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.
A new bill would make "Minnesota Blue" by Keith Haugen our state poem. Bluestem objects on aesthetic grounds, while a student critic, Joshua Preston, praises the text as a post-modern masterpiece.
UPDATE:The Star Tribune reports that the prime mover for having this unknown song become the state poem seems to be the songwriter himself:
Anderson admits that he hasn't read any poetry since college. He introduced the bill at the request of a constituent who had been approached by Haugen.
That's just gross self-promotion--let's hope the state removes Haugen's verse from the state symbol page.
As a poem, none dare say it's weak stuff, and none seem to have asked the basic journalistic questions: Who the hell is Keith Haugen and where the heck did "Minnesota Blue" come from? A poetry collection? An radio show host's collection? A placemat at Perkins?
He doesn't share Bruce Anderson's conservative politics either. The one Minnesota specific issue Haugen mentions on Facebook is the wolf hunt; as a child he saw frozen wolves piled up for the bounty and can't imagine why people would want to kill the creature. The rest of the songwriter's politics are pro-woman, pro-choice, pro-gun regulation, pro-immigrant, pro-veteran, anti-war.
Minnesota Blue is on a page of "Hawaiian Song Lyrics" linked to the Haugens' Hawaiian Songs website. Aside from the question of geography, the identification of the verse as song lyrics explains something of the "poem's" literary weaknesses. As poem, the meter is loose and the rhymes forced, and the natural history (bears "rule the earth in the Red River Valley") a tad hazy.
Since Haugen's lyrics aren't exceptional as poetry, or even as song (and we do have a state song already), Bluestem wonders why we'd need to go across the Pacific for a song as state poem. This is a state, after all, brimming with talented poets and songwriters.
Bluestem can remember a time when the fields, forests and streets teemed so thick with poets that the op-ed pages of the Star Tribune published commentary urging the establishment of a Poetry Reserve Program patterned after popular farm program of the time. The state would gather excess poems, store them in grain bins while asking poets to cease production, then dole out surplus poems to idle writers, who could edit or publish the manuscripts as they saw fit.
Surely the state of the Rhymesayers, Prince and Dessa, of Robert Bly and Louise Erdrich, can come up with a better state poem, should those state-based poetry reserves prove exhausted; the DNR and Legacy Commission can review the text for accuracy in flora and fauna.
"Minnesota Blue" was written in 1985 by Cordell Keith Haugen as a
tribute to his native state Minnesota. Mr. Haugen was born and raised in
Northern Minnesota. Although he has lived most of his adult life
elsewhere, the poet/songwriter continues to feel pride when he talks of
the land of sky blue waters. "Minnesota was a great place to grow up,
and remains a wonderful place to raise a family," he says today. "I feel
a sense of pride when I read about surveys which rank the state of my
childhood high in the things that really count -- like education,
quality of living and concern for the environment."
YES! This work of art bears recognition
Sally,
you can't forget that C.K. Haugen's poem is a piece of art. We can
argue over whether Haugen knows anything about anything but such a
reading, I believe, does a disservice to the true literary genius of
"Minnesota Blue." Now please suspend the critical thinking centers of your brain as I elaborate:
When
analyzing a text we should always be cognizant of the narrator's
reliability and this regard Haugen gives us plenty of clues over the
trustworthiness of his narrator. The most striking example of this is
his use of the Spanish sestet (AABCCB), a variation of the sestet used
by Petrarch and Milton. Now this deviation is important because Haugen
is appealing to the authority of the canonical poets while openly
STRAYING from such authority. Without becoming too pedantic, let me just
say that he is effectively telling the reader, "Look at how trustworthy
I am - but not really." This, I believe, best accounts for Haugen's
misunderstanding of ecology. In fact, it's not a misunderstanding at
all: It's a purposeful misunderstanding.
I
am reminded of the Jester's role in much of Shakespeare's work.
Although such characters are dismissed and marginalized for their absurd
natures they often turn out to be the most reasonable voices in the
end. In this reading the jester plays an important role and, against our
expectations, turns out to be the most reliable voice in the whole
play.
So
what does this all mean? WHY are there bears in the Red River
Valley? Think about it. Such a notion goes against our sense of
ecological harmony - it seems unfounded and unreasonable. It seems like a
JOKE.
And that's the whole point, Sally.
That
line is an overt wink to the reader asking them to reevaluate the text
with a new skepticism over the "Reliable Narrator" - we aren't being
sung to by Petrarch or Milton, we're being sung to by a Shakespearean
jester. In this new (de)light we must seek out the truth in what we once
believed was "truthful." Now, at this point I can only offer an
interpretation, but the "Bear in the Valley", in going against our
preconceptions, seems to be a metaphor for discord. If that is the case,
it should really inform our reading of "Minnesota Blue" (a title that
is clearly a reference to Minnesota-native Bob Dylan's 1965 song, "It's
All Over Now, Baby Blue"). There is a lack of harmony in the unreliable
narrator's nostalgic vision of Minnesota. Minnesota is in chaos.
And Haugen is leaving us to ask, "Whose Minnesota?"
A native of Montvideo, MN, Joshua P. Preston is a student at the University of Minnesota- Morris. Chair of the Clean Up the River Environment (CURE) board, he serves as an At-Large State Director for the Minnesota DFL Party. He is responsible for the www.AwfulGiraffes.comwebsite.
Photos: Digging into this issue, Bluestem discovered that Lester, the state soil, isn't on the list of official state symbol, whereas this "poem" is (above);Joshua P. Preston (below)
If you enjoyed reading this post, consider giving a donation via paypal:
Last week, Minnesota learned that the National Republican Congressional Committee had once more ritually named Minnesota's Blue Dog Seventh District Congressman Collin Peterson vulnerable.
Beltrami County was represented during President Obama’s inauguration Monday morning. . . .And yes, that is Jay-Z and his wife Beyoncé standing behind him.
After the photobomb, can a cameo with Peterson's cover band, The Second Amendments, be far behind? Jay-Z did record Collision Course with Linkin Park, so anything is possible. This is America, after all.
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MARRIAGE: Minnesotans for Marriage released a list of seven former DFL Senators that support the Marriage amendment. LIST: Joe Bertram, Paynesville; Mike Menning, Edgerton; Florian Chmielewski, Sturgeon Lake; Jim Vickerman, Tracy; Carl Kroening, Minneapolis; Gene Waldorf, St. Paul.
We have a great deal of respect for Jim Vickerman, an old school prairie populist, who retired after many years of honorable service. Like old-school Northeast Minneaspolis politician Carl Kroening, who retired in 1996, Vickerman opposed the inclusion of gay and lesbians under the state Human Rights Act in 1993 (Donna Halvorsen, "Legislature votes for gay-rights bill; Margin of approval wider than expected with help of some unanticipated IR votes," Star Tribune, March 19, 1993, Nexis All-News, accessed October 25, 2012).
But the rest of that crew? What is the archbishop paying for? And aren't conservatives against scouring cemeteries for votes? This is a political graveyard, and Bluestem isn't sure that some of them are buried in sacred ground.
Let's work down the list. Joe Bertram left the senate after a scandal. The Paynesville Press reported in Six biggest stories of 1996:
1) The Bertram brothers, Joe and Jeff, were both called before the
ethics committee in the Minnesota House and Minnesota Senate.
Prior
to Senate Ethic Committee hearings on Jan. 9, Senator Joe Bertram, 41,
resigned his District 14 Senate seat. Local residents testified before
the Senate Ethics Committee on Jan. 3 concerning shoplifting and alleged
bribery charges against Senator Bertram. Senator Bertram pled guilty to
reduced charges of shoplifting in Stearns County District Court on
Sept. 29 but the Senate Ethics Committee wanted to learn more about the
alleged bribe which he had made to Chuck Koshiol, owner of Zapf Leather
and Western Wear, Paynesville.
Following his resignation, Governor
Arne Carlson set Feb. 6 as a special election to fill Bertram’s seat. A
primary election had to be held on Jan. 23 as 10 candidates filed for
his seat. Lynn Schurman, DFL, Cold Spring, and Michelle Fischbach,
R-Paynesville, emerged as the top two candidates in the primary. On Feb.
12, Fischbach was sworn in as the new District 14 Senator after
defeating Schurman 5,800 to 5,457. In the fall general election, the
special election was repeated, Schurman and Fischbach ran again with the
same results. Fischbach won a full term to the Senate.
After almost a year out of the political scene, Bertram is now working for a California legislator. . . .
Like Vickerman and Kroening, Bertram voted against the inclusion of gay and lesbians under the state Human Rights Act in 1993.
Florian Chmielewski, who also voted against treating LGBTQ people as people? Wikipedia tells us:
In 1996, Chmielewski became embroiled in the "phonegate" scandal. It was
revealed that Chmielewski had given family members state long-distance
access codes, allowing them to make phone calls at state expense.
Chmielewski was ultimately defeated for re-election in 1996, after
pleading guilty to a misdemeanor.[2]
Former state senator Becky Lourey defeated Chmielewski in the 1996 primary.
How about the rest? Although former Governor Carlson, a Republican, has taken to endorsing DFLers, he hasn't run under the banner of another party. Not so with this crew.
After his service in the legislature concluded, Menning switched political parties, leaving the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in 1983 to become a member of the Republican Party of Minnesota. In 1986, he campaigned for the Republican endorsement for governor.[4] However, the party’s endorsement eventually went to fellow southwest Minnesota resident Cal Ludeman of Tracy. Menning subsequently threw his support to Ludeman,[5] who lost the November general election to popular incumbent governor Rudy Perpich.
There also seems to be a change of address:
Putting politics aside, Menning eventually left Minnesota, moving to Salt Lake City, Utah with his family, where he served as pastor of the Mountain Springs Community Church for five years,[8][9] also continuing his work with Friendship Ministries. He also heads Global Partners, Inc., an area charitable organization.[10]
Gene Waldorf represented part of St. Paul in the Legislature from 1977 to 1993, before retiring to Grey Eagle.
Now Waldorf has shed his longtime DFL affiliation — a response, he said Sunday, to the recent actions of Democrats in Congress. . . .
Waldorf considers himself a conservative; he wants to end
congressional earmarks and limit federal spending. But Waldorf says he
never considered becoming a Republican because they also spent
irresponsibly when they controlled Congress.
When former Congressman Tim Penny is brought up, his switch to the Independence Party is reported, as it is part of the record. Ditto with Senator Dean Johnson, who left the Republican Party after being censured by his local BPOU for supporting inclusion of LGBT people in Minnesota's human rights.
Although MNCD7 Republican congressional candidate Lee Byberg pitch his "Freedom Chorus" concert with singer Lee Greenwood as a "nonpartisan" event, Sunday night he talked about fundraising and voter indexes to the audience of over 1000.
The Lee Byberg campaign is bringing a “Freedom Chorus” to Alexandria featuring Lee Greenwood.
The
choir is wrapping up its tour with a grand finale event in Alexandria
on October 21, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Lake Geneva Christian Center.
Admission is free.
Byberg, who is making his second bid for U.S.
Congress, said his campaign isn’t sticking to the script of TV ads,
phone calls, and direct mail.
“Yes, we’ll be advertising on TV.
Yes, you’ll hear us on the radio,” said Byberg. “But to really connect
with voters we are going big. We are leading a movement, and the Freedom
Chorus is a celebration of what unites us as Americans.”
Byberg has been able to command more attention this year than in 2010
for a variety of reasons. His name recognition is higher now just
because he’s been in the public eye for so long, but door-knocking and
making speeches is only part of his strategy. He published a book this
year (“Builders of Our Land”), has scheduled a concert with country
music star Lee Greenwood (of “God Bless the USA” fame) in Alexandria,
and, in one of his campaign’s more ambitious efforts, is assembling an
area “mega-choir” of more than 100 District 7 residents to sing hymns
and patriotic songs at a few venues around the area.
“The music is symbolic of us coming together,” he said.
Now that Byberg has a more visible platform, he’s trying as often as
possible to broadcast his message, one of smaller government and
economic encouragement. The best way to increase government revenue, he
said, is by businesses and individuals making more money. . . .
Byberg told the Echo and other venues that the Alex concert is "nonpartisan."
Here's a video of select moments from Byberg's 28 minute or so nonpartisan speech:
A friend who attended the event estimated that 1,000 people attended the Lee Greenwood concert and Not A Partisan political rally. Republican activists estimated 2000 in the crowd. While the event was free, those who attended were given a copy of Byberg's ghost-written book with a contribution envelope inside the front cover.
In addition to Republican Congressional candidate Byberg, Republican state senate candidates Torrey Westrom and Bill Ingebrigtsen, house candidate Mary Franson, and U.S. Senate candidate Kurt Bills.
Photos: Representative Mary Franson and state senator Bill Ingebrigtsen and the event emcee (top); crowd shot (bottom).
MNCD7 Republican challenger Lee Byberg has never been shy about his paid friends in the entertainment business. His FEC reports document that endorser and Valley radio talker Scott Hennen had a most worthy business relationship with Byberg.
The Willmar turkey industry executive is making his second bid against DFL incumbent Blue Dog Collin Peterson.
Political wars are not unprofitable for radio talk show hosts who own consulting services and other living things.
Take Scott Hennen's consulting relationship with Minnesota CD7 endorsed Republican Lee Byberg.According to the latest Byberg filing with the Federal Elections Commission,
Hennen-owned Freedom Force Communications LLC was paid $14,500 in Q2
for media/fundraising ($7000 in April and $3500 in May) and "monthly
website" ($4000 in April).
The haul is declining a bit, however, from earlier quarters.
Bluestem didn't believe that the [Scott Hennen's] endorsement [of Byberg] was bought, but we did wonder what sort of disclosure might be required by Hennen
of the lucrative arrangement between his business and the Byberg
campaign. Hennen is a radio talk show and serves as a frequent speaker
at Republican and Tea Party events. A bit of transparency might help listeners evaluate Hennen's remarks.
The question remains a valid one.[Blogger and Gretchen Hoffman supporter John] Gilmore noted that " Scott Hennen has been paid over $35,000 by candidate Lee Byberg over the last two years."
Now Byberg has a new friend, Lee Greenwood, who's headlining his upcoming concert in Alexandria. There's been some chatter in the media about the appearance. The Alexandria Echo Press reports in Freedom Chorus featuring Lee Greenwood to perform in Alexandria:
The Lee Byberg campaign is bringing a “Freedom Chorus” to Alexandria featuring Lee Greenwood.
The
choir is wrapping up its tour with a grand finale event in Alexandria
on October 21, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Lake Geneva Christian Center.
Admission is free.
Byberg, who is making his second bid for U.S.
Congress, said his campaign isn’t sticking to the script of TV ads,
phone calls, and direct mail.
“Yes, we’ll be advertising on TV.
Yes, you’ll hear us on the radio,” said Byberg. “But to really connect
with voters we are going big. We are leading a movement, and the Freedom
Chorus is a celebration of what unites us as Americans.”
Byberg has been able to command more attention this year than in 2010
for a variety of reasons. His name recognition is higher now just
because he’s been in the public eye for so long, but door-knocking and
making speeches is only part of his strategy. He published a book this
year (“Builders of Our Land”), has scheduled a concert with country
music star Lee Greenwood (of “God Bless the USA” fame) in Alexandria,
and, in one of his campaign’s more ambitious efforts, is assembling an
area “mega-choir” of more than 100 District 7 residents to sing hymns
and patriotic songs at a few venues around the area.
“The music is symbolic of us coming together,” he said.
Now that Byberg has a more visible platform, he’s trying as often as
possible to broadcast his message, one of smaller government and
economic encouragement. The best way to increase government revenue, he
said, is by businesses and individuals making more money. . . .
Byberg told the Echo and other venues that the Alex concert is "nonpartisan." That's surprising, since his campaign committee's latest report shows that Lee Greenwood, Inc. has been paid $8000 for a "solo acoustic performance" for the Rally for America. Presuming that that the sum is the total fee, and not an advance retainer, the money is a reduced rate for Greenberg. The 70-year-old singer's "God Bless The U.S.A." has graced Republican campaigns since the Reagan administration.
Still, the illusion that an event paid by committee fees--with a paid entertainer who is a big-ticket item for a campaign that's over $100,000 in debt--is "nonpartisan" might be put to rest by the media reporting on this campaign event.
Bluestem's loyal friend Ken Avidor passes along news of the circuit-riding "ministry" of Bluestem's most famous local homophobe, toxic rocker Bradlee Dean (he's based in Annandale, not far from Bluestem World Headquarters in sunny Hutchinson).
Recently, Vikes' punter Chris Kluwe made waves weighing in on the pro-gay marriage ballot measure in Maryland; Kluwe is also asking Minnesotans to vote no on our own marriage freedom restriction amendment.
Fwd: Ready to Rally? Help us make a difference for Marriage!
Please mark your calendars for the week of September 26-29. Protect
Marriage Maryland and the Maryland Society of Patriots will be hosting a
rally in 5 different counties to bring awareness to critical issues
that will be on the ballot this November. Come out to hear Christian
rockers & radios hosts, Bradlee Dean
and Jake McMillan (the Sons of Liberty) to hear about the Constitution,
our Christian Heritage, and how to bring the youth into the political
process. . . .
A recent email blast to the Ottawa County Patriots’ mailing list included an eye-catching line.
Junkyard Prophet, a Christian metal band tied to the Annandale, Minn.-based You Can Run, But You Cannot Hide International ministry, would be coming to play a concert this weekend in West Michigan.
....Jim Chiodo, a local Tea Party organizer who
worked to bring Junkyard Prophet to town, [believes] 1,000-plus area
teens will turn out to see the band play and hear its controversial
drummer, Bradlee Dean, give a presentation after the show.
“I will interject only one thing,” Chiodo said, jokingly, before
deferring further comment on the event to You Can Run spokesman Jake
MacAulay. “They better get there early.”
The free, three-hour event is slated for 5 p.m. Saturday at the West Ottawa Performing Arts Center, 1024 136th Ave.
By Chiodo’s estimation, demand for the show will far exceed the
1,000-person limit. Space will be filled on a first-come, first-served
basis.
The $12,000 cost to bring Junkyard Prophet to West Michigan was
largely raised through donations from private individuals and businesses
in the Holland area.. . .
According to the Grand Rapids Press,
sponsors (unnamed) put up $12,000 to bring Bradlee's hate group to play
at the West Ottawa Performing Arts Center Saturday night. However,
there was nothing in the news, blogs or social media about the concert.
So was the concert a success or a flop?
Sunday came and went... crickets. Now it's late afternoon, Monday and we have the answer: Bradlee's concert was a flop.
And how many young people in that nearly empty auditorium? Obviously,
the paunchy middle-aged, tracksuit preacher can't attract the kids as
much as he claims. . . .
Let's hope he's as successful with his new friends in Maryland as he was in Michigan--or with the Minnesota State Legislature.
Photo: Bradlee Dean in Michigan, via Bradlee Dean Info.
Bluestem keeps tabs on tea party chapters in Greater Minnesota so readers don't have to. It's a public service; we wouldn't want families heading out to enjoy the lakes, rivers and prairie suddenly becalmed in a sea of lawn chairs and speeches about the evils of Agenda 21.
Readers should beware of a coming Tea Party "major event" in Alexandria, MN, on September 8 at the Geneva Christian Center. According to a pdf on the Alexandria Lakes Area Tea Party website, a pivotal figure in the movement will appear:
Lloyd Marcus, who calls himself a Proud Unhyphenated American, will be in Alexandria on September 8, 2012, at the Geneva Christian Center at 10 a.m. Lloyd is an Entertainer/Spokesperson/Author/Keynote Speaker and involved in the Tea Party Movement. He will tell you why this coming election is so critical and why he cares!
While Lloyd Marcus is probably not a household name among the hoi polloi, he's a hero among the Tea Party set for writing the American Tea Party Anthem:
Marcus is also the head of a group intended to warm the hearts of non-Obama supporters: The Campaign to Defeat Barack Obama.
Unfortunately, according the CNN report, Conservative group to target Romney, Marcus also once held principled objections to having Mitt Romney become the Republican nominee for president:
"If you support the principles of the Republican Party platform, as I do, then it's important that we make sure the GOP nominates someone who has supported and fought for those principles. On almost every single important issue facing America today, Mitt Romney has fought against conservatives and Republicans. He's been a liberal on fiscal issues, a liberal on social issues, and a liberal on national security issues," says Lloyd Marcus, Chairman of Campaign to Defeat Barack Obama, in a statement to CNN.
Those sentiments earned Marcus a mention on the Maddow Show.
However, being a principled Republican and conservative, Marcus has changed his tune as his options to Defeat Barack Obama narrowed. Just last month, AFP's Michael Mathes reported in US health care ruling fires up Romney camp:
"Perhaps the Supreme Court ruling is a blessing in disguise," said Lloyd Marcus, a blogger for Tea Party Express, an influential group in the conservative tea party movement that advocates smaller government and reduced taxes.
"I believe the Supreme Court ruling in favor of 'Obamacare' will unify a majority of Americans to crawl over broken glass and walk across burning hot coals to vote for Mitt Romney."
As troll connoisseurs, we admire the audacity. But Lloyd Marcus doesn't just punch buttons on the right. Of late, he's been putting out guaranteed troll bait for the left. There's the title of a recent column that would make the Allen Quist of the last century blush with envy, NAACP furthers mission of KKK.
And such content:
In the heat of passion during a radio interview, I said,"The NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus and Democratic Party are more destructive to blacks than the KKK!"
After the radio show, I thought my statement may have been a bit over the top. Upon further thought, I concluded that my statement is true. . . .
Ironically, these particular relatives are the upper-crust of our family; teachers, doctors and ministers. And yet, they think me an Uncle Tom for loving my country and not carrying a NAACP membership card. They think it unfathomable that I, a black person, campaigned against the first black president. I pray for them. They are slaves who are not liberated from the Democrats' tiny black box plantation.
Surely, the family that prays together, stays together, whatever they may think of each other. Marcus's biography notes:
. . .over the past several decades, he has become something of a human lightning rod for almost every political, social, racial, sexual and religious tension in American society.
While some in the Alex Lakes Area may "crawl over broken glass and walk across burning hot coals" to catch Marcus's appearance, we're curious just how many folks right and left will take the bait and get outraged at his "a bit over the top" statements or radical inconsistency on Romney. Now, that's entertainment.
Photo: Representative Michele Bachmann and Lloyd Marcus. Marcus asked his readers "have you seen the shock and awe campaign launched by the liberal media to destroy Bachmann, since officially throwing her hat into the presidential ring a few days ago?" Bluestem suspects that, like Bachmann, Marcus cultivates the shocking and nurtures offended sensibilities all the way to the bank. Or Alexandria, as it may be.
July 2012 Sixth Anniversary Bleg Notice: Like what you're reading on this blog? Help support an independent voice from Greater Minnesota:
In an important new development in Minnesota's evolving frac sand drama, Red Wing beat reporter Brent Boese at the Rochester Post Bulletin reports in Red Wing senator seeks state funding for silica mining study during the coming special session:
While the silica sand issue has been brewing for more than a year in southeast Minnesota, Sen. John Howe, R-Red Wing, is now seeking to make it a statewide discussion.
The first-term senator sent a letter Monday to Gov. Mark Dayton asking that the state conduct a Generic Environmental Impact Statement to help local counties identify and address health and safety concerns related to silica mining. Howe, who represents three of the five counties in the state that have adopted moratoriums on silica mining, has asked that the state provide up to $1 million to the Environmental Quality Board to conduct the GEIS.
"I believe the state should give the counties and townships and municipalities some guidance on dealing with this mining and transportation of silica sand," Howe said Monday evening, noting St. Charles is also his district.
In the event that Dayton calls a special session, Howe hopes his request will be one of the items discussed.
Read the entire article at the Post Bulletin. Boese closes the story by noting that Sig Anderson, an engineer, urged that Howe champion the study. Anderson has a long history of clean energy activism in the Red Wing area, described in detail in the pages of this pdf from the Minnesota Project.
Although an ALEC member, Howe is known for breaking ranks with conservative orthodoxy on local control. A Land Stewardship Project action alert noted his approval of Carla Nelson's amendment that stripped away language to limit local control that was in the Vanderveer bill:
On April 3, the bill weakening local control, Senate File 270, came up on the Senate Floor, met with strong opposition, and failed to pass.
Floor Amendment Strips Out Provisions in the Bill Weakening Local Government Power to Enact a Moratorium Immediately after the bill was brought up, Sen. Carla Nelson (R-Rochester) offered an amendment that removed all the language limiting the ability of local governments to enact a moratorium. This was a change in position for Sen. Nelson, who had voted for the bill in the Senate Local Government Committee earlier in the legislative session. Sen. John Sterling Howe (R-Red Wing) rose in support of the amendment, which then passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 57 to 6 (see vote results below).
Even then the Bill Fails What was left in the bill was language placing restrictions on development agreements between municipalities and developers. Sen. Tony Lourey (DFL-Kerrick) and Sen. John Marty (DFL-Roseville) raised strong concerns with this. Sen. Katie Sieben (DFL-Newport) urged members to vote against the bill. It could not survive its negative reputation and did not get the 34 votes necessary to pass. (Bills need a majority of all 67 Senators to pass. The final vote on the bill was 32 “for” and 31 “against”).
Grassroots Opposition Beat Corporate Special Interests Every step of the way, Senate File 270 met with strong grassroots opposition from citizens, township officers, county commissioners and city officials. They all delivered a version of this message: “Minnesotans value local control and do not want corporate rights to trump community rights.” The bill as introduced dramatically weakened the power of local governments to enact a moratorium. A moratorium allows local governments to quickly put a temporary freeze on major development. This power is essential when the community is caught off-guard by unanticipated and potentially harmful proposals, especially those from corporate interests and outside investors, such as frac sand mines, big box stores like Wal-Mart or a large-scale factory farm.
But there’s a difference between Howe and many of the new hard-line Republicans who now make up a vocal minority of the Senate GOP caucus: Although he’s stuck to his principles, he’s also been willing to compromise, a rare practice for some Capitol politicians.
“Compromise shouldn’t be a dirty word,” Howe said when MinnPost visited him in his district recently. “It’s not about compromising your principles. It’s about standing with your principles and yet achieving a result that you can get done.”
Howe has partnered with DFLers – and pretty much anyone else — in an attempt to help shape several key pieces of legislation passed over the last two years. If not for the realities of political maneuvering, his efforts may have stuck — on the Vikings stadium bill, on Voter ID and on statewide tax policy.
It's hard to say whether Dayton and the legislature will take up this cause; Dayton's new MPCA commissioner has stated that he feels that frac sand mining is no different than traditional gravel and sand pits. If the study is approved, will Howe bird-dog it to make sure the best interests of his constituents are represented--and will he have the clout to rein in energy and mining special interests?
Whatever the case, a start in the right direction.
But the whinging about poor Nick Espinosa as an obscure subject of desire doesn't come until late in the podcast. When Bluestem was asked by friends to listen to the podcast, we noticed something even more striking about Emmer and Davis's lamentations about the tonal horrors of contemporary political discourse.
To prove their points--and then to bash unions while calling for right-to-work-legislation to be passed in Minnesota--Emmer and Davis played a doctored tape of a speech by International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Jim Hoffa. By leaving out references to voting, what was Hoffa's call to the ballot box in November 2012 becomes instead a call to violence.
Here is a transcript of Hoffa’s entire speech on Monday:
“Are there any Teamsters in the house? This is Motown, but today, this is union town. We are union, we are workers. That is the message that we send today, and that is the message that we send to America.
There is a war on workers. You see it everywhere: It is in the unemployment, it is in the Tea Party, it is in the people that fight what we believe in. And we see the war in Wisconsin where they try to take collective bargaining from our public employees. We took two senate seats back, we are taking Wisconsin back.
That’s number one. Number two, in Ohio, we are fighting a battle there with regard to taking away collective bargaining. We will beat SB5. We’ve got a million signatures. We are going to win in Ohio — that is our number two. And in Michigan, they are thinking about right to work. It ain’t going to happen in Michigan. No way.
We have to keep an eye on the battle we face — a war on workers. And you see it everywhere there is the Tea Party. And you know there is only one way to beat and win that war.
The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what, they’ve got a war, they’ve got a war with us and there is only going to be one winner. It is going to be the workers of Michigan and America – we are going to win that war. All the way.
But it starts with your involvement, it starts with next November. We’ve got a bunch of people there that don’t’ want the president to succeed, and they are called the Tea Party – the people who don’t want him to do anything right and he is working hard for us.
President Obama is frustrated by what’s going on. Well, guess what, we’ve got the vote. And the answer to what we say is, we remember in November. We will beat the Tea Party and give this country back to workers and America. We can do it together.”
We’ve also got to talk about jobs. I get so tired about people who …(inaudible) these big corporations that send our jobs to Mexico, they send our jobs to China, and they’ve got the audacity to say ‘where are the jobs?’
Well I’ve got news for you. It’s time to bring those jobs back to America and bring America back to work. That’s what we’ve got to do.
We are going to hear from President Obama in a few minutes, and I am so glad that he has come to Michigan because this is where he sees the real America. He looks out on this army of people and you know what I say? President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. President Obama, we want one thing: Jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs…(The crowd joins the chant.)
That’s what we are going to tell America…..When he sees what we are doing here, he will be inspired, but he needs help. And you know what? Everybody here has got a vote. If we go back, we keep the eye on the prize, lets take these sons-of-bitches out and give America back to America where we belong.”
Some excerpts from the speech are found at ABCNews.com [link here] in which it's obvious that he's talking about working people will "take these sons-of-bitches out" of office via petition and the ballot box. [Update] Moreover, it's not unusual for campaigns to be compared to war; indeed conservative bagman Charles Koch recently compared the 2012 election to the Iraq War. [end update]
Fox Then Aired Clearly Edited Video Of Hoffa's Comments. Approximately 20 minutes after Henry's initial report on Hoffa's comments, Fox News' Megyn Kelly reported that Hoffa had issued "a pretty harsh attack on the tea party and Republicans. Here's some of that now." Fox News then aired a clearly edited version of Hoffa's speech:
HOFFA: We gotta keep an eye on the battle that we face: a war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there's only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what, they got a war, they got a war with us, and there's only gonna be one winner. It's gonna be the workers of Michigan and America. We're gonna win that war.
[...]
HOFFA: President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march.
[...]
HOFFA: Let's take these son of a bitches out and give America back to America where we belong! Thank you very much! [Fox News, America Live, 9/5/11]
Blakeman: "I Think It's Thuggery At Its Best." After she aired the clearly edited version of Hoffa's remarks, Kelly asked Republican consultant Brad Blakeman to respond. He said, "I think it's thuggery at its best" and "these are the kind of remarks you'd expect out of Tony Soprano, not a union president." Blakeman further said: "When a union president says, 'let's take these son of a bitches out,' it usually means somebody's legs are going to get broken, somebody's going to disappear." [Fox News, America Live, 9/5/11] . . .
It's that sort of discourse Emmer and Davis decry; sadly, they don't seem to know what Hoffa really said. There's no evidence of due dilgence, just two guys repeating a something they heard because it supports a talking point the political agenda they support: passing right-to-work laws.
Willful misinterpretation of Hoffa or just convenient laziness in failing to do the due diligence of checking a tape for accuracy? Does it matter?
The blather about the doctored audio Emmer and Davis bloviate over brought to mind words about voting by another famous Detroit native, pop star Eminem. In 2004, he urged Americans to good to their polling places, knowing that his call for a fight would be taken the wrong way. He wrote in Mosh:
I scrutinize every word, memorize every line I spit it once, refuel and re-energize and rewind I give sight to the blind, my insight through the mind I exercise my right to express when I feel it's time It's just all in your mind, what you interpret it as I say to fight, you take it as I'mma whip someone's ass If you don't understand, don't even bother to ask
Just in case people were confused about what it means to speak and be heard in this country, the artist had a video made. It's dated and it's a different election, but by the end, it's clear what process Eminem is talking about. It's what Hoffa was talking about. Voting, dudes, but perhaps Emmer and Davis didn't hear that part.
A small item at the bottom of Queen Miranda reigns over WE Fest, an article in the DL-Online about the annual country music gathering:
* WE Fest has some friends in high places. Rep. Collin Peterson from Minnesota’s Seventh Congressional District, which includes Moorhead and Detroit Lakes, was out here Friday. Apparently Peterson is a country music fan and a regular at the annual event. Festival owner Rand Levy said Peterson and Minn. Sen. Al Franken wrote letters supporting Levy’s offer to hold a future Farm Aid concert, organized by Willie Nelson, one of Friday’s performers. This year’s Farm Aid will be held in Kansas City. [link added] The event has never been held in Minnesota.
Nero fiddled as Rome burned. Tuesday night, Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson struck a few hot licks on his electric guitar ahead of a potential government shutdown. . . .
Finally, it was time to rock and roll with The Second Amendments, Peterson’s band. In the spirit of collegiality, the players included the cowboy-booted, neatly coiffed Peterson, a blue dog Democrat, on guitar and vocals, conservative Michigan Republican Rep. Thad McCotter on guitar, Tennessee freshman Republican Rep. Steve Fincher on bass and former Missouri Republican Rep. Kenny Hulshof on drums and vocals.
The set list included everything from Del Shannon to the Eagles as House Minority whip Steny Hoyer, among others, swayed to the tunes.
But it was hard to escape politics or the farm bills hammered out in the committee room in the shadow of the Capitol. As the band wrapped up a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar,” Hulshof asked Peterson, “Brown sugar, does that get a government subsidy?”
The jokes are bad enough, and there were tears from the current speaker:
Here stood John Boehner, the Republican Speaker of the House locked in mortal combat with Democrats over the federal budget, praising Peterson, and, of course, weeping over Peterson’s devotion to family as Peterson’s kids and grandkids looked on.
Peterson is divorced, so perhaps those are tears of envy. Or maybe the Speaker's real problem was the music itself. Lord have mercy. This is an offense to creation (and the Strib video is one of the better performances of the Second Amendments).
I'm beginning to think my only hope is relocation--or redistricting. McLeod County sits on the edge of the Seventh; before 2002, we were part of the old Second. And for awhile, when Republican band members were retired by voters, the Second Amendments were no more. No longer.
Is it too much to ask those working on redistricting to shuffle us back into the Second? Or, please, Minnesota's Sixth. Sure, Kline is a conservative Republican and Bachmann, Queen of the Tea Party. But Peterson's Blue Dog yodeling with the Second Amendments?
It's enough to make me shoot my laptop--the ultimate post-modern Second Amendments solution--or just praise Al Gore for inventing the pause button on media players when he dreamt up the innertubes.
The event certainly made work for the local law enforcement establishment, as well as creating jobs for new county commissioners the next year, according to a 2002 report in the Winona Daily News, Rave ruckus haunts board members:
Those Buffalo County folks who were upset last summer when the Road Dogs motorcycle club brought thousands of kids to County Supervisor Ron Drazkowski's land near Bluff Siding for a rave are enjoying the last laugh.
On Tuesday, four of five incumbent supervisors were voted out of office, including Board Chairman Drazkowski, who had served on the board since 1991. . . .
. . .Previously, Drazkowski apologized to county residents and supervisors for a rave party on his land in Bluff Siding near the Gin Mill Tavern over the Labor Day weekend.
Three of his sons are members of the Road Dogs, and one, Lee Drazkowski, manages the Gin Mill. He signed the agreement with the promoter to bring the music festival to the area. [links added by BSP]
The Gin Mill tavern, owned by Gin Mill, Inc., was termed a total loss and torn down soon after the fire.
The tavern featured exotic dancers and served as a clubhouse for the Road Dogs Motorcycle Club. The property is at W288 Chicken Valley Road.
Tom Drazkowski, a co-owner of the business who lives near the Gin Mill property, spotted the fire and reported it at 7:48 a.m.
The club was never rebuilt, and the wet tshirt contests are now just a memory. Young women no longer are able to learn their worth and the dignity of labor in Fountain City's entertainment job market.
But the family tradition of providing quality jobs may carry on after all. Steve Drazkowski (never an owner of the Gin Mill nor part of the Road Dogs Motorcycle Club like his brothers, as far as I know) has proposed yet another jobs creation measure in addition to his English-only bill that will line the pockets of English teachers everywhere.
And not since the torching of the Gin Mill has a Drazkowski been near an action that's sparked such an incendiary response.
State Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, has introduced a bill targeted at labor unions that he says could improve the state’s business environment and give Minnesota employees more choices.
However, union leaders disagree and contend the measure would actually hurt workers throughout the state. . . .
But union leaders argue that such a bill would benefit only businesses, while hurting their employees. They cite federal statistics that show workers in states with similar “Right To Work” provisions make about $5,500 less per year than their counterparts in states without the measure.
“I think ‘Right to Work’ is a catchy phrase that’s really bad for workers,” said Shar Knutson, president of Minnesota AFL-CIO, which represents more than 300,000 workers throughout the state. “It asks Minnesotans to work for less money.”
More than 360,000 people in Minnesota belonged to a union in 2009, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Bureau or Labor.
But Drazkowski said he thinks there’s strong support among residents for his proposed amendment, particularly allowing non-union workers to not pay dues. That change alone would provide workers with “hundreds of dollars more in disposable income,” he said.
Yep, that's what union workers want: lower average wages by thousands of dollars so that they don't have to pay union dues. Non-union workers' wages also are lower in right-to-work states.
Drazkowski has an interesting notion of choice. It's interesting that the "choice" for lower wages in hard times is being suggested only for the hoi polloi, but not the corporate elites, at a time of growing wealth inequality in the United States.
Andy Birkey at The Minnesota Independent has been doing fabulous yeoman's work on the connections between the Republican Party of Minnesota and homophobic Christian Punk "ministry" band, You Can Run But You Cannot Hide.
The Republican-endorsed candidate for governor, Tom Emmer, told the Star Tribune’s Rachel Stassen-Berger
that You Can Run But You Cannot Hide Intl., Inc., “are nice people.”
You Can Run is a ministry that brings it’s hard rock evangelism into public schools
across the Midwest and its front man, Bradlee Dean, told radio
listeners recently that Muslim countries that call for the execution of
gays and lesbians are “more moral than even the American Christians.”
Emmer’s campaign has given money to the ministry,
and Emmer has appeared on Dean’s radio show, been to Dean’s house and
posed for a picture with leaders of the ministry following his
endorsement by the Republican Party.
“My understanding is that it’s a Christian-based ministry that’s
about family, that is about respect for yourself….I know that they’re a
pro-marriage, pro-traditional marriage group,” Emmer told the Strib.
Bradlee Dean, front man for the group, lives in Annandale, which is in my state senate district, so the story quite literally is playing out in my neck of the woods.
Perish the literal-mindedness, though. Time for a poem! Here's a riff on a charming classic by that naughty D. H. Lawrence:
The Homophobes Are So Nice! By Tom Emmer
The homophobes are so nice
so awfully nice
they are the nicest people in the world.
And what’s more, they’re very nice about being nice
about your being nice as well!
If you’re not nice they soon make you feel it.
Gays and Lesbians and Bisexuals and so on
they’re all very well
but they’re not really nice, you know.
They’re not nice in our sense of the word, are they now?
That’s why one doesn’t have to take their humanity seriously.
We might be nice to them, of course,
maybe, unnaturally—
But it doesn’t really matter what you say about them, they don’t really matter—*
you can just say anything about them:
be nice, you know, just be nice
but you must never take them seriously, they wouldn’t understand.
Just be nice, you know! oh, fairly nice,
not really nice of course, they take advantage—
but nice enough, just nice enough
to let them feel they’re not quite as nice as they might be.
As a child of the car-crazed culture of southern California, I’d rather be behind the wheel, speeding down two-lane country roads with the windows down and the music cranked.
Anticipating the next corner, hitting my mark on entry, using the brakes to plant the nose of the car and accelerating through the apex of the corner puts a smile on my face on even the worst of days.
Olmsted/Fillmore County Road 1 between Rochester and Spring Valley is one of my favorite routes to let off a little steam. The undulating hills mixed with the flat farmland make for a fun drive.
I enjoy that set of corners north of Spring Valley – the first, a blind corner to the left where the road falls away downhill. It quickly banks into an uphill right-hander. There’s light feeling in my stomach as the road falls away: pure driving love.
A little further up Fillmore County 1, I hit an area where the trees have grown over the road. It gives the effect of driving through a tunnel, and the faster I drive the narrower the road feels, but the town of Simpson signals the approach of my favorite set of corners on County Road 1.
Four corners, alternating left and right-hand turns. The first is a 90 degree left, followed by a 90 degree right, followed by another 90 degree left. The final right-hander isn’t sharp and can be taken “flat-footed” – if I have the courage and the right song playing. A relaxing and exhilarating drive--but it can’t be done without the right music.
While testing the limits of my car on County Road 1 this past weekend, I decided to create an appropriate playlist on my iPod. It’s too difficult to search for “the right” song while preparing to head into a corner at 80 mph. Shuffle is out as an option: nothing can break a driver’s concentration and rhythm more than the wrong song coming on.
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.
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