout Minnesota who, without equality under the law, end up
facing the nightmare of trying to honor their loved ones’ wishes on top
of the tragedy of losing them. And unfortunately, this is just one
example where our law stands in the way of love.
Not everyone is
fortunate to have a family such as Michael’s, and that’s one of many
reasons why marriage equality is so very important.
My friends,
family and neighbors all have come a long way in their recognition that
same-sex couples and LGBT Minnesotans like me have the same values,
hopes and aspirations as all other Minnesotans. We are Herald readers’
brothers, sisters, neighbors, co-workers and friends, and we believe in
families just like readers do.
Read the whole article in the GF Herald.
Happy to hitch 'em in Hackensack
Over in Hackensack, Pastor Michael Small looks forward to the day when he can legally marry couples like Aaron and Michael. He write in his letter to the Bemidji Pioneer, It’s time for Minnesota to take next step:
As a pastor for the past 25 years at Union Congregation Church United Church of Christ in Hackensack, I am proud to call myself a Minnesotan.
This past fall I was especially pleased to know that the people of Minnesota clearly affirmed the freedom for all persons in Minnesota to marry.
The voters of Minnesota have taken the first step in the freedom for everyone to marry. Now is the time to take the next step to secure the freedom for same-gendered couples to marry the one whom they love and cherish. It is time for us to set aside the last barrier for the freedom for everyone to marry by encouraging our legislators to act.
In Hackensack, same-gendered couples pay taxes, they vote, they run businesses. They work hard and contribute to the same system as everyone else. They should be treated fairly under the law, including the freedom to marry the person they love. When two people fall in love and decide to start a family and spend their lives together, marriage is the next step. There is nothing that compares or is as meaningful as marriage.
I look forward to the day when I can stand before a same-gendered couple and officiate at their wedding. Then I will be living out what I say every Sunday at Union, “No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.”
Seven Minnesota House DFLers seen as swing votes
on gay marriage say they are supporting or leaning toward supporting it,
potentially key pickups for sponsors of the bill that may not get any
Republican support in the chamber.
If House DFLers wind up having to pass the bill on their own, the
members who declared their support in interviews Thursday, May 2, and
Friday, May 3, with the Pioneer Press will get them closer -- but not
all the way.
The seven are part of a group of 17 nonmetro
Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party representatives seen as swing voters
because their party favors legalizing gay marriage but they come from
districts that supported the unsuccessful effort last fall to place a
ban on gay marriage in the state constitution.
Another seven of the group wouldn't commit or comment. And one could not be reached. Two said they will oppose the bill. . . .
Here's the list of where the 17 stand:
Yes: Tom Anzelc of Balsam Township; Carly
Melin of Hibbing; Jason Metsa of Virginia; Joe Radinovich of Crosby;
Shannon Savick of Wells; Mike Sundin of Esko.
Leaning yes: Tim Faust of Hinckley.
No: Patti Fritz of Faribault; Mary Sawatzky of Willmar.
Undeclared: Roger Erickson of Baudette; Paul Marquart of
Dilworth; Jay McNamar of Elbow Lake; John Persell of Bemidji; Jeanne
Poppe of Austin.
No comment: Andrew Falk of Murdock; John Ward of Baxter.
Unavailable: David Dill of Crane Lake.
Bluestem is disappointed in the choices made by Fritz and Sawatzky--especially the latter representative's decision. A freshman, Sawatzky often seems too timid to serve, the Walter Mitty of her class. Would that some of young Joe Radinovich's courage--and that of his fellow, but elder, freshman Shannon Savick,who also won a close race--rubbed off on their Class of 2012 colleague.
Here's hoping that Jay McNamar takes his cue from Radinovich and Savick, rather than Milquetoast Mary. Students at the University of Morris and others, like Big Stone County resident Rebecca Terk, are willing to get his back on this. The PiPress reports:
"This is the hardest vote I've ever had," said Jay
McNamar of Elbow Lake. "This vote, it tears at your heart." Almost 64
percent of voters in McNamar's district voted in favor of the marriage
amendment.
And freshman Roger Erickson:
"There's a fairness issue that I believe in. There's a
separation of church and state that I'm worrying about. But I also
understand the deep-seated religious values of many people in my
district. It's just a hard vote. It's a tough decision to make," said
Roger Erickson of Baudette.
Take the courageous votes, Representatives McNamar and Erickson. In your heart, you know it's right.
Photo: Aleta Christopherson arranges stoles for the Shower of Stoles exhibit at
First Congregational Church. The exhibit, which supports the LGBT who
are of faith, starts today and goes through May 15. -- Eric Johnson, at the Austin Daily Herald (above). Big Stone County Resident Rebecca and her betrothed, John White, want Jay McNamar to vote "yes." Both will be McNamar's constituents in 2014 (below).
If you enjoy reading posts like these on Bluestem Prairie, consider throwing some coin in the tip jar:
In a recent radio interview broadcast by KDIO, Ortonville mayor Steve Berkner inveighed against "intimidation tactics" that had supposedly by used by "special interest" opponents of the Strata Mining Corporation's plan to open a granite quarry in a cow pasture that contains some of Big Stone County's namesake granite outcroppings.
Those tactics? "Busing in" people, carrying signs, chanting, swearing, pounding on tables, grandstanding. For this, Berkner cautions that the city attorney and Ortonville police have been ordered to prevent "intimidation" at the next hearing about Stata, on May 7. Berkner encouraged citizens to submit written remarks, since apparently speaking in public at hearings can be confrontational.
Now, Bluestem attended a number of the zoning and county board hearings on the matter last year, and doesn't remember seeing anyone being "bused in." As for the signs, those carrying them in February 2012 did sing on their way from the Land Stewardship Project's office in Clinton to a zoning meeting about a block and a half away, but set them outside before entering the hearing.
Law enforcement officials were present at that meeting and others, but that's not unusual for large public meetings. Berkner was accusing outside "special interests" (apparently Land Stewardship Project, which maintains a local foods program in Western Minnesota and Clean Up the River Environment, an Upper Minnesota River Valley watershed restoration group based in Montevideo, MN) of using "intimidation tactics," although he doesn't name names.
Since the singing sign carriers and those speaking at the meetings all seemed rather decorous, Bluestem contacted Big Stone County Sheriff John Haukos to see if his department had received complaints or reports of bad behavior. After reviewing his records, Haukos returned our call. No complaints or reports had been filed, although the presence of deputies at meetings were duly recorded.
Indeed, Sheriff Haukos, who had attended many of the meetings, thought that they could be models of public discussion of an issue. He had not observed swearing, pounding of fists, or any such behavior that could be charactized as "intimidation," although he did watch one confrontational exchange after a zoning meeting in Clinton between a citizen and a county commissioner. He determined that the exchange wasn't going to escalate and moved on.
Since Bluestem was there, we too observed that verbal jousting between Dakota scholar Waziyata Win, who lives in the Yellow Medicine Dakota community near Granite Falls and Big Stone County Commissioner Brent Olson. In light of Minnesota history, Bluestem hesitates to call her or the two other Dakota scholars from Marshall and South Dakota who spoke at another meeting "outsiders," however outspoken Waz might be.
Clinton resident Rebecca Terk dropped by both the Ortonville Police department and Big Stone Sheriff's office with the same question. She was told that no complaints or reports of intimidation had been made to either office during the 2012 hearing process.
It's curious that the mayor is inclined to declare opposition to a project by a North Dakota corporation to somehow be a product of "outside special interests," when signs objecting to the annexation of the pasture--since the local township where it had been situated originally enacted a moratorium on the development after residents objected--still grace lawns in his fair community. (To circumvent the township moratorium, the landowner divided his property among relatives, who petitioned to become part of the City of Ortonville; an MPR report here includes remarks by Berkner. An OAH judge ruled that only one parcel could be annexed.).
Also curious in the interview: the host's declaration that if one side doesn't want to speak about a controversy, it's best not to cover an issue at all. Bluestem was under the impression that journalistic convention held that one reported that folks were given an opportunity to present their side, but declined comment.
Indeed, the edited remarks below are characterized by a barely contained hostility toward those who might object to Strata's designs--while insisting that the public has the right to make "respectful" comments. His bar for "respectful" appears to be quite high--with no singing or signs allowed. Indeed, if only people could just write their comments down. That would be so much nicer. Want to speak up in Ortonville? Better meet Mayor Berkner's guidelines for form, presentation and content.
And if Strata Corporation decides to never comment to the press, why the nice respectful radio lady simply wouldn't have to report on anything that happens at all.
Here's the selected audio about the idea of order in Ortonville, drawn from a longer 20-minute interview.. Short fades mark the edits and photo is of Berkner, then a city council member, at a public information hearing held in Ortonville by the Ortonville Township board of supervisors.
Photo: Signs wait outside a Big Stone County planning and zoning board hearing in Clinton, Minnesota in February 2012. Ortonville Mayor Steve Berkner has labeled these signs an "intimidation tactic." Bluestem doesn't find the message "Outcrops Mean Tourism $" to be all that scary, but perhaps the mayor has a much different comfort zone than Bluestem and local law enforcement. (Photo by Rebecca Terk) Below: an anti-annexation sign in an Ortonville lawn last fall.
If you enjoy reading posts like this on Bluestem Prairie, consider throwing some coin in the tip jar:
Bluestem had some errands to do in Montevideo Saturday and so joined about 75 other people at the Minnesota For Marriage (M4M) road show rally in the parking lot of St. Joseph's Catholic Church.
Judging from media reports last weekend, yesterday's spiels from the in-state talent that M4M had packed on the wrappered RV were pretty much the standard arguments the group makes.
Morse was flown in from San Diego, California's second largest city and the eighth largest in the United States, to tell citizens in Chippewa County, Minnesota (population 12,135) that we should so not let our fellow Minnesotans living in the metro areas push us around (since she used the plural, Bluestem assumes she also meant the fleshpots of Cook, St. Louis, Blue Earth, Nicollet, Olmsted, Rice, and Winona Counties as well as the scary Twin Cities where most of the state's residents live).
Along the way, Morse tried relating to her audience by making references to hunting and livestocking farming, while weaving in an anti-divorce, anti-choice, and anti-equality message that predicted the end of marriage entirely if we let cuteboys have it. Her central assertion? Reciting Maggie Gallagher's claim that the "chief public purpose of marriage" was the production and regulation of offspring, Morse also insisted that the only argument that supporters of the freedom to marry made was that folks like her are bigots who are mean to cute boys in love.
And that's where the hunting earphones came in. Morse suggested that anti-freedom advocates silence the voices of their opponents by putting on metaphorical electronic ear protection to filter out those who don't agree with them:
. . .I was told that there might be a few hunters in an area like this and so I brought my ear protectors. I'm not a hunter myself. Do you guys have these sort of ear protectors? They're very snazzy. You can turn they on and they block out the noise, they block out a big loud noise like when you shoot your gun, it blocks out--you guys know what I'm talking about here?
Good, good, good. People in San Diego have no idea what I'm talking about. But I can hear you because I've turned up the volume on my little headset here. You can hear what you want, but you block out the noise.
Now why would I wear earprotectors to a marriage rally? Because there's a lot of noise in the marriage debate. You know what I'm talking about? Everytime somebody says, "You're a bigot," that's just noise. That is just noise. That is designed to keep you--when somebody says that, what happens? You go Ohh! . . .you suddenly immediately recoil, just like the shotgun going off in your ear.
So you have to do something to stop the noise, so you can think. And the people on the other side are very deliberate and intentional from keeping the subject away from the subject. Instead of the subject being, "What is marriage and why do we need it?," the subject is, "What's wrong with you guys that you're so mean to us and that you're on the wrong side of history?" That's what they want to talk about.
Did we mention she isn't from Minnesota? Bluestem also suspects that Morse never attended the Ozarks Famous Writers School, or she'd never have pulled out a howler of an analogy like that one.
It's fascinating how much folks like Morse talk about the word "bigot." Early on in the drive to defeat the amendment to restrict the freedom to marry, Bluestem's friend (and Thug in Pastels blogger) Javier Morillo-Alicea, a Minnesotans United for All Families board member, explained how the use of the word wasn't particularly helpful or descriptive, since while many people might be uncomfortable with the notion of marriage equality, that discomfort does not a bigot make.
In interviews before and after
Tuesday's results were known, key participants focused on these factors:
• Allies: From its beginning,
Minnesotans United for All Families sought to build a diverse,
nonpartisan coalition. It avoided confrontation and steered clear of
blunt words like "bigotry" and "discrimination."
• Faith: Although the side pushing
the marriage amendment enjoyed substantial support from Catholic and
evangelical churches, opponents of the amendment actively recruited help
from other faith communities. Several organizers put it this way: "We
refused to cede the religious ground."
• Money: Minnesotans United raised
more than $12 million for the drive to defeat the amendment. The
campaign dwarfed its opposition, both in the dollars raised and in the
number of donors named.
• Time: Opponents of the marriage
amendment had a full year and a half to organize and mobilize their
supporters. In fact, they had longer than that, because the effort to
ban same-sex marriage had made no secret of its existence ahead of time.
That's what Morse wants to filter out, and it illustrates why Morse's faux-folksie analogy about electronic ear protection misses the mark. Bluestem's editor loves shooting, and so knows that the voices of those around you aren't the shotgun blasts the ear protection gear filter out. It's your own gun firing that's likely to deafen you.
Indeed, Morse seems only able to hear her own thoughts and not the discussion in Minnesota.
Could Morse be a bigot? Bluestem would argue that her bigotry or lack thereof is immaterial to the debate. Fairness, respect and equal treatment are
positive public virtues, and the case for the freedom to marry is made
on this positive basis. It's not a repayment for insult and injury, like a tort claim, or a rebuke to Morse's personal cruelties, but rather an acknowledgement of full citizenship and fairness toward all citizens to acknowledge the claims of gay men and lesbians to marry the people they love.
As for the "essential public purpose of marriage," Morse can pretend that the conversation hasn't happened, as did Maggie Gallagher, with whom the phrase is most frequently associated online. But as The American Prospect's E.J. Graff wrote in What's the "Chief Purpose" of Marriage?:
. . . same-sex couples are following, not leading, the variety of changes in marriage's public meaning that were made by capitalism between 1850 and 1970—the time span between Anthony Comstock's anti-obscenity crusade and the paired Supreme Court decisions of Griswold and Eisenstadt. In addition, I would not agree that
the most important of these changes in marriage law and public
philosophy is snipping the link between sex and babies; that's just one
of them. Some of the other changes include formal gender equality, which
was won by the mid-1970s; and divorce with remarriage, which implies
that marriage is for love rather than being a lifetime sex-and-labor
contract, and therefore unbreakable. You believe that adding same-sex
couples to marriage is what really snips the link between sex and babies. I don't.
Later in the video below, Morse condemns divorce and reproductive choice, while going so far as to claim the freedom to marry will eliminate the institution entirely. It's one big plot or something.
Morse also tried to get folksy with a coy, nearly sniggering suggestion about rural and metro people having different understandings about where babies come from:
Every known society has something like marriage that attaches mothers and fathers to their children and one another. Now as soon as you see that that is the public purpose, the essential public purpose of marriage, then you can see right away that a same sex couple is different from an opposite sex couple with respect to that purpose. Can everybody see that?
It's basic biology. And I'm sure out here in a farm community, you all know how this works with the men and the women [she moves her hands back and forth while the audience guffaws] that stuff. Back in the metro area....ehhhhh, maybe not so clear on that, but out here, you all know how this works.
Bluestem suspects that Morse hasn't been to a modern livestock farm anytime recently to make that assertion--since sows and cows are artificially inseminated--or that she knows much about "the metro" either. Perhaps Rod Hamilton could give her a tour of a boar stud farm and farrowing unit if she wants to bring this up; as Harpers contributor Nathaniel Johnson wrote, it's a Swine of the Times in rural America.
Morse code: no stranger to controversy
One friend suggested that it might be a sign of M4M's desperation that it flew Morse in. Her most recent turn in the headlines was an almost Kluwesque turn, when the Chicago Bears and former linebacker Brian Urlacher ran from a Morse fundraising effort. The Chicago Tribune reported in the early April 2013 article, Urlacher, Bears reject link to group opposing same-sex-marriage:
The Bears and former linebacker Brian Urlacher denied any involvement
Wednesday with the Ruth Institute -- an affiliate of the National
Organization For Marriage, which opposes same-sex marriage -- after an online promotion for the institute stated a clear involvement of the team. . . .
In an advertisement for its June gala at an upcoming conference, the
California-based group stated, "For now, you should know that we have
two fabulous raffle items from the Chicago Bears Organization (and a huge THANK YOU to the Bears for supporting our message)."
Below the statement are images of an autographed Urlacher jersey and an
autographed black-and-white photo of deceased Hall of Fame running back
Walter Payton.
"I sign a lot of stuff for charity and I don't
always know where it goes," Urlacher told the Tribune. "If I would have
known it was for this cause, I wouldn't have done it."
Payton's
older brother Eddie Payton said he did not know of any memorabilia
regarding his brother used to support an anti-gay marriage group.
"This is the first I've heard of it," said Payton, a former NFL
kick returner. "Walter treated everybody equal. … Only Walter could
speak for himself, but it's a touchy subject. It should be a
non-subject."
The Bears issued a statement, saying "The two items
featured in The Ruth Institute gala invitation were personal donations
to (President) Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse. Neither was a club donation,
nor do they represent the team's view on any social issues. Any remarks
stating otherwise are false."
Reached by phone Wednesday
afternoon, Morse initially declined comment. But her website later
dropped all references to the Bears at the team's request, and Morse
issued a statement: "The Ruth Institute is not working with the Chicago
Bears organization or any of its players past or present to promote our
upcoming auction. The memorabilia we are auctioning off was acquired by
me personally, not through the team or players. We understand that the
Chicago Bears organization takes no position on social issues, and we
regret any confusion we may have caused on this point." . . .
Photo: Morse in Montevideo, tweeted by M4M. After watching the event, I wrote Andrew Falk, my state representative and asked him to vote "yes" on the Clark bill to legalize the freedom to marry for all loving adult couples. Video: Shot by Sally Jo Sorensen. Please credit Bluestem Prairie.
If you appreciate reading posts on Bluestem Prairie, consider making a donation via paypal:
While the Des Moines Register reports about the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee's scrutiny of the gentlewoman's presidential campaign committee capers in Michele Bachmann knew about financial deal with Sorenson, former aide alleges, the Young Americans for Freedom are using her endorsement of toxic metal Christian rocker and radio talker Bradlee Dean for a Dean event at Des Moines Community College (see image, right).
ongresswoman Michele Bachmann was aware of the financial arrangement
between an Iowa senator and her presidential campaign that’s now the
subject of three separate ethics investigations, according to a former
aide.
Campaign aide Andy Parrish, a confidential informant who agreed this
week to step forward to testify to the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee,
will detail an arrangement for potentially improper payments to state
Sen. Kent Sorenson, R-Milo, for presidential campaign work, his lawyer
said today.
Parrish’s testimony could bolster statements another Bachmann
campaign aide made in an ethics complaint filed in January that alleges
Sorenson violated Iowa Senate rules that prohibit senators from
accepting employment, directly or indirectly, from a political action
committee. . . .
Waldron also filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission in
January, citing the financial arrangement with Sorenson. And the Office
of Congressional Ethics contacted Waldron in February. . . .
Putting Bachmann's name at the head of a list of endorsements for Bradlee Dean must be capable of filling a couple of rows of seats.
Bradlee Dean has really screwed up the town of Dunkerton, Iowa.
Dean and his Christian-rap-metal troupe, Junkyard Prophet, hosted a supposed "anti-bullying" assembly
at the Dunkertown high school last week that literally left some of the
kids in tears. Among the more controversial messages delivered by the
anti-gay preacher and his cronies: The average lifespan for a gay man is
42, and if women have sex before marriage, they will have "mud on their
wedding dresses."
The principal of the school has since resigned, according to the WCF Courier, though school officials say there's no connection.
Earlier this week, a collective of advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, penned an open letter to school administrators, demanding that they be more careful about who is invited to talk to kids. . . .
That sort of attraction, in addition to ethically-challenged Bachmann's endorsement, should pack them in.
Image: A poster of April 25's coming attraction at the Des Moines Community College.
If you appreciate reading posts on Bluestem Prairie, consider making a donation via paypal:
Word comes to our new home office in sunny Maynard, Minnesota, via People for the American Way's Rightwing Watch, that Minnesotans Michele Bachman and Bradlee Dean will be taking part in the Awakening 2013 this weekend in Oviedo, Florida. The annual event is organized by the Liberty University-affiliated Liberty Counsel.
The theme? Fighting for the Soul of America. Food trucks are available on site on Saturday.
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) will be joining some of the most extreme right-wing activists in the country at the upcoming Awakening 2013
conference, which is organized by the Liberty University-affiliated
Liberty Counsel. Along with Bachmann, Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM) and Jim
Bob and Michelle Duggar are scheduled to take part in the Religious
Right gathering.
Just how radical are the conference’s leaders?
The fact that it is hosted by Liberty Counsel, the anti-gay group led by Mat Staver and Matt Barber that has been implicated in the Lisa Miller kidnapping case,
is the first clue to the Awakening’s far-right bent. On top of that,
the event includes 9/11 and Sandy Hook truther Bradlee Dean,
self-proclaimed prophet Cindy Jacobs and convicted domestic abuser and
anti-women’s rights activist Timothy Johnson.
On the program, we learn that Bachmann's keynote address is "America at a Crossroad: Pressing Forward to Victory," while Dean will be a presenter in two breakout sessions.
The first, "Families Under Attack: Pornography & Sexual Promiscuity and How to Fight Back," teams the toxic metal preacher with Bishop Harry Jackson and Patrick Trueman. Judith Reisman will moderate.
High Impact begins by pushing Jackson and Barna's own
"research," purportedly based on 100,000 personal interviews conducted
over the last 20 years, which uncovered "areas in which whites and
blacks are clearly divergent." One of those areas, according to Jackson
and Barna, is sexual temptation. Black people, they allege, are far
more prone to it, and specifically to "physical intimacy with a
nonspouse or enjoyment of pornographic materials."
In spite of
this allegedly innate promiscuity — a quality that most white
supremacist "race scientists" and hate groups also claim is an intrinsic
characteristic of black people — Jackson and Barna conclude that
African Americans are spiritually superior to white Christians, in that
their faith is more "integrated" into their everyday life. Since black
Christians spend more time in church than white ones, the book argues,
black God-fearers are more observing of the Sabbath, while "this concept
was lost more than a quarter century ago in white America" – just one
more "sign that the spiritual focus remains paramount among blacks."
Jackson has played a leading role in campaigns against marriage equality
in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, fights he described as a spiritual battle against Satanic forces. He said
that a demon called the Queen of Heaven is behind the push for same-sex
marriage, which he warned “corrupts, perverts and pollutes” society.
Jackson has also called marriage equality “a Satanic plot to destroy our seed” and warned that gay rights advocates “want to recruit your kids” and are targeting young people “just like during the times of Hitler.”
Patrick Trueman is a lawyer who serves as president of Morality in Media, which placed Attorney General Eric Holder at the head of its "Dirty Dozen" list, The Hill reported on April 1. Holder was joined on the list by Comcast, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, Barnes and Noble and the Department of Defense.
Reisman, a visiting Liberty University professor who is fighting to criminalize pornography, has claimed
that schools are brainwashing children into becoming gay and that gay
rights advocates are emulated the Nazis. She also said that the Gay,
Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s Gay-Straight Alliances are modeled after the Hitler Youth and promote pedophilia.
Age ranges in the population were 0.3% under the age of 18, 0.3% from 18
to 24, 1.5% from 25 to 44, 40.4% from 45 to 64, and 57.5% 65 years of
age or older. The median age was 66 years.
Photo: Bachmann and Dean.
If you appreciate reading posts on Bluestem Prairie, consider making a donation via paypal:
While some Twin Cities conservatives grumbled about Governor Dayton's series of town halls as a set of latter-day Potemkin villages (a phrase that is itself seated in a historial smear), local media and citizens saw something else entirely.
The Mankato Free Press gives the event in south central Minnesota a thumbs up in Dayton's town hall:
To Gov. Mark Dayton's town hall meeting in North Mankato last week.
If you appreciate reading posts on Bluestem Prairie, consider making a donation via paypal:
When governors venture out, particularly to Greater Minnesota, the
events are often choreographed tours, meeting with selected local
leaders, capped with a press conference.
But when Dayton went to South Central College in North Mankato he
invited anyone from the public who wanted to come and 200 did.
For 90 minutes Minnesota Dayton took a wide variety of questions, from
his views on frac sand mining moratoriums to highway funding. The
governor answered honestly, sometimes agreeing with people and sometimes
challenging their views.
It was a good, old-fashioned, democratic exchange of ideas and an
opportunity for regular citizens to have face-to-face contact with the
head of the state.
It's no secret any longer: the secret ingredient in Congressman Tim Walz's first place "Hermann the German" hotdish is Schell's beer, brewed in New Ulm, Minnesota. Walz's hearty meal won Senator Franken's annual Hot Dish-off today.
U.S. Sen. Al Franken, the Minnesota Democrat and former comedian,
will host his third annual Capitol casserole contest today in
(appropriately) the Senate Agricultural Committee Hearing Room in
Washington.
Franken will be joined by Democrats Sen. Amy Klobuchar
and Reps. Rick Nolan, Collin Peterson, Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison
and Tim Walz and Republicans Eric Paulsen and Michele Bachmann.
Franken
started the friendly competition in 2011 as a way to bring the
delegation together to put partisanship aside and celebrate a Minnesota
culinary tradition. This year’s event will be judged by former Minnesota
congressmen Vin Weber and Gerry Sikorski.
Just as the contest began, Walz press secretary Tony Ufkin tweeted:
Walz's "Hermann the German" hotdish is in place. Secret ingredient from New Ulm... pic.twitter.com/fQ8Y4h1rAc
We guessed beer and Ufkin confirmed. The secret's also out on Franken's website:
Walz's Hermann the German Hotdish
Ingredients: 1 package of brats 1 bottle Schell's beer 1 onion 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 cup of chopped celery 1 can cream of cheddar soup 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1/2 cup milk 1 cups sharp cheddar cheese 1 package tater tots.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, add beer, onions and garlic powder.
Submerge the brats into the pot and reduce heat to medium and cook for
10 min. Remove and let cool. Butter the casserole dish. Combine
remaining ingredients into a separate bowl, minus the tots. Chop up the
brats into bite sized pieces and add to the other ingredients. Pour the
mixture into the casserole dish, top with tater tots and bake for 1 hour
at 350 degrees. Sprinkle with cheese for the last 10-15 mins of baking.
Photo: The hotdish prior to judging. Twitpic by Tony Ufkin.
If you appreciate reading posts on Bluestem Prairie, consider making a donation via paypal:
Oh snap! The hep title of the program--borrowing as it does from pop culutre--will so help the Republican Party rebrand itself as not the scary party of stuffy old men.
Sadly, the notion that "The Hunger Games" is analogy for Agenda 21 isn't original to the spry gentlemen leading the discussion on Tuesday night. No sirree, Bob; cultural scholar Alex Jones first posited last year that the movie was something to make us get used to human sacrifice and the other goals of Agenda 21.
Here's the video:
Can't wait until Earth Day? On Monday, April 8, the SW Metro Tea Party will screen "Runaway Slave," a movie about black conservatives. Memphis reviewer John Beifuss noted in 'Runaway Slave' - A Review: Black Like Tea:
What Memphians will find is a movie that wastes only three minutes
before linking Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Glenn Beck, via footage of
Beck's 2010 "Restoring Honor" celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.
Okay then.
Photo: Rollie Neve.
If you appreciate reading posts on Bluestem Prairie, consider making a donation via paypal:
Upcoming Meetings in the District for Representative
Cindy Pugh (R)
No Town Hall Meetings currently available.
Apparently, that's true. But her constituents who want to talk to her in her district--although this information is nowhere on her webpage--can engage with her at three "information gathering meetings"on April 13.
Has the co-founder of the SW Metro Tea Party and the North Star Tea Patriots learned something from her movement years, when Tea Party members show up and got loud at hall towns?
Although we're not sure who's going to get excited by the description of "information gathering meetings" found on the page of Jerry Hertaus (R-Greenfield), who represents the A side of Senate District 33 in the House.
District 33 legislators Senator David Osmek (R-Mound),
Representative Jerry Hertaus (R-Greenfield), and Representative Cindy
Pugh (R- Chanhassen) will hold a series of information gathering
meetings on Saturday, April 13th across the district in order to listen
to the concerns, issues and priorities important to Senate District 33
constituents during this 88th legislative session.
As part of our form of government and representative democracy,
information gathering and constituent input is an important and
necessary part of the legislative process. SD 33 legislators desire to
better represent area constituents by hearing their concerns regarding
proposed legislation affecting state policies, proposed budgets, taxes,
spending and civil and criminal laws.
The series of three (3) meetings will all take place on Saturday, April
13, 2013. The meetings are open to the public and are free of charge.
Please consider attending the meeting closest and most convenient for
you as follows;
Tea Party Patriots
gave Cindy Pugh the nickname Sunshine Cindy because she is one of the
happiest, most cheerful patriots we know. Congresswoman Michele
Bachmann inspired this mother of 2 to stand for principle and run for
elected office. Now Cindy is a state rep fighting for freedom in MN.
Photo: Sunshine Cindy Pugh, R-Chanhassen.
If you appreciate reading posts on Bluestem Prairie, consider making a donation via paypal:
But they're not the only ones given the fantods by plans to commemorate the late Venezuelan president. A source close to the legislative process tells Bluestem that the same objection is being raised about Minnesota House File 1631 and the senate companion bill, SF1509.
State representative Carlos Mariani (DFL-St. Paul) and state senator Patricia Torres Ray (DFL-Minneapolis) introduced the legislation to establish March 31 as Cesar Chavez legislative day,
Section 1. [3.9224] CESAR CHAVEZ LEGISLATIVE DAY.
(a) Every year, March 31 shall be known as Cesar Chavez Legislative Day
to celebrate the growing Latino community in Minnesota. Latinos make up the
fastest-growing demographic group in the state, with a current population of over 250,000 individuals throughout the state. Dedicating March 31 of each year as Cesar Chavez Legislative Day provides the citizens of Minnesota the opportunity to learn about and appreciate the Latino community and their contributions to our state.
As a community organizer, Chavez improved the lives and working conditions of
millions of Latinos nationwide. He dedicated his life to advocating for labor rights, political representation for racial and ethnic minorities, environmental justice, registering voters, and improving literacy for farm workers to enable them to become United States citizens.
After our source commented on the Bluestem editor's personal Facebook page link to Buzzfeed's 15 People Who Think Google Is Honoring Hugo Chávez, "Funny, we're having the same problem with HF 1631," we quipped that we'd found our April Fools Day post. She replied, "I only wish it were a joke! Need more truthiness in these parts."
Photo: That guy. A photo illustration
of the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS
Cesar Chavez (T-AKE 14). Chavez served in the Navy from 1944-1946 and
became a civil rights activist and a leader in the American labor
movement. Cesar Chavez will serve as a combat logistics force ship
delivering ammunition, food, fuel and other dry cargo to U.S. and allied
ships at sea. (U.S. Navy photo illustration by Mass Communication
Specialist Jay M. Chu/Released via Wikipedia Commons).
If you appreciate reading posts on Bluestem Prairie, consider making a donation via paypal:
During last fall's debate over the amendment to restrict the freedom to marry, one of the spokesters for Minnesota for Marriage (M4M) compared the tactics of Vote No supporters with Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime. M4M quickly repudiated the claim, but has revived the trope in news materials for April 7 church-based organizing.
The coalition that advocated last year for a constitutional amendment
banning same-sex marriage in Minnesota has continued to fight as
legislators now consider a marriage equality bill. The so-called “Minnesota for Marriage” coalition is urging pastors to use their sermon on April 7 to take a stand against same-sex marriage, and the provided materials — a “Sermon starter,”
accompanying PowerPoint presentation, and bulletin insert — are
gratuitously anti-gay. Notably, one passage not only condemns gay people
as having a chosen behavior, but then compares the LGBT movement to
Nazis for peddling untruths:
Third, there is a definitive problem. Homosexuals claim:
“We were born this way; it is in our genes; God made us gay.” They cite
old “gay gene” studies predominantly conducted by researchers who are
homosexuals; studies that have been repudiated by credible research.
Yet these same biased and discredited studies have been widely
publicized by the liberal media as true and factual. They
essentially practice Joseph Goebel’s Nazi philosophy of propaganda,
which is basically this: Tell a lie long enough and loud enough and
eventually most mindless Americans will believe it. . . .
. . . To sum up: LGBT activists use Nazi propaganda techniques, homosexuality
is comparable to promiscuity, adultery, and pedophilia, and gays are
sinners who have “perverted and twisted desires.”
What's just as awful is M4M forgetting about its own arguments--and apologies--last fall. A backgrounder issued today by Minnesotans United cites three instances of M4M rejecting the Nazi tactic analogy:
Parrish, publicly apologized for Rev. Brandon’s comments: “I apologize that it wandered off in this direction… It’s clearly not what we are talking about in this campaign,” and furthermore that Rev. Brandon’s comments were “not representative about how we feel about the other side.” (Star Tribune).
Additionally, WCCO reported that “A spokeswoman for Minnesota For Marriage said the group doesn’t support Brandon’s statements.” Autumn Leva – who still serves as a spokesperson for Minnesota for Marriage and is registered in Minnesota as a lobbyist on behalf of that organization – said in October 2012 that “We’ve since, very seriously, discussed this with Pastor Brandon, and explained… drawing an analogy to Hitler and Nazi Germany isn’t the right way to go.”
In that same report from WCCO, Pastor Brandon’s apology included the following: “it was a terrible mistake to even mention Nazism in an attempt to illustrate my point, and I fully understand why many found it to be offensive. I sincerely apologize for making this very inapt reference. In no way was I attempting to equate the marriage debate with Nazism and I profoundly apologize to anyone who felt that was my objective.”
But Nazi analogies weren't the only arguments M4M rejected in 2012 that are picked up in the group's new material. There's that verse from Levitcus, for instance.
The Leviticus hacking flap: that was then, this is now
Think Progress also notes that M4M's April 7 materials cite Scripture that condemn same-sex attraction.
In the "Sermon Starter" by Dr. Kenyn Cureton, there's also this:
Second, there is a deceptive perversion of the divine pattern. Hear me: Any and all sexual sin outside of the marriage covenant relationship is a deceptive perversion of the divine pattern, but for the purposes of this message I want to focus on one sin in particular: homosexuality. The Word of God, which does not err, is abundantly clear. Leviticus 18:22 says: “You are not to sleep with a man as with a woman; it is detestable.” Leviticus 20:13a says: “If a man sleeps with a man as with a woman, they have both committed an abomination...” Homosexuality is an abomination to God. This is the strongest biblical word for the denunciation of sin, the proof of which is in the account of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were destroyed in
a hail of fire and brimstone (Gen. 19).
Note the how that verse is now 20:13a and there's an ellipsis, meaning that some text is being left out. There's a rich backstory in M4M's recent social media experience stemming from a surprise Facebook posting of that verse.
Just last week the Minnesota Council of “Respectful Conversations Project” to encourage civil religious dialogue about this fall’s vote on an Amendment to limit the freedom to marry.
About nine hours ago (and counting) this quote was posted on the
Facebook page of Minnesota for Marriage, the campaign supporting the
Amendment:
“If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does
with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be
put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.”
~Leviticus 20:13
Jeremy Hooper has a screen shot here. While they’re still up, go ahead and read the comment thread.
Andy Parrish, the spokesman for Minnesota for Marriage, claims in a tweet:
My Twitter, Facebook, @gmail.com @me.com were all hacked and garbage was posted on the MInnesota For Marriage FB. I won’t be intimidated.
It’s curious that, although all of his accounts were hacked, only the Facebook page got the Leviticus love.
But, wait a minute – is Parrish saying that some quotes from the Bible are garbage?
Now that we can agree that the Bible and Leviticus in particular can
be used to justify all sorts of stuff we might today consider “garbage” —
maybe now we can begin that respectful dialogue?
Isn't that nice? Surely, comparing gay marriage advocates to Nazis and citing homicidal scripture will surely help the conservative party brand recover from its current market position as the enclave of scary old guys. We feel for our conservative young friends, most of whom support marriage freedom.
The long arc of backstory on the flaming lavender stormtroopers of love
Back when he was appearing on the National Organization For Marriage's summer tour, this site dug up audio
in which Pastor and local radio host Brad Brandon compared
"Satan-influenced" gays to alcoholics, pedophiles, and Hitler, before
then saying that we have to "get [gays] saved and get 'em out of that
lifestyle." Audio that our pals at Think Progress then put into a handy
YouTube video:
Good As You went on:
So I have to wonder:why is the Minnesota for Marriage campaign, an
effort supposedly focused only on civil marriage, compensating this same
Brad Brandon to the tune of $3,000?
So not only do we have yet another example of a campaign against
civil marriage thumbing its nose at any separation between personal
faith views and shared public policy, but here we have it coming from a
person who leaves not one shred doubt about where he stands on gays
(like alcoholics and pedophiles) or what his endgame his (getting gays
"out of that lifestyle"). This is what MN For Marriage is recruiting!!
Then again, this Minnesota fight is one that has roots in Michele Bachmann, someone who has said homosexuality is "part of Satan I think" and compares lawmakers who don't support marriage amendments to soldiers who missed Pearl Harbor's warning signs. Perhaps the bigger surprise would be them confining this conversation to the civil policy realm where it belongs.
Go check it out, and google a bit yourself. Bran Brandon should be no
stranger to the Twin Cities media or local socially conservative
Republicans. Back in 2010, Hart van Denbrug wrote Rev. Brad Brandon wants his GOP endorsements to be tax exempt.
Moreover, M4M communications director Chuck Darrell also knows
Brandon's history of making controversial statements about gay folk
assaulting his sensibilities. Andy Birkey reported in Pastor says Minnesota gays teach kids how to masturbate:
In one of the more bizarre speeches at the Minnesota Family Council’s
rally for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, Hastings
Pastor Brad Brandon said he saw “homosexuals” teaching children how to
masturbate in the rotunda at the State Capitol a few weeks ago. A check
of news clips and Capitol schedules by TheColu.mn did not turn up any
such event.
Brandon, a young pastor from the Hastings area, was among several
dozen people who showed up for the rally on Thursday afternoon. He fired
up the crowd by saying that homosexuals teach kids to masturbate.
“We as Christians, as followers of the lord Jesus Christ, we need to
be bold in such a time as this,” he said. “This is an assault on our
culture and I don’t think god takes it very lightly when we mess with
the image of Jesus Christ.
. . . .Brandon’s was among several other speeches at the Capitol. Here are some highlights.
The Minnesota Family Council’s communications director, Chuck
Darrell: “God’s design is for marriage between a man and a woman.” . . .
Photo: Not only are LGBTQ folk not nazis, they were among the victims of Hitler's most inhumane policies; the story of the pink triangle relates and
commemorates this chapter in LGBTQ history. In recent Minnesota
history, the pink triangle also played a part in the retirement of
Representative Arlon Lindner.
If you appreciate reading posts on Bluestem Prairie, consider making a donation via paypal:
LSP "sand lady" on Minnesota Public Radio's Daily Circuit Monday 3/25, 9:06 a.m.
MPR's Daily Circuit outlines issues related to industrial sand mining in Debate continues on frac sand mining's health, environmental impact, but if you want to get the good stuff, tune in to MPR at 9:06 a.m. on Monday, March 25 to listen to Land Stewardship policy organizer Johanna Rupprecht talk about frac sand.
"You
can farm the same land over and over but once you mine it, it's gone," a
Wisconsin woman told filmmaker Jim Tittle. Born and raised on a farm
that's been in her family for generations, she represents one of the
positions explored in his documentary, The Price of Sand, which
focuses on Wisconsin conflict over silica mines, small towns and money —
a conflict now playing out in southeastern Minnesota and in the
Minnesota legislature.
The Price of Sand, an
independently produced documentary examining the human and environmental
costs of silica (frac) sand mining, was shown at an advance screening
in Red Wing, Minnesota on March 22. The film, which offers a broad
overview of some of the tough issues facing rural communities threatened
by mining in the Upper Midwest, played to a packed audience at the
Sheldon Theatre.
The Price of Sand will be screened in St. Paul
on March 28, 7:00 p.m. at the Grandview Theater. A Q & A session
with film director, Jim Tittle is scheduled after the screening. The
documentary was selected for the MSP Film Festival in April and more
screenings along with a DVD release will be coming soon. For more
information about The Price of Sand, go to www.thepriceofsand.com.
Jim
Tittle, the film's director, spoke at a Q & A session afterwards
along with Minnesota State Senator Matt Schmit (DFL, Red Wing), and Jody
McIlrath, representative for Save the Bluffs, a grass-roots
organization based in Red Wing, Minnesota.
Tittle, a videographer by profession, started working on The Price of Sand
two years ago after learning that an oil company had purchased land
close to his mother's home in Hay Creek Township, south of Red Wing,
Minnesota. Initially puzzled by the deal, Tittle soon discovered the
company wasn't interested in oil but in silica (frac) sand, a commodity
widely used by the oil and gas industry for the hydraulic-fracturing (or
fracking) of shale and found in abundance in the blufflands of western
Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, and northeastern Iowa. Concerned
about what this might hold for the future of his hometown, Tittle began
digging deeper into the subject and produced a series of YouTube videos
featuring interviews with people living next door to mining operations
across the river in western Wisconsin. These interviews became the
foundation for his film.
Tittle carefully builds an argument against the sudden industrialization of small, close-knit agricultural communities in The Price of Sand.
Over the course of the documentary, we meet the beleaguered residents
of New Auburn, Knapp, Alma, McGregor, Maiden Rock, and Chippewa Falls.
In the tiny village of Tunnel City, Wisconsin, the Connecticut-based,
multi-national corporation, Unimin is constructing a 500-acre, open pit
sand mine. One of its neighbors, an unfortunate woman who lives with her
young family directly across the street from the mine, tells us it will
operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and there's nothing she can
do about it. Like so many people Tittle interviewed in Wisconsin, she
feels not only helpless but abandoned by public officials who would
prefer to look the other way rather than challenge the status quo and
restrict mining activities through zoning. Another unhappy resident sums
the dilemma up nicely saying, "we place a high value on our freedom and
these companies take advantage of that."
Beautifully shot and edited, The Price of Sand
presents a cautionary tale for Minnesotans currently debating the issue
of whether to regulate mining at the state and local level. The film
begins and ends with a long sequence of aerial shots revealing
wide-spread devastation caused by open pit mining. Throughout the
documentary, one person after another speaks out on such difficult and
thorny topics as the influence of big money on local politics; economic
hardship and the promise of jobs; gag orders and media buzz; and the
inevitable conflicts that arise when corporate interests compete for an
unfair share of the pie in rural communities vulnerable to exploitation –
all topics relevant for a discussion of Tittle's leading question: What
is the true price of sand?
During the Q & A session after
the screening, Senator Matt Schmit (DFL, Red Wing) announced that a bill
he recently introduced in the Minnesota state legislature calling for
more stringent controls on silica sand mining had passed committee
deadlines and would be brought before the Minnesota House and Senate for
further discussion. When asked if he backed Governor Mark Dayton's
stated opposition to a proposed moratorium on mining, Schmit said he
would continue to push for a one-year moratorium and supports an
extension of a rule permitting the Environmental Quality Board to
continue studying the issues.
Carol Inderieden is a writer and photographer from the Twin Cities area living in western Wisconsin.
This post was original published at the Twin Cities Daily Planet; published with permission via our content exchange agreement.
A friend in Southeastern Minnesota sends along an email invitation from the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce to a lunch event on Friday, March 22: "What the Frac?"
While the title of the gathering is by no means original, it's definitely an occasion to ask "What the Frac?"
Here's the text:
What the Frac?
Mining in Minnesota: Economic Opportunity, Environmental Challenge or Both?
What's the big deal about frac (silica) sand mining? Some see opportunity: we have the sand, companies want to mine it and people need jobs. Others worry it's a health hazard, damages the environment and leads to costly road repairs. Join us as we hear from the experts about this hot button issue and what it may mean for southeastern Minnesota, our communities, and you. We'll also weigh in on the intriguing debate over the potential new copper mine in northern Minnesota.
Panelists: Vern Baker, President: Twin Metals Dave Christianson, Project Manager: Minnesota Department of Transportation Jeff Broberg, Geologist: McGhie & Betts Dennis Egan, Exec. Director: Minnesota Industrial Sand Council
Back in high school when Bluestem's editor was earningher double-ruby from the National Forensics League, she learned that debate involved two sides of an issue.
But perhaps, like the "new energy revolution" that involves digging up or breaking everything, we're playing by different rules--a "new debate revolution." Let's take a look at the players.
Dave Christianson famously participated an industrial sand mining "community" forum organized by Red Wing mayor Dennis Egan after the November election. As Rob Meyer wrote in his letter to the editor, Our voices silenced at frac forum:
. . .Unfortunately what the public received from the panel of “experts”
was a lot of propaganda that was long on language and short on solid
answers leaving little time for audience participation. Just another
well-rehearsed play written by the oil and gas industry.
Dave
Christianson, from Minnesota Department of Transportation, acted as the
industry’s best sales rep as he jovially mentioned how much money his
high school buddy is making off of sand mining. . . .
It's no wonder that Rochester-based development company McGhie &
Betts representative Jeff Broberg was booed by the crowd that packed the
a Winona County Planning Commission meeting Thursday night.
Broberg’s time at the podium eventually caused contention, and after
he was challenged to stick to the recommended two-minute time limit, he
responded:
“As the applicant’s representative, I have a higher level of rights on these issues,” Broberg said.
The crowd booed.
With the event costing $25 for chamber members, and $25 for nonmembers, we doubt there will be any of that.
Speaking of higher level of rights, the mayor of Fracsandville himself is on the docket, though billed by his proper lobbyist title, although he's still Red Wing mayor until April 1st. Perhaps he'll mention the City of Red Wing's resolution supporting a GEIS and one-year moratorium. Or maybe discuss the ethics of mining.
Former Red Wing resident Jim Tittle received a call from his mother
two years ago that an open-pit frac sand mine was being considered for
the Hay Creek bluffs south of the city.
“It really threw me for a loop,” said Tittle, who remembered the area well from his youth.
The curious Tittle set off with a video camera to research the issue of
frac sand mining. His work culminated into the documentary film “The
Price of Sand,” premiering Friday March 22 at the Sheldon Theatre in Red
Wing.
The documentary film will also be screened at the Grandview Theater, 1830 Grand Avenue, in St. Paul on March 28, 7:00 p.m.
Brun describes the film-making process:
The documentary features interviews with people on both sides of the
frac sand debate, from displaced homeowners to drivers who found work
with mining companies. The goal of the film was to raise awareness of
the human impact of frac sand mining, Tittle said.
“I want people
to see other peoples’ stories,” Tittle said. “Wherever I could find a
person affected by this, I’d go there and talk to them.”
Tittle
first traveled to mines in Le Sueur County and western Wisconsin,
resulting in a series of YouTube videos that garnered more than 10,000
views in the summer of 2011. But he did not stop there.
“I came
to realize I could either make more YouTube videos or explore the issue
deeper,” Tittle said — and explore he did. Over the next 15 months he
would travel the region interviewing people for a full-length
documentary.
Tittle crowdsourced some of the production costs. Read the whole story at the Republican Eagle.
Here's the freshly edited trailer:
Photo: Bird's eye view of a Wisconsin sand mind. Photo by Jim Tittle. Used with permission.
If you appreciate reading posts on Bluestem Prairie, consider making a donation via paypal:
Representative Mary Franson makes no secret of her low regard for unions, despite her union leader grandfather. From the attacks on her Family Freedom Act website to her attacks on her 2012 opponent, a retired coach, as "Big Labor Bob," she's against them.
As a former home child care provider, she has ridden point against an organizing drive by AFSCME and SEIU to organize daycares.
But we've never seen her tear up while she's tearing up. We probably would too if we thought the DFL was destroying the world as we know it.
Although it was billed as a legislative town hall meeting, a Friday
gathering in Alexandria felt more like a political platform for
Republican leaders to analyze the DFL’s recent proposals. . . .
A former child care provider, Franson was visibly distraught over the issue.
“I’m just very emotional today because the Democrats are just destroying this state,” she said through tears.
Franson
said child care providers should have the right to run their business
without a union, to choose to be privatized and receive the subsidy.
But it isn't the DFL coming after your children that has Franson distraught; it's also the drive of home health care aides to organize that's bothering her:
“The union is going to denigrate the child care system as we know
it,” she said. “It doesn’t stop with the unions; they’re going after our
disabled people also.”
Franson said it is not only child care
subsidies that are affected. The money available for care of disabled
people will be cut as well.
It's a troubling result to this difficult legislative session," said
Steve Larson, the public policy director at The Arc Minnesota. The
budget outlook for disabled people barely improved despite intense
lobbying from his organization. Larson estimates there are at least $170
million dollars in cuts to waiver and home care programs that serve
people with disabilities, including a pay cut that targets personal care
attendant services provided by non-legally responsible relatives.
"Some of our lowest paid health care
workers that do a tremendous job are now going to have to take a 20
percent cut," Larson said.
The budget included a 1.5 percent across-the-board cut for all health
care funded by Medical Assistance, Minnesota’s Medicaid plan. In
addition, several targeted cuts reduced payments for particular
populations. The most unfair of these was a 20 percent cut for personal
care assistants who provide services to a relative, which goes into
effect on October 1. According to the law, “relative means the parent or
adoptive parent of an adult child, a sibling aged 16 years or older, an
adult child, a grandparent, or a grandchild.”
For example, a PCA providing care to a relative for $10 per hour will
probably be earning $8 under the lower reimbursement rate, while other
PCAs with the same amount of experience at the same agency will continue
to earn $10. In addition, the agencies that employ these critical
caregivers will have to find other ways to cut costs, since their
reimbursement rate will be cut by significantly more than $2 an hour for
PCAs who are related to their clients.
Home care workers seeking the right to form a statewide union
applauded Monday’s decision by the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruling
that a 2011 provision ordering that people who care for elderly or
disabled relatives receive 20 percent less pay than their non-relative
counterparts is unconstitutional and violates the Equal Protection
Clause of the Minnesota Constitution.
Just weeks after going into effect in October, 2011, the provision
was challenged in court and blocked for months by a temporary
restraining order before being upheld in March by Ramsey County District
Court Judge Dale Lindman. It was then delayed by the legislature and
would have gone into effect again on July 1, 2013
Indeed, the cuts are one the reason for coming together, organizers say, as are low pay and no benefits.
But Mary Franson was pleased with slicing the health and human services budget, as she wrote her August 2011 piece, It’s the Spending Stupid:
The fact that we were able to turn Health and Human Services from a
projected growth of over 22% and bend the curve down to less than 5% is
impressive in itself. Even still, Minnesota has a spending problem NOT a
revenue problem and it needs to be seriously addressed.
At the end of the day – we are at war. We are fighting an ideological war. . . .
Apparently, it's ok to slash pay for some of the state's hardest workers in low-paying jobs. But should they organize so that they might avoid the whims of budget battles?
Mary Franson will cry you a river.
Photo: Representative Mary Franson at an anti-union event.
If you appreciate reading posts on Bluestem Prairie, consider making a donation via paypal:
Minnesota's spring may be sweeter for all loving couples as marriage equality gains traction across party lines, but storm warnings loom on the horizon.
The
National Organization for Marriage says it will spend $500,000 to
defeat any Republican legislator who votes to legalize gay marriage in
Minnesota.
On the flip side, the group also pledged to support any Democrat who votes against the measure.
NOM specifically targeted Sen. Branden Petersen, R-Andover, in its
announcement on Monday, Feb. 25. Petersen said last week he would sign
on to a bill that would legalize marriage in the state.
“Republicans like Branden Petersen don’t realize that not only is
voting to redefine marriage a terrible policy, it is also a
career-ending vote for a Republican,” said NOM president Brian Brown in a
statement. “NOM will do everything in our power to defeat any
Republican who votes in favor of same-sex marriage.”
Petersen will not be bullied:
“Regardless
of the amount, whether it’s $500,000 or $50 million, my vote is not
going to bought either way. I’m going to do what’s right,” Petersen
said. “If they want to throw away $500,000 then that’s their decision.”
While the young Andover Republican may be the only Republican co-author so far, he's not the only prominent Minnesota Republican speaking out for the freedom to marry. Former RNC member and state auditor Pat Anderson writes in A GOP activist in support of same-sex marriage in Minnesota:
. . . I applaud Republican State Sen. Branden Petersen
for expressing his support of legislation that would extend the basic
freedom to marry to same-sex couples in Minnesota, and I urge other
Republican legislators and Minnesotans to join him.
I have been involved at nearly every level of Republican politics
for more than two decades. I deeply believe in our party's core
principles, and I want to see the Republican Party succeed. It is for
that reason that I feel compelled to speak out and urge other Minnesota
Republicans to follow Sen. Petersen's leadership. . . .
Read the rest of her column at the Pioneer Press. From Minnesotans United:
Tomorrow
morning, Wednesday, February 27, legislative leaders will announce legislation to
grant same-sex couples the freedom to marry in Minnesota. The bipartisan
legislation, co-authored by Republican
Senator Branden Petersen, will be formally introduced on Thursday.
The introduction of this historic legislation comes on the heels of the Freedom
to Marry Day rally on February 14, when more than 2,000 Minnesotans packed into
the State Capitol Rotunda in support of marriage for same-sex couples. Faith
leaders – who are now joining with business leaders and legislators – led that
rally and are now calling on the Legislature to change state law this year to
ensure that all Minnesota families are able to protect and care for each other
through marriage.
Bill authors including Senator Scott
Dibble and Representatives Karen
Clark and Steve Simon speak
tomorrow about the importance of passing this legislation in 2013. They will be
joined by United Church of Christ Minnesota Conference Minister Reverend Karen Smith
Sellers, Rabbi Michael Latz of Shir Tikvah Congregation, and Minnesota families
and children who will positively benefit from having the same freedom to marry
as anyone else.
Minnesotans United head Richard Carlbom told the Pioneer Press:
“Leaders who help secure the freedom to marry will be rewarded by voters – just like in every other state.”
Photo: Sen. Branden Petersen and his children (above) MN United director Richard Carlbom pledging allegiance
to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for
which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all (below). Via Star Tribune.
If you enjoyed reading this post, consider giving a donation via paypal:
The
mining industry and the powerful 49ers Local of the International
Union of Operating Engineers (IUOP), on the other hand, oppose new rules
in the bill, as well as language enabling a Generic Environmental
Impact Statement (GEIS), having testified that the industry is heavily regulated as it is.
The
editorial board of the Mankato Free Press--publishing in the hometown
of co-sponsor Kathy Sheran (DFL-Mankato)--has come out in favor of the
strategy embodied in the bill in today's editorial: Review sand mining regulations.
All of the statements, opinions, and views expressed on this site by Sally Jo Sorensen are solely her own, save when she attributes them to other sources.
The opinions, statements, and views of contributing writers are their own.
Sorensen, editor and proprietor of Bluestem Prairie, served as a New Media training and strategy consultant for the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party from October 2009 through mid-April 2010. She now serves clients in the business and nonprofit sectors.
Recent Comments