On Monday, the Minnesota House passed an anti-bullying bill on a 72-57 vote. Post Bulletin political reporter Heather Carlson wrote in House passes sweeping anti-bullying bill:
“We should have a bill that develop resiliency in kids and makes them
strong,” said Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa. "But this one goes the other direction. Instead of
making kids stronger, it encourages them into a path of victimhood."
Rep. Steve Drazkowski has said some strident
things during his nearly six years in the Legislature, but his
repudiation of the anti-bullying bill passed by the Minnesota House
might be his harshest rhetoric yet. . . .
Drazkowski, a Republican from Mazeppa, sent a disturbing message with
his criticism of the Safe Schools and Supportive Minnesota Schools Act.
By using the words "resiliency" and "path to victimhood," Drazkowski
essentially told bullied students to toughen up because it builds
character and makes you stronger.
Tell that to Ann Gettis, a Kenyon woman whose
21-year-old son took his own life in 2006. Gettis appeared before the
House Education Policy Committee, testifying that "I really believe that
the years of being bullied darkened his perspective." Tell that to the
families of two Rochester-area teenagers who committed suicide in 2012,
with bullying being a likely factor in their tragic decisions. . . .
Read the rest at the PB. The board concludes:
We've had occasion in the past to commend Drazkowski for his candor and
his willingness to take unpopular stands. On this particular topic,
however, he sounds a bit like a bully.
Today, Draz is stilling making heads shake. While the House was considering a bill for a legislative water commission, the Mazeppa lawmaker got a bit off topic. Representative Danny Schoen tweeted:
Rep. Drazkowski brings up gay marriage while debating a water quality issue bill.#mnleg
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.
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The council approved the ordinance in a 4-1 vote on March 20. The purpose of the measure:
It is the purpose of this Section to provide the residents of the City
protection from invasions of privacy due to the rapid implementation of
drone technology being put into use by individuals, entities, and law
enforcement agencies. Use of unmanned aerial vehicles also pose an
unreasonable public safety concern to other aircraft or objects in the
air, and to City residents and their property on the ground in the event
of drone malfunction, loss of control, or other inability to sustain
flight as intended.
The ordinance allows landowners to fly drones without surveillance capacities over their own property. Law enforcement must obtain warrants to use drones, although they can use them in situations when "immediate danger of death or serious injury to any person" would predicate the use of a surveillance drone.
Even as the St. Bonifacius City Council was developing its ordinance, Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky conducted a 13-hour filibuster forcing the government to state its policy on use of drones.
The drone technology boggles the mind. Some say that these unmanned “snoops” equipped with sensors can tell how many people are in a structure. It’s even possible that by involving other technologies, the drone could eavesdrop on a conversation.
Like the St. Bonifacius City Council, the American Civil Liberties Union is also concerned about the lack of safeguards while using this “big brother in the sky.”
The St. Bonifacius City Council said neither the federal government nor the State of Minnesota have provided reasonable legal restrictions on the use of drones. That’s why St. Bonifacius leaders believe taking the time and spending the money on its anti-drone ordinance is worth it, even if it’s coming from one of the metropolitan area’s smallest communities.
Photo: This Global Hawk is so not allowed in St. Boni. An RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft like the
one shown is currently flying non-military mapping missions over South,
Central America and the Caribbean at the request of partner nations in
the region. U.S. Air Force photo by Bobbi Zapka. via Wikicommons.
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While bills related to regulating the frac sand industry make their way through the Minnesota state legislature, sand mining continues to generate headlines in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
With Republicans Denny McNamara (R-Hastings) and Tim Kelly (R-Red Wing) signed on as sponsors--and most objections (other than having a bill at all) from the silica sand industry overcome, the Rick Hansen (DFL-South St. Paul) bill retains its basic shape: technical assistance for local government in permitting and monitoring under the aegis of the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) but no Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) or one-year moratorium.
Listen to the action at the end of the audio here. SF1018, introduced by Senator Matt Schmit (DFL-Red Wing), is the senate companion bill.
Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reported on the bills' earlier progress in Frac sand mining bill clears another hurdle. The Schmit bill was heard in committee but audio has yet to be posted.
Permits move ahead in Fillmore and Winona Counties
A quarry southeast of Lanesboro that has
been extracting silica sand since 2008 with little notice is asking to
expand from 18.6 acres to 50 acres.
Reilly Construction Co., of Ossian, Iowa, which operates the mine
on the land of Sandra and John Rein near the unincorporated town of
Highland, submitted an environmental assessment worksheet on Jan. 10.
The public comment period has ended, and Fillmore County is responding
to questions and comments, said Zoning Administrator Chris Graves. About
a dozen people or governmental agencies commented on the document.
It's possible the EAW will come before the county
board at the end of this month or in early April, he said. If it finds
the worksheet meets requirements, the board can approve it and the
quarry can apply for a conditional use permit that would allow the
expansion.
While similar mines that were proposed for south of St. Charles brought
heavy criticism and comment, the Rein mine has been operating without
problems, he said. "They have been a really good mine," he said. . . .
The comments on the Rein proposal centered around many of the same
concerns as those commenting on the Saratoga proposals — traffic,
health, water pollution and noise.
The Rein worksheet also had comments from people who
feared damage to two trout streams — Nepstad and Gribben — because their
headwaters are around Highland.
That's not quite the situation in Winona County, where the small scale of a 20-acre site that will be worked out in three years is meeting little resistance. The Winona Daily News' Jerome Christenson reports in Commission: EIS not required for Nisbit mine:
If the county board’s willing and the state doesn’t intervene, Winona
County’s first new frac sand mine could go into operation this spring.
On
a 5-3 vote, the Winona County Planning Commission recommended that the
county board not require an Environmental Impact Statement for the
proposed Nisbit mine.
Mine operator Tom Rowekamp said he was
pleased with the vote. “We know people have concerns,” he said, “We’ve
done our best to address them. I don’t know what else we could do.”
The
proposed 20-acre mine site is located in Saratoga Township outside
Utica on land owned by David and Sherry Nisbit. The site lies on the
north side of Gethje Lane, a dead-end private road. Current plans call
for about 200,000 tons of sand to be removed each year for about three
years, at which time the commercially available sand is expected to be
exhausted. The mined area will be recovered with topsoil and planted to
native prairie. . . .
. . .Three fourths of the dozen or so who spoke at the public hearing favored
requiring an EIS for the mine, citing concerns about dust, water
quality and increased truck traffic. . . .
Commissioner Jim Hegland said he lived about a mile and a half from the
mine site and shared the concerns of the speakers, but “there’s only so
much research we can do before we have to do something.” He said the
Nisbit mine’s small size and limited prospective lifetime make it a good
test case for silica mine regulations in the county.
Much of the opposition to other proposed projects centers either on their massive scale--as in the moribund proposal for a mammoth processing and mining complex in St. Charles--or their location near homes, schools or sensitive natural areas, along with unanswered questions about the industry's impact.
With Gov. Scott Walker’s new budget including assistance for the sand mining industry, a controversial frac sand operation near the Lower Wisconsin River is moving closer to approval.
The town of Bridgeport Planning Commission has OK’d a conditional use permit for Pattison Sand Co. of Clayton, Iowa, to locate a mine near the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway, setting up a final vote by the Town Board on March 27.
Mine opponents packed the Bridgeport Town Hall for the commission meeting last week but were given little opportunity to speak during the three-hour hearing, according to reports. . . .
“It’s supposed to be ‘For the People and By the People’ but that didn’t happen,” Arnie Steele of Bridgeport Concerned Citizens told the Courier Press in Prairie du Chien.
The group says it will consider legal action but Bridgeport attorney Todd Infield had advised the commission that it couldn’t deny a permit simply based on citizen opposition. Timing may be an issue as well for the town of Bridgeport, with elections scheduled for April 2. The town chairman and two supervisors are facing challenges from mining opponents.
The Riverway Board has urged Pattison to withdraw its application,
saying that while the project might meet the letter of the law, the mine
would detract from the scenic area and potentially conflict with the
federal Highway Beautification Act of 1965.
Last
month, the company was cited by the state Department of Natural
Resources for violating its air pollution permit at a facility in
Prairie du Chien where processed sand is transferred from trucks to rail
cars. Pattison says it is taking steps to address those problems and
has not been fined
How close are Gun Owners of America executive director Larry Pratt and toxic metal Christian drummer, preacher and radio show host Bradlee Dean?
Pretty close
They've shared "staged shooting" conspiracy theories about Sandy Hook and Aurora, attributing the spree shootings to evil designs by the Obama administration timed with the United Nations small arms treaty.
And until the registration was revoked (likely for nonpayment of an annual renewal fee by Dean's ministry), from July 15, 2010 one, Gun Owners of America served as registered agent for YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CANNOT HIDE INTERNATIONAL,INC. in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
More than just a glorified post office box, a registered agent is the official contact for an out-of-state organization or business. "Foreign" companies are required to have local representative in states where they do business.
In November 2010, Bluestem received a tip that a man who had been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a girl repeatedly--and this individual had been given a pardon extraordinary by the state board of pardons.
His original crime? The statutory rape of a fourteen-year old, who he later married. The girl making the 2010 accusations later changed her story and the charges were dropped.
Mankato Free Press crime beat staff writer Dan Neinabor reports that man's son, Jonathan Giefer, has now been convicted of sexually assaulting a girl under 13. In Judge rules Vernon Center teen assaulted girl, he writes:
A 17-year-old Vernon Center boy was found guilty in Jackson County
juvenile court of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13,
according to documents filed in Blue Earth County District Court.
Jonathan Alan Giefer had been staying at a residence in the Windom area
when the incident took place March 31, 2012, court records say.
Giefer was driving an all-terrain vehicle on trails in the area and
took the victim for a ride into the woods. Someone else who knew Giefer
and was riding another ATV in the same area noticed Giefer’s ATV stopped
running for a short time while he was in the woods.
The victim later told an adult that Giefer had made sexual contact with her in the woods.
Read the details of the case at the Mankato Free Press. Nienabor notes:
The case was moved to Blue Earth County last month because Giefer lives
in Vernon Center. His parents are Jeremy and Susan Giefer, according to
court documents filed because he is a juvenile.
Jeremy Giefer was arrested in November 2010 after a teen girl reported
he had repeatedly sexually assaulted her. A trial that was set to take
place in December 2011 was canceled after the girl changed her story.
The allegations against Jeremy Giefer drew statewide attention because
he had received a pardon from former Gov. Tim Pawlenty for a previous
conviction for sexually assaulting a teenager. One reason cited for
pardoning Giefer, who was 19 when that crime was committed, was that he
later married the victim in that case.
It would be reckless to speculate about the family pathology at this distance. We do hope that his victim receives the help she likely needs.
As for the Giefer family, it's never their fault, apparently:
Jeremy Giefer said Tuesday the charges against his son were blown out of proportion.
"They're doing what they're doing because of me," he said. "They didn't have a case against me, so they went after him."
Update: Worth adding: Jeremy Giefer had been charged with domestic assault for slapping his son across the face so hard that that he was charged with domestic assault. As City Pages Nick Pinto reported in Jeremy Giefer charged with domestic assault before Pawlenty pardon [UPDATE], Giefer the Elder "was able to get the charges of domestic assault and malicious punishment of a child dismissed condition that he go a year without racking up any similar offenses." Go read the 2010 City Pages article.
This family's behavior has become entaggled often enough with social services and law enforcement to suggest that there may be domestic abuse across several generations.
A friend asks what's the word for when gothic becomes rococo? We say "Vernon Center."
Photo: Vernon Center's watertower.
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Minnesota's oldest Norwegian-American town, Houston County's Spring Grove, bills itself as a "pretty neat small town," and we've learned about its citizens' fondness for Norski street festivals and parades from watching a dear friend's Facebook page.
But Spring Grove's prettiness and neatness may be frayed if plans to haul 120 daily truck loads of frac sand from a mine proposed across the Fillmore County line come to fruition. The situation underscores why people from Southeastern Minnesota are asking for state help in regulating the industrial sand industry.
The Spring Grove Herald's Craig Moorhead reports in Frac sand route to go through downtown Spring Grove that the pretty neat small town is along the route for the sand's secondary destination, New Albin, Iowa. The route will be used when facilities at Winona are beyond capacity:
A Fillmore County frac sand mine could be sending hundreds of trucks through downtown Spring Grove, Houston County commissioners were told last week.
"The reason we're bringing this to you is because it's going to have an effect on residents in Houston County," environmental director Rick Frank told the board on Feb. 19.. . .
Traffic isn't the only potential problem for Houston County from the Fillmore County site. Moorhead reports:
"This mine is within about two miles of Houston County," Pogodzinski warned. "Impacts to groundwater sources are not just going to affect Fillmore (County)."
"Surface water drains down the Root River Valley. We don't want the Root River becoming any more polluted than it already is.
Probably not, although Houston County doesn't have any say in approving or denying the permit:
"Ultimately, it's up to them to approve or deny the EAW," Pogodzinski said. "We don't have a say in what they do."
Neighboring counties are still hammering out plans to address joint impacts, Frank added.
"We realize that a lot of these companies are going to utilize county roads and township roads maybe. We need to make sure that the applicant comes to the next county or city that they're affecting."
Commissioner Dana Kjome asked that the EAW address diesel fumes from trucks passing just a few feet [from] Spring Grove's public school. . . .
Oh, good. However, Spring Grove may have something of a reprieve because of the actions in Iowa's premier tourism destination county:
A letter from Allamakee County [Iowa] engineer Brian Ridenour was referenced for commissioners, stating that "mining, processing, trans-loading, stockpiling, etc. for frac sand has an 18-month moratorium in effect for Allamakee County."
The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors imposed the moratorium on February 4 after hearing citizen concerns about the industry, the Standard reports:
Allamakee County stakeholders will have additional time to explore the pros and cons of frac sand mining, following the passage of a moratorium on that mining process by the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors that will be in effect until July 1, 2014.
At its Monday, February 4 regular meeting, the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to approve the moratorium, following a public hearing Thursday, January 31 which drew more than 40 people. . . .
. . .Jeff Abbas of Dorchester reminded the Supervisors frac sand mining is a “boom and bust” industry, which lasts from two to five years. “Once they’re done, they’re gone. We do not regain business we lose from hunting, fishing, hiking or camping,” said Abbas. “It’s time to put the laws of man aside and put the laws of God in place, because what we’re leaving behind is garbage.”
No wonder, then, that Houston County and other local governments support Senator Matt Schmit's bill to impose a one-year moratorium while conducting a GEIS. The Star Tribune's Tony Kennedy reported in
Houston County’s Board of Commissioners, the Red Wing City Council, a
city councilor from Wabasha and elected township officials from Fillmore
and Goodhue counties all voiced support for more state study and a
moratorium on the permitting of new frac sand mines and facilities.
On Tuesday, February 26, the Senate Environment and Energy Committee sent SF786 to the State and Local Government Committee, which will hear the bill Wednesday, March 6, at 3:00 p.m. Room 15 in the State Capitol.
Photo: Frac sand train wreck in Wisconsin, a metaphor for our times.
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Just as the upgrade of Highway 14 was a signature issue in the recent House District 19A special election, discussion of the dangerous Southern Minnesota road dominated the race for Senate District 24 to the east.
Newly-elected Senator Vicki Jensen (DFL-Owatonna) has assumed a high profile in local media covering the journey of legislation Jensen and state representative Kathy Brynaert (DFL-Mankato) have introduced to fix the road.
. . .Lawmakers are pushing a bill that would upgrade about 21 miles of
two-lane from Nicollet to New Ulm and 14 miles of two-lane from Owatonna
to Dodge Center. (The two-lane from Nicollet to North Mankato is
already scheduled for a four-lane upgrade.)
. . . The bill would appropriate nearly $432 million. Just less than half
the money — about $213 million — would be used to purchase land and
construct New Ulm link while the rest — $219 million — would be used
for the Owatonna piece. . . .
In an interview with The Free Press prior to the hearing, Jensen said
she and Brynaert wanted to include the entire corridor in one bill.
“The corridor is important to the whole region. We’ve been talking
about a four-lane the entire way since the 1960s,” Jensen said. “Going
from four lanes to two lanes is a real problem.”
While many of the other highway projects being pushed Wednesday were
aimed at relieving congestion in the metro area, Jensen and Brynaert
said Highway 14 has the strongest case because of safety issues.
. . . Brynaert said no one expects lawmakers are going to appropriate the
money for the project this session, but said it’s vital the project is
planned for.
“The bottom line is to get Highway 14 in that 20-year MnDOT plan — that
is really critical. And we need to keep it at the table with other
projects,” Brynaert said.
Read the entire article at the Free Press. In the New Ulm Journal article, Highway 14: A Road Too Narrow, Josh Moniz reports:
. . .Highway 14 gained attention in the last few years as possibly the most
dangerous highway in Minnesota. The segment between New Ulm and Mankato
was determined to have a fatal crash rate three times the state average
for similar highways, according to a report by Minnesota Department of
Transportation. Advocates of the four-lane expansion project have
argued it is the only way to improve safety on the highway as well as
unleash significant economic growth for cities with heavy trucking like
New Ulm. . . .
. . .With a new state Legislature in place and a
new face backing its proposal, the U.S. Highway 14 Partnership returned
to the State Capital on Wednesday to request that the highway’s
completion be put back in the 20-year plan for the Minnesota Department
of Transportation.
Appearing in front of the state Senate Committee for
Transportation and Public Safety, public figures and business
representatives from across southern Minnesota pleaded their case for
the highway’s completion in a new bill authored by state Sen. Vicki
Jensen, DFL-Owatonna, who also sits on the committee.
“I couldn’t go anywhere in my district (24) and not
have a discussion about Highway 14,” Jensen said during the hearing.
“It’s nice to do it at this level.”
Read the rest of Strain's article at the OPP.
Jensen has easily stepped in her role as senator after years of being a Main Street mainstay in Owatonna's business community. Let's hope the Brynaert and Jensen team succeed on getting Highway 14 back on MNDOT's fast track.
Photo: Members
of the HWY 14 Partnership testifying in front of the Senate
Transportation Comiittee today in support of the continued expansion of
the HWY 14 corridor. Via Senator Jensen's Facebook page.
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With the Legislature proposing several new gun control bills, Quist
has stepped forward to present himself as a strong opponent of the
bills, even traveling to one of the hearings as a show of support. He
said research by John Lott shows that control measures have no impact on
violence. Lott's research since publication has been discredited by
several scientific journals and it has even been accused of fabricating
its facts. He said attention needs to instead be focused on other areas,
such as the correlation between school shooters and violent video
games.
"We really need to see if we can do something about violent video games," said Quist, "They are a serious concern."
People don't kill people, video games do.
Quist certainly hasn't lost his touch since the days when he proposed instituting abstinence-based sex ed as a plan to lower crime. In the December 22, 1993, Star Tribune article, "Quist twist on crime mixes liberal tenets with conservative," Dane Smith reported:
The biggest causes behind the rising crime
rate, Quist emphasized, is "promiscuity" and a resulting explosion in
single-family parents over the past 10 years. One of his key proposals
is an "abstinence-based" sex education program in the schools. . . .(Nexis All-News, accessed 2/10/2013)
Bluestem's readers of coarse sensibilities can write their own jokes about the effects of video-game withdrawal in joyless young boys. We simply couldn't comment.
. . .Past studies have failed to demonstrate a link between violent games
and real violence, said Christopher Ferguson, an associate professor of
psychology and communications at Texas A&M International University
in Laredo, Texas. Policy makers should focus on more important issues
including gun control and mental health, he said in an interview.
“We can’t find any evidence to support
this idea that exposure to video-game violence contributes in any way
to support the idea that these types of games or movies or TV shows are a
contributing factor,” Ferguson said. “It doesn’t need to be studied
again.”
Other news venues filed more nuanced accounts. On January 17, Suzy Khimm of the Washington Post WonkBlog wrote in POW! CRACK! What we know about video games and violence that Ferguson pointed out that "“video games have become more popular and more violent, while youth violence has declined.”
There's more:
But though there’s been a wide range of academic research on the
subject, there’s little to no conclusive evidence that playing video
games results in real-life violence, much less criminal acts. In 2011,
the Supreme Court struck down a California law restricting the sale and rental of violent video games to minors in a 7-2 ruling. The majority cited the state of existing research in its opinion:
Psychological studies purporting to show a connection
between exposure to violent video games and harmful effects on children
do not prove that such exposure causes minors to act aggressively. Any
demonstrated effects are both small and indistinguishable from effects
produced by other media…California also cannot show that the Act’s
restrictions meet the alleged substantial need of parents who wish to
restrict their children’s access to violent videos.
. . .In one 2012 article
for the Journal of Psychiatric Research, Ferguson and his co-authors
examined 165 participants over three years and found that playing
violent video games was not linked to youth aggression or dating
violence. Instead, they found that “depression, antisocial personality
traits, exposure to family violence and peer influences were the best
predictors of aggression-related outcomes.”
That said, there is evidence that violent video games may have a
tendency to make children who are already aggressive more hostile and
more aggressive — at least in the context of playing a video game,
Ferguson explains. “Openly aggressive children tend to intensify their
preference for games with a brutal and bloody plot over time,”
researchers wrote in a 2011 article for Media Psychology that examined 324 German grade-schoolers over one year. Ferguson points to another 2011 study
from the American Psychological Association that found that video games
were linked to aggression but not for the reasons you might expect. “It
appears that competition, not violence, may be the video game
characteristic that has the greatest influence on aggressive behavior,”
the researchers conclude. .. .
And there's this, also from January from MSN Video game makers urge Biden not to blame games for real violence:
The letters from the International Game Developers Association and the Entertainment Consumers Associationpointed
out that numerous studies have already been done showing that there
is no causal link between game violence and real violence.
"In
2011, video game sales increased to over $27 billion dollars and
violent crimes nationwide decreased 3.8 percent from 2010," Mercurio
wrote, pointing to the FBI's own statistics. "Since
2002, violent crime has decreased 15.5 percent. This is all during the
time when games like 'Call of Duty' and 'Halo' have dominated sales."
But
the letter from Greenberg, of the International Game
Developers Association, supported the idea of additional studies
about video games.
"Unlike some industry groups, the IGDA
does not seek to impede more scientific study about our members’
products. We welcome more evidence-based research into the effects of
our work," he wrote, but added: "We ask that any new government
research look at the totality of imaginary violence. Instead of simply
trying to find negative effects, we ask that any new research explore
the benefits of violent video games, too."
So perhaps we could violate the Constitution when it comes to video games. Bluestem suspects that our gamer friends would no more part with their "Call of Duty" games than Representative Cornish would surrender his coyote rifle.
Read the rest of Moniz's article at the New Ulm Journal.
The Minnesota House District 19A special election is Tuesday, February 12; the district in
Photo: Found on the Facebook page of Minnesota State University -- Mankato political science professor Joe Kunkel, these two literature pieces appear to be time travelers from the campaigns of Quist and DFL candidate Clark Johnson from the 1980s (they ran for different seats under earlier districting and never faced off against each other before). Bluestem is unable to verify the historical veracity of the facial hair on either gentleman. The lit pieces--and the beards--are for real and featured in Mankato Free Press political reporter Mark Fischenich's Campaign Notebook: Special election hits the home stretch. Much wonderfulness in the article. Go read it.
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Publicity-hungry Representative Tony Cornish (R-Good Thunder) is withdrawing two controversial bills he didn't yet introduce, and will fight for NRA lobbyists' talking points instead in the coming gun legislation hearings in the Minnesota House Public Safety Committee.
Paymar
also said they will hear a bill by Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center,
that would allow teachers and other school staff members who have
conceal-and-carry permits to arm themselves in the classroom.
No votes will be taken on the bills next week. Paymar wants to put
together a larger gun violence prevention bill that includes the
proposals that garner the most support.
Here's a January 29, 2013 clip from KSTP 5 where Cornish's pistol-packing pedagogue proposal is discussed, along with Paymar's bills (which are in the hopper, not just the chair's imagination):
We're not sure what happened to Cornish's bills, since we've never had a chance to read them. Nor, so far as we can tell, has any other member of the public.
Cornish's phantom bills ditched in favor of NRA lobbyist talking points
For all the demand by gun enthusiasts, public opinion polls show that
most Americans support more restrictions on gun sales -- particularly
the military-style weapons and the high-capacity clips. Cornish said he
holds a "more guns, less crime" philosophy and believes gun control
proposals would be counterproductive.
So
he will be pushing forward with legislation to allow teachers -- and
probably other staff -- to carry concealed weapons even if a school's
principal or other school administrators don't approve. Teachers,
presuming they meet all other state requirements for carrying a weapon,
would only need to inform school administrators. Current law requires
permission from the administrators before a teacher can bring a weapon
to school. . . .
Cornish will also be making another attempt to require public colleges
to allow students to carry handguns on campus if they have the
applicable permits. He said Public Safety Committee Chairman Michael
Paymar, DFL-St. Paul, promised him a hearing on both bills later this
month.
Cornish
doesn't expect either bill to pass the DFL-controlled Legislature (nor
does he expect stricter gun-control legislation to be approved), but
pushing the legislation will give him time to present his case for a
more-guns approach to reducing gun violence. And he wants an opposing
voice to be heard when Paymar presents his gun-control proposals.
"What I hope to accomplish is anti-venom for these bills Michael Paymar is going to bring up," Cornish said.
House Public Safety Chair Michael Paymar has introduced the gun control bills, but Cornish has told an entirely new narrative about his own bills to Mankato Free Press staff writer Tim Krohn. He reports in Cornish vows to fight DFL gun bills:
Cornish had introduced a bill that would have allowed teachers with
permits to carry guns in school, a bill that had no chance of passing
the DFL-controlled Legislature. He said he is withdrawing that bill to
prevent it from detracting from debate on the other bills.
“I made a decision to pull my bills and concentrate my energies into defeating all of these proposals,” Cornish said Friday.
He is on the House Public Safety Committee, which is to discuss the
bills Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. He said he expects the DFL chair
“will allow all the testimony we want to give” and said he expects the
hearings will be boisterous. “I don’t think it’ll get out of order, but
there’ll be a lot of gaveling.”
This was curious stuff, since we hadn't seen Cornish introduce those two bills, only carry on a lot about them in the media. But it's possible we missed something, so we reviewed the "Introduction and First Reading of Bills" emails that we receive and eagerly read when the non-partisan webmaster for the Minnesota House of Representatives sends them.
When Bluestem reads through the introduction of bills (January 31, January 28, January 24, January 22, January 17, January 14, and January 10), we don't see that Cornish ever introduced that bill. We checked with friends who know about these sorts of things, and were told that if he had actually introduced the bills that he claims to have withdrawn, a record would exist for the legislation.
In short, Cornish is once more all hat and no hopper.
He does share the objections that NRA lobbyists want him to bring up next week. Krohn reports:
Cornish said he and NRA lobbyists believe all of the bills introduced are flawed . . .
. . . Cornish said he will push for the few things where the NRA and gun
restriction proponents can agree, such as expanding the categories of
people convicted of violent crimes who can’t own guns.
Find out what the NRA lobbyists object to by reading the Mankato Free Press article.
Cornish will clearly achieve his goal next week, generating headlines, rather than solutions, while the Public Safety Committee--and the state--won't have the chance to give his ideas a hearing.
Nice work, if you can get it.
Photo: Tony Cornish, all hat and no hopper (above); the Mankato Free Press article (below). Both photos from Representative Cornish's Facebook page. He writes of the Free Press article:
I was surprised to see this on the Front Page
of the Mankato Free Press this AM. I knew an article was coming out, but
I didn't know about the picture they got from Facebook. Ha. I can just
hear the e mails coming down the fiber optics, or wherever they come
from. I'll have to ask Al Gore, since he invented the Internet! [links added]
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One of the storylines Bluestem has been following since 2009 is that of Southern Minnesota's neo-Nazis. Led by Samuel Johnson, formerly of Austin, Minnesota, the white supremacist group tried to use anti-immigrant sentiment to recruit new members.
Their activities drew counter-protestors from as far away as the Twin Cities, and later the attention of the FBI's domestic terrorism task force. Last spring, Johnson's name turned up in a federal affidavit related to charges brought against Joseph Benjamin Thomas, Mendota Heights, when Thomas and Johnson were considering blowing up the Mexican consulate in St. Paul.
By September, Johnson, a felon, was in prison for possessing an assault weapon, while Thomas had troubles of his own with drug charges. Neither man was brought up on terrorism charges.
Now Johnson's wife, Theresa White, is mentioned as an example of B. Todd Jones' poor performance as U.S. attorney in Minnesota. The Star Tribune's Dan Browning and Paul McEnroe report in Former Minneapolis FBI director attacks Jones' ATF nomination:
A former director of the Minneapolis FBI office sent a letter this
week to members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee denouncing B.
Todd Jones' performance as U.S. attorney in Minnesota as they prepare to
consider his nomination to director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Donald E. Oswald, 54, a self-declared Democrat and supporter of
President Obama, said he felt "morally compelled" to alert the committee
about what he describes as Jones' "atrocious professional reputation
within the federal law enforcement community" in Minnesota.
In the letter, Oswald writes:
Moreover, in April 2012, at the conclusion of a long term joint FBI/ATF
undercover domestic terrorism investigation entitled "Operation Wrong
Reich," Mr. Jones' office failed to charge one defendent claiming
resource concerns. This investigation focused on a white supremist
groups, who among other things, discussed plans to bomb the Mexican Consulate in Saint Paul.
Defendant Teresa White, along with her husband, Sam Johnson--a
convicted felons, and Joseph Thomas, also a convicted felon, were
arrested on a multitude of federal charges. But suddenly, without
concurrence from the FBI or ATF, Mr. Jones' office declined to pursue
legitimate federal charges against Tereas White for an illegal straw
purchase of a firearm, conspiracy to illegally transfer a firearm, and
making false statements to federal la enforcement officials, claiming
resource issues. Mr. Jones can't have it both ways--that is to say--he
can't claim to be focusing USAO resources on terrorism matters, but fail
to pursue established felony firearm charges against a domestic terrorism defendant. (Letter, page 5)
This is new information about the arrests of Johnson and Thomas, adding a third person to the case. We're hoping to obtain more documents related to the case, as there's little online about Teresa White (an different individual from the time of the Austin agitation; Johnson was arrested for abandoning a dog when his former household was breaking up).
In addition to the list two letters of members resigning from the NSM
were also obtained. One was from Cynthia Keene from Springfield, MO, who
resigned for unknown reasons in 2010 but still said she will continue
to support the group's efforts. The other was from neo-Nazi Samuel James
Johnson, who said in his 2010 email that he is resigning to chart
another course in his activism. "There is no more purpose for
organizational ties, the time has come purely and simply for
organization," his email read. "I am not talking about a protest or a
street walk or handing out fliers to try to wake people up who will not
be awakened until there life's (sic) have been effected enough to see
the truth. I think you know what I'm getting at."
According to
recent information that has been obtained, Johnson is a convicted felon
who resides at [redacted] Fairmont, MN. He was recently married
to an alleged neo-Nazi named Teresa Goad, a/k/a Teresa Johnson-White,
who works as a nurse [redacted]
We can't vouch for the accuracy of this information, which is from March 2012.However, the gun crime charges that involve helping a felon illegally obtain firearms--and doing it on behalf of someone planning large-scale, hateful crimes--are sort of things that many Americans don't want to see go unpunished.
And while we believe that there's a need for additional gun regulations, Bluestem also thinks that given Johnson's perchant for violence, the public might have been served had the United State Attorney's Office pursued Theresa White's case.
Screenshot: The passage from the Oswald letter (above); Sam Johnson--yeah, that guy (below)
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This year's real Minnesota winter has signaled the return of "The Shining" quality cabin fever, and with United States Senators nearing agreement on broad immigration reform proposal, Minnesotans Seeking Immigration Reform (MinnSIR) anti-immigrant Ruthie Hendrycks has updated her website and is blogging again, as well as hosting weekly "The Ruthie Report."
Susan Tully, the national field director of the DC-based
anti-immigrant group Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)
voiced a number of conspiracy theories and made many
anti-immigrant comments during an interview with a right-wing radio
show on January 17, 2013. . . .
During the radio interview, Tully disparaged DREAM
Act-eligible students for what she called arrogance and accused
Democratic politicians in California of having ties to Mexico.
She also claimed that students are crossing the U.S./Mexico border on
a daily basis to attend American schools.
The claims of "arrogance" aren't particularly original, having been circulated in Ruben Navarrette’s nationally syndicated column “DREAMers are pushing their luck. Former City Pages staff writer Gregory Pratt effectively takes down that piece at Vivelohoy in The DREAMers I know; Pratt's reporting on Arizon's DREAMers won state press club awards when he worked in Phoenix.
When talking about a potential comprehensive immigration
reform bill, Tully argued that there should be a study of people
granted documented status in the 1986 to see what became of them
since that time, insinuating that many may have become criminals. . . .
Read the entire post at the ADL's blog. Listening to the podcast, Bluestem noticed that the ADL, a group not especially known as shy, actually holds back. Tully claims that a corrections officer at Folsom Prison told her that 90 percent of the inmates in the famous penitentiary are the children of people who gained citizenship as part of President Reagan's 1986 immigration reforms.
Tully also claims that undocumented Latinos are smuggling piranhas into California, and that when their hapless owners are faced with feeding their pets a pound of prime rib each day, they release them into California's waters.
Images: Ruthie Hendrycks (yellow jacket, above); Piranhas: invasive species, agents of liberty, or just signs of really nutty obsessions about brown people? (below).
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Two unrelated stories illustrate how we're living in the waning days of Babylon, though Bluestem will leave it to the conspiracist theorists among our readership to define the connective tissue in the two narratives.
Nienaber reports that a North Mankato police officer passed along an anonymous tip to the Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force that 29-year-old convicted felon Michael Donald Caya was doing meth and acting crazy. The Drug Task Force recognized the name from an earlier lead that placed Caya in the Eagle Lake Mobile Home Park trading meth for guns without serial numbers.
Apparently the enterprizing Caya thought he needed the weapons for the coming Obamazombie apocalypse. The Free Press reports:
Caya, who was placed on 20 years of probation for a 2006 felony drug
possession conviction in Watonwan County, was interviewed by a task
force agent at the Nicollet County Jail Monday. He allegedly told the
agent he thought the world was coming to an end and he thought he had to
protect his family and neighbors from the government, the complaint
said. Caya said he spent between $3,000 and $4,000 for the guns, bought
his methamphetamine by the ounce and bought his marijuana by the pound,
the agent reported.
The Watonwan County whacko was also out to save women from sex trafficking by contacting every Mankato area prostitute, taking them to hotel rooms and plying them with drugs to get them to disclose their pimp or pimps:
Caya also allegedly told the agent he had been setting up meetings with
prostitutes in Mankato. He claimed he had called every escort with a
Mankato link on the Backpage.com website and met them at one of two
hotels in town, the agent reported. Caya denied having sex with the
women, but said he would use drugs with them and talk. His plan was to
identify the man in charge of the women, but he told the agent he didn’t
know what he would do if he identified the man.
“(Caya) stated that, despite his drug addiction, he thought he would
make a good police officer because he was a good person with good morals
and ethical decisions,” the complaint said.
Despite his virtue, the authorities have not looked kindly on Caya:
Caya has been charged with nine counts of being a felon in possession of
a firearm, nine counts of being a felon in possession of a handgun or
an assault style weapon, one count of third-degree drug possession and
three counts of fifth-degree drug possession, which are all felonies.
His bail was set $75,000 during his first court appearance Wednesday.
Caya's neighbors might not be protected from the government now, although they will have the option of voting for Allen Quist in the coming special election in Minnesota House District 19A.
Birds of a different feather occupy North Fargo hood
Fargo police are looking to catch a gigantic gang of fugitives making
life in a northside neighborhood a foul – or is that fowl? –
experience.
A group of wild turkeys that may be as many as 80
birds strong – a rafter, as a group of turkeys is known – has infested
the area a few blocks south of Edgewood Golf Course in the northeast
corner of the city, near Peterson Parkway and Birdie Street.
Yes, Birdie Street.
Whether
they’re attracted to the street’s name, or more likely to the nearby
river and one of the city’s biggest stretches of green space, the birds
and their byproducts have worn out their welcome.
Local law enforcement and the North Dakota Game and Fish Department are on the case:
Fargo police Lt. Joel Vettel said the police, with the help of the
North Dakota Game and Fish Department, are starting a baiting and
trapping process to attempt to net the birds and move them out to a more
rural area.
They’ll be feeding the birds on the nearby Cardinal
Muench seminary property, and they’re asking people in the neighborhood
to stop feeding the birds in the meantime.
The department sent letters to residents in the area last week, informing them of their plans to deal with the turkey takeover.
Police
also ask that potential onlookers remain respectful of private property
and the wildlife while the trapping is going on, though Vettel admits
the birds haven’t been quite so mannerly.
In addition to leaving
their waste all over people’s property, he said they are capable of
property damage like knocking down and destroying yard items.
Read the rest of Welker's article at the Forum and check out th video of the rafter blocking traffic.
Photo: Michael Donald Caya, from the Nicollet County Sheriff's Department (above); Turkey gang occupying North Fargo neighborhood (below, via the Fargo Forum).
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Forum Communications newspapers in Fargo and Grand Forks report that lawmakers in Minnesota and North Dakota are listening to workers locked out by hardball management. Meanwhile, in a cruel twist, workers cleaning Target stores overnight were locked in, a violation of OSHA law.
Both are signs of breaking bad management that will do anything for the bottomline.
The Fargo Forum notes that "Unlike a worker strike, a lockout is when an organization’s management locks out union workers, often over pay disputes." Workers--sugar refinery employers, classical musicians, and professional hockey players--have been locked out in both states.
Committee Chairman Joe Atkins, DFL-Inver Grove Heights, said in an
interview that he plans two lockout provisions in bills still being
written.
One would require organizations that lock out employees
to pay unemployment insurance through the lockout’s duration. The other
would restrict lockouts by organizations receiving state funds. . . .
. . . Atkins’ committee heard Durand, a Minnesota State
Community and Technical College instructor, say “the social fabric has
been weakened” in Moorhead.
She said the contract the employees
worked under would not allow them to strike during sugar beet harvest,
but allowed management to lock out workers.
Costs to communities
along the Red River and elsewhere in Minnesota, she said, include paying
unemployment insurance for locked out workers, higher taxes to cover
health care for those who lost coverage but were forced to seek
emergency room care, increased substance abuse and overcrowded homeless
shelters. . . .
Under North Dakota law, locked out workers received no unemployment benefits. State senator Phil Murphy (D-Portland) wants to change that, the Grand Forks Herald reports in Proposal may be too late to help American Crystal workers. GFH staff writer Christopher Bjorke reports:
A Portland, N.D., Democrat has introduced a bill that would extend
unemployment benefits to workers locked out of their jobs, but is not
sure if American Crystal Sugar workers would qualify.
“I just see
it as a situation that doesn’t seem quite right to me,” said Sen. Phil
Murphy on his proposal to add an exemption for anyone who “has been
locked out by that individual’s employer and prevented from working” to
the section of state law disqualifying striking workers from
unemployment benefits.
. . . Like Murphy, the other sponsors of the bill are Democrats: Sens.
Connie Triplett of Grand Forks and Tim Mathern of Fargo and Reps. Bill
Amerman of Forman, Richard Holman of Mayville and Gail Mooney of
Cummings.
Murphy, Holman and Mooney all represent District 20, the location of American Crystal’s Hillsboro factory.
Murphy
said he had not been in contact with union officials representing
American Crystal workers, and he did not want it to be considered to
have been written for unions.
“If it’s perceived that way, it could poison the well,” he said. “I would guess it would be an uphill battle.”
The
North Dakota Supreme Court is considering the eligibility of employees
of the North Dakota factories. Murphy said he decided to introduce the
bill because the court does not say when it will announce decisions. . . .
It's uncertain whether ACS workers, now locked out for 17 months, would be able to receive benefits under the proposed law.
In OSHA charges filed last week, twenty-five workers allege that they
were regularly locked indoors while cleaning Target stores in the Twin
Cities.
“At 11 at night, I would ring the doorbell to get let in, and then
from there, we would be locked in the store all night, until 7 am
when they opened the store,” said Honorio Hernandez, who cleaned Target
stores for three years before leaving a year ago for other work. “I was
scared that something would happen, and I wouldn’t be able to get out
of the store…. But I never complained about it because I was scared that
I would lose my job.” (Hernandez was interviewed in Spanish.)
Hernandez has worked for all three of the janitorial contractors
named in the OSHA complaints: Carlson Building Maintenance, Prestige
Maintenance USA and Diversified Maintenance Systems. Currently
unemployed, Hernandez is an activist with the Minnesota labor group that
organized the complaints, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha. . . .
While the cleaning workers are legally employed by Target’s contractors,
CTUL charges that Target management has been well aware that they’re
being locked inside its stores. Hernandez told The Nation that
there was generally a single manager on site during his shift, and those
managers were employees of Target, not of the contractors. He added
that in an emergency, workers would have needed to get the manager to
unlock a door and let them out of the building, and “you can’t
necessarily find them very easily” within the store. . . .
Locked doors contributed to high death counts in notorious workplace fires at a chicken processing plant in Hamlet, North Carolina, and the Triangle Shirtwaist company in New York City. More recently, fire exits were found to be a factor in a garment factory fire in Bangladesh in which 112 workers perished; the company made clothing for Walmart and other retailers.
Both lockouts and lockups illustrate the perils of management gone wild.
Image: Tild's take on ACS's lockout.
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Today, Minnesota state representative Ryan Winkler and a covey of DFLers introduced HF121, the lower chamber's companion to a state senate bill requiring any individual or group that "drafts, promotes, or distributes model legislation to any public official of this
state with the purpose of influencing a public official to introduce the legislation or vote in favor of the legislation" to register as a lobbyist or principal of the lobbyist.
This is the "ALEC Law" intended to make the origin of legislation more transparent. It matters not if the bill is cooked up by corporate bill factory American Legislative Exchange Council, an environmental organization or a union, Minnesotans would know what cat drug that bird in.
Or maybe not.
Earlier this month, Bluestem noted in "Anti-venom": Cornish bills for college carry & packing pedagogues to get committee hearing that the honorable representative from Good Thunder or thereabouts is threatening to once more introduce a bill that would prevent public postsecondary colleges from banning the carrying and possession of firearms by students on school property ( lawfully possessed guns are currently allowed in cars in campus parking lots).
Cornish first introduced the bill to a chorus of news reports across the land in April 2008, on the first anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings. And from whence came the law?
The proposal by Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Good Thunder, faces an uphill
climb but reflects a national movement among gun advocates and some
students to overturn prohibitions on students carrying weapons at
college.
Contradicting the prevailing view and policies of
Minnesota universities, the gun supporters argue that trained, armed
students would prevent or minimize violence on campus.
Alex Tripp, a student at Minnesota State University,
Mankato, who is active in the effort to allow students to carry guns,
cited the shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University in
a recent letter to Cornish urging a change in state law.
. . .Tripp, a 21-year-old junior, is a member of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, which claims 25,000 members nationwide.
At that time, the group was still young. In February 2008, a spokester for the Brady campaign had claimed that the gun industry was covertly sponsoring the student organization; it fired back with tales of meager funding--less than $700 gathered from poor students' donations. The group did advocate for the repeal of campus carry prohibitions across the country. The group has since shortened its name to Students for Concealed Carry.
While it's still a volunteer organization, its fundraising seems a bit more sophisticated. Hard to say if its spend would trip the threshold for registering as a lobby principal in Minnesota.
Cornish didn't re-introduce the bill in the 86th or 87th legislature. We can't say exactly why that might be--other than the fact that it did come up in the 2008 campaign, when John Branstad come within striking distance of Cornish. Robb Murray of the Mankato Free Press reported in "Big issues, poor turnout: MnSCU a hot topic":
Rep. Tony Cornish separated himself from the herd.
At
a candidates debate at Minnesota State University Monday, Cornish
reiterated his much-publicized view that if more students carried guns, fewer school shootings would result, and in the ones that took place, fewer lives would be lost.
In
fact, he told the small audience gathered for the debate that, if a
gunman entered the debate room this very instance, " there'd be nobody
here who could save you except for me, or somebody else with a handgun."
His comment came in response to a moderator's question about handguns on campus, a question each candidate addressed. . . .
None of the others said they'd go as far as Cornish on the gun issue, although Bidwell and Jordan said they'd consider limited gun possession on campus,
such as Jordan's suggestion that it be limited to faculty
And Branstad
objected to Cornish's reference to colleges as " killing zones." He
said he's spoken with campus security experts who have said arming students is not the best way to solve the problem.
"I'm sure they would take issue with calling a college campus a 'killing zone,' " he said. (Mankato Free Press, October 21, 2008, Nexis All-News, accessed January 22, 2013)
After that, Cornish grew uncharacteristically reticent with the bill unti lhis latest rumbling.
But there's more to the story here. About a month after Cornish threw this hot mess into the hopper in April 2008, the NRA-ILA reported on the national gun rights group's website in ALEC Task Force Adopts Model "Campus Personal Protection Act":
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is an
organization comprised of public and private sector members (largely
made up of state legislators and corporate/association government
affairs representatives) from all 50 states that share common support
for free market principles and individual liberties.
At ALEC's
recent Spring Task Force Summit in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the Criminal
Justice Task Force unanimously adopted a model "Campus Personal
Protection Act." Brought forth by NRA-ILA, the act calls
for the repeal of state restrictions on the possession of firearms by
valid concealed handgun licensees on college and university campuses and
preempts governing bodies of postsecondary educational institutions
from imposing such restrictions on permit holders. This Act will officially become ALEC "Model Legislation" in 30 days if there is no objection from ALEC's Board of Directors.
And looking over the model bill on the ALEXexposed website, Bluestem isn't surprised to learn that like Cornish's month-younger bill, this language is esstential a "repealer" bill calling for language to be stricken from the statutes of whatever state in which it flopped.
The ALEC board officially adopted the Campus Personal Protection Act as a template for state law 30 days later.
This complicated parentage raises certain questions about the Winkler "model bill" proposal. Of course, it's not a law yet, so the following questions are totally hypothetical, but might be asked in commitee.
Did Representative Cornish snag his model bill from an ALEC packet prepared for the Spring Summit in Hot Springs, Arkansas, held in mid-May 2008? Although he's a keen advocate of high-profile ALEC model bills like Stand Your Ground and Voter ID, there's no direct evidence trying him to the organization. Another Minnesota Republican legislator might have brought to to his attention--or perhaps a private sector ALEC member. They don't have to uncloak themselves under current law, so it's hard to discern.
Did the national student organization pass the idea along to the NRA and ALEC? In 2008, they claimed that they didn't work with the NRA. Or did eager ALEC members in the thirteen states where the student group brought the language forward?
Perhaps these things simply evolve independently, like the parallel eyeballs of different and unrelated creature on land and sea.
More interesting questions about the bill's paternity remain. If the Winkler bill were in place, would Students for Concealed Carry get the lobbying credit for campuscarry? Would ALEC?
Or would we simply forget about the notion of a lobbyist and model bill, and grant to Cornish that he is, in the enduring wisdom of the classic Ray Stevens cover, his own grandpa?
Photo: Tony Cornish. Should we even ask who's that bill's daddy?
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Although two pistol-packing bills state representative Tony Cornish (R-Tombstone) promises to introduce in the Minnesota House have zero chance of becoming law, the retired lawman tells the Mankato Free Press that Public Safety Committee chair Michael Paymar has agreed to hear the bills.
So much for cutting waste by small-government conservatives, but the hearings should achieve Cornish's general agenda: headlines for Tony Cornish.
For all the demand by gun enthusiasts, public opinion polls show that most Americans support more restrictions on gun sales -- particularly the military-style weapons and the high-capacity clips. Cornish said he holds a "more guns, less crime" philosophy and believes gun control proposals would be counterproductive.
So he will be pushing forward with legislation to allow teachers -- and probably other staff -- to carry concealed weapons even if a school's principal or other school administrators don't approve. Teachers, presuming they meet all other state requirements for carrying a weapon, would only need to inform school administrators. Current law requires permission from the administrators before a teacher can bring a weapon to school.
Originally, Cornish had simply proposed letting teachers with permits carry--until it was discovered that state law already allowed the practice, so long as the teacher obtains an administrator's permission. Now, they'll just have to give notice.
But that's not all! Cornish will bring guns out of the parking lot and into the halls of ivy:
Cornish will also be making another attempt to require public colleges to allow students to carry handguns on campus if they have the applicable permits. He said Public Safety Committee Chairman Michael Paymar, DFL-St. Paul, promised him a hearing on both bills later this month.
Cornish doesn't expect either bill to pass the DFL-controlled Legislature (nor does he expect stricter gun-control legislation to be approved), but pushing the legislation will give him time to present his case for a more-guns approach to reducing gun violence. And he wants an opposing voice to be heard when Paymar presents his gun-control proposals.
"What I hope to accomplish is anti-venom for these bills Michael Paymar is going to bring up," Cornish said.
It's not as if he won't have a say as minority lead on the committee when those bills are heard, but leading the news is a lot less likely. The bills aren't in the hopper yet.
Cartoon: Anti-Venom. Cornish is Eddie Brooks to Representative Paymar's Peter Parker. Or whatever.
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Although critics of the NRA's stance on school safety--putting an armed police or security officer in every school building in the country as part of the --have been swift to criticize the gun rights organization's lucrative connections with the firearms industry, former Arkansas Congressman Asa Hutchinson's business ties with the world's largest private employers of security officers have gone unnoticed in the media.
Public school systems in Tulsa, Detroit, Washington DC and other places have contracted with Securitas for school security guard personnel. News accounts suggest that some Securitas school security officers, like those in Tulsa, are or have been armed; in 2006, the Tulsa World reported that a guard shot at dogs that were attacking a student and teacher (Andrea Eger, "School's guard shoots at dogs," Tulsa World, March 30, 2006, Nexis All News, accessed 1/6/2013).
Director - W. Asa Hutchinson, a Senior Partner of AH Law
Group of Rogers, AR, Director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration and the first-ever Under Secretary for Border &
Transportation Security at the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, and U.S. Congressman from the Third District of
Arkansas. After the September 11 attacks, Congress created
the Department of Homeland Security. President George W.
Bush tapped Hutchinson to lead the Border and Transportation
Security Directorate, the largest division of the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) with more than 110,000
employees. Hutchinson was confirmed by unanimous consent
by the U.S. Senate
Hutchinson also lobbied for Securitas while working for Venable LLC, a top Washington DC law firm whose work often requires staff to register with the Senate under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. Hutchinson and his colleagues represented Securitas's interests in a number of bills related to airport security. The database states that the firm received $200,000 from Securitas for these services.
Here's the registration filing; for Hutchinson's name and the bills in which he lobbied Congress on behalf of the Swedish company, go to page 3:
Asa Hutchinson: National School Shield Emergency
Response Program not just volunteers anymore
In Hutchinson's first prepared statement during the remarks-only press conference on December 21, he spoke about creating a model school security template and training volunteer school security forces at each school in the country. Wayne LaPierre spoke of stationing a police office in each school building.
But in the weeks since, both men have modified their assertions, allowing that armed security officers, not just sworn police officers, might be part of the school shield solution.
. . . Yet another option, Hutchinson said, is the expansion of school
resource officers, on-duty armed police who perform a wide range of
tasks in schools that include interacting with students, teachers and
administrators and helping implement security measures.
Hutchinson estimated the cost of putting a resource officer in every
school at $2 billion to $3 billion a year, which he acknowledged would
be hard to fund in lean budgetary times.
In the 2009-2010 school year, there were 23,200 armed security
personnel in schools nationwide, 28 percent of all schools, according to
the National Center for Education Statistics. . . .
. . .I have recently been asked to
lead a comprehensive national effort to improve the safety of our
schools. A part of this solution will be the increased presence of
trained, armed and professional security officers in the schools.
Currently, about one third of our nation's schools have armed security.
. . .We have seen
several schools take steps to enhance safety by immediately increasing
the use of trained officers on their property. But not every school can
afford the costs, and not all armed officers are equally trained.
That
is why it is so critical to create an effective federal, state and
local sharing of costs, and, most importantly, to assure a high standard
of training and certification. The training of armed personnel to
protect our children should not be less than those who are trained to
protect our airlines or even the president.
Finally,
the safety of our children is more than just armed officers. It is
about access control, perimeter security, surveillance, architecture,
policies and drills. My school-safety task force will look into all of
these needs and offer the best practices and model security protocols to
our schools.
"Officer" isn't synonymous with "police officer." It can mean "security officer." Indeed, Bluestem's friends who work in security prefer the term; it's certainly better than the snide label,"rent-a-cop."
If the task force Hutchinson leads recommends armed security officers--and federal and state elected leaders decide to allocate resources to the findings, how big of a slice of the school security officer pie will go to Securitas?
The Administrator and the Lobbyist: Earlier Criticisms of Hutchinson's Ethics
This poor country blogger isn't the first to ask questions about Hutchinson's self-interest in his advocacy for corporations with which he has a working relationship. When he left the Department of Homeland Security to toil as a lobbyist at Venable LLC to work for clients with homeland security issues and contracts, the press raised its eyebrows.
When he unsuccessfully ran for Arkansas governor in 2006, the Democrats raised these criticisms again, expanding them when armed with the candidate's mandatory financial disclosure. Since Hutchinson is chatting to Arkansas newspapers about running for governor in 2014, it's possible that this potential new conflation of public policy with the private profits of a corporation in which Hutchinson has an interest might again raise questions.
Asa Hutchinson, who stepped down this week as a top administrator at
the Department of Homeland Security, has joined a law firm based in
Washington that represents major domestic security contractors and
companies regulated by the department.
Mr. Hutchinson, 54, who as
under secretary at the department oversaw transportation and border
security, will be barred for at least one year from interacting directly
with department officials. But he can advise companies that are
pursuing contracts with the agency or are subject to its regulatory
review. . . .
Mr. Hutchinson, a former congressman who may run for Arkansas governor
in 2006, would not say how much he was being paid or who some of his
probable clients would be.
This move played to Hutchinson's disadvantage in the 2006 race. Andrew DeMillo of the Associated Press reported in "Parties find attack lines for governor's race:"
Arkansas Republicans and Democrats have found similar lines of attack in the gubernatorial campaign.
For Democrats, it's focusing on Asa Hutchinson's former job. . .
. . . Democrats last week lobbed questions about Asa Hutchinson's
negotiation with a Washington law firm while he was employed at the
federal Department of Homeland Security. Hutchinson eventually took a
job with the firm, Venable LLP
Venable
had clients with business before Homeland Security, but Hutchinson said
he followed the law and, in writing, formally stepped aside from any
business involving the firm.
Criticism over
Hutchinson's past aren't new from Democrats, who have tried to peg
shortcomings in Homeland Security to Hutchinson's tenure as the
department's undersecretary.
But the lobbying
questions reveal a new line of criticism from Democrats after the state
GOP questioned whether Beebe has used his office to conduct political
business. . . .(February 11, 2006, Nexis All-News, accessed 1/6/2013).
Hutchinson's disclosure of his financial interests also drew fire when he amended it to include a $1 million return on a $2,800 investment in Fortress America. Demillo reported in "Beebe: Hutchinson potential $1 million windfall a sweetheart deal":
The chairman
of the Democratic Party of Arkansas and Democratic gubernatorial
candidate Mike Beebe on Wednesday questioned Republican rival Asa Hutchinson for turning an investment of $2,800 in a homeland-security related business into a potential $1 million windfall.
Hutchinson,
who before announcing his bid for governor was an undersecretary at the
federal Department of Homeland Security, was a founder and investor in Fortress America Acquistion Corp.
The
company, formed to buy an existing company involved in emergency
preparedness or a related field, conducted an initial public offering of
its stock, which raised $42 million.
Hutchinson
owns 200,000 shares in the company. Its shares were offered at $6 and
closed Tuesday at $5.40. The company founders, a group of ex-congressmen
and other insiders, initially put up $25,000. That investment is now
worth $9.5 million; Hutchinson's share is worth $1.08 million. . . .
. . .The holding was not listed on Hutchinson's May 4 financial disclosure form for his race for governor. The candidate amended the form on May 5 to include Fortress America.
Jason
Willett, chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas, questioned why
Hutchinson didn't originally report the investment on his form.
"I
think this definitely raises some serious questions about how Mr.
Hutchinson could forget to report a million dollar investment," Willett
said. "Most Arkansans would never forget about turning $2,800 into a
million dollars over twelve months."
Hutchinson
spokesman David Kinkade said Hutchinson made a "simple error" by
omitting the investment, but realized it and quickly amended his report. . . .(June 8, 2006, Nexis All-News, accessed 1/6/2013).
His work on a National Rifle Association initiative
to study school safety and push for armed guards in schools allows him
to tout his pro-gun credentials in a state where Democrats and
Republicans alike boast of their gun collections in political ads.
If Hutchinson's connections with the world's largest private security firm comes to be seen as a conflict of interest in that initiative, will Arkansas voters recall the old revolving door charges and see Hutchinson as less of a publicservant and more of a crony capitalist?
Photo: From Securitas's 2011 report, a school security officer by a classic yellow school bus.
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Minnesota House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt is sending strong signals that he's not going to be friendly when it comes to the concerns of middle-class citizens about frac sand processing in nearby Chisago County.
Instead, he's only going to be applying his own shifting definition to the situation.
But he's quick to add that
he'll apply a strict "litmus test" to every issue: "Does this help
Minnesotans? Does this help middle-class Minnesotans find jobs? Does
this make their lives easier?"
It was a tight squeeze into a room rented by Tiller Corporation and
the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency at the North Branch Area Library
Dec. 3.
Around 100 people showed up for the meeting, which was organized to
discuss the MPCA air quality permit Tiller has yet to obtain.
Tiller needs that permit in order to operate the frack sand drying
plant it has nearly finished building along County Road 30 between North
Branch and Harris.
Don Smith, manager of the Air Quality Permits Section for the MPCA,
said Tiller began construction of the plant before receiving the proper
permit from the agency.
Subsequently, the MPCA ordered Tiller to halt construction until the
facility’s plans are thoroughly reviewed by the agency and the public.
“Normally, we issue the permit before construction is allowed to
occur,” Smith said. “In this case, the company jumped the gun a little
bit and built before they got a permit.” . . .
Another resident asked how Tiller was able to start construction of the facility without receiving the air quality permit.
Caron addressed that question.
“We made an honest mistake,” Caron said, a reply that elicited jeers from the crowd. . . .
. . ."Whether it be the noise or the pollution from the trucks, it's going
to be crazy," said Penny Corcoran who is leading a petition drive to
stop the plant from opening.
She lives about three miles from the processing plant. And her house
is a few yards from the rail line. She's concerned train traffic will
overtake her neighborhood. . . .
Besides safety concerns, Corcoran also worries property values will decrease, and she isn't the only one.
"The values will just plummet because obviously no one wants a house
on the tracks where there is consistent railway traffic," said realtor
Cathy Carchedi who's been selling homes in the area for two decades.
Will those changes make lives in Harris and North Branch easier--or lower property values? Suddenly, Daudt is narrowing his standard:
Or consider frac sand
mining, which legislative leaders have said will be a major issue this
session. Critics have raised concerns about the environmental and other
impacts in Minnesota of mining the sand, which is used in a hydraulic
fracturing process to extract oil and natural gas elsewhere in the
country.
Restrictions may be needed "but let's not throw the baby out with
the bathwater," Daudt said. "Those are jobs. I've got to think that
there's people in Minnesota that would love to have a job driving a
truck hauling frac sand."
Property values? Safety and health concerns? Concerns about the chemicals and water used to process silica sand? Apparently not a middle class litmus test if there's jobs in that mess of potage.
Photo: Toxic labs create jobs. We've got to think that there's people in Minnesota that would love to have a job driving a truck hauling this stuff.
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When it comes to Israel and school shootings, Wayne LaPierre doesn’t know what he’s talking about, Israeli security experts said Sunday.
Such shootings are very rare in Israel and have been associated with terror attacks, not crazed gunmen, they said.
...Yigal Palmor, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said the situation in Israel was “fundamentally different” from that in the United States.
“We didn’t have a series of school shootings, and they had nothing to do with the issue at hand in the United States. We had to deal with terrorism,” said Palmor.
“What removed the danger was not the armed guards but an overall anti-terror policy and anti-terror operations which brought street terrorism down to nearly zero over a number of years,” he said. “It would be better not to drag Israel into what is an internal American discussion,” he added.
“There is no comparison between maniacs with psychological problems opening fire at random to kill innocent people and trained terrorists trying to murder Israeli children,” said Reuven Berko, a retired Israeli Army colonel and senior police officer.
. . .[GOCRA President Joseph E.] Olson pointed out that the State of Israel faced a similar school
violence threat after PLO terrorists targeted schoolchildren in the
Ma’alot massacre 1974, killing 25 . The Israeli government started
encouraging reservists keep their guns at home and carry them on the
streets. Teachers armed themselves, and volunteer parents and
grandparents in plain clothing patrolled the schools and accompanied
every field trip. Israel went more than a quarter century with no
further school attacks.
The worst attack on an Israeli school was in 1974, when terrorists from
the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine took 115 people
hostage in a school in Maalot in northern Israel. Twenty-five people
were killed as Israeli commandos stormed the building, 22 of them
children.
“The attempt to compare the two tragedies is absurd,” said Prof. Gerald
Steinberg of Bar-Ilan University. “Palestinian terror attacks like one
one at Maalot — the goal of which was to use the children as hostages in
order to free other terrorists — are totally different from crimes
committed by deranged people with guns.”
As some observers have pointed out, both Columbine and Fort Hood were protected by armed law enforcement personnel. Their presence didn't deter the shooters from opening fire. Ironically, the deputy stationed at Columbine says armed guards at schools coupled with assault weapons ban would keep students safe the New York Daily News reports.
An added kicker: a [l]ittle-known Minnesota exemption allows guns in schools, the Star Tribune reported on December 20. Would the solution be more guns? Or an Israeli-style maximum security state with strict gun laws? Or fewer guns, more carefully regulated?
Photo: A security guard in the Ankeny, Iowa, school system. Six guards patrol the schools; three are armed. The guards are employed by Per Mar Security Services. The school transitioned from police offices to the private company in 2011.
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contributions. If you liked this post, consider throwing some coin to
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"bleg" though Christmas.
The last time Tony Cornish gained attention from wanting to combine education and firearms was the first anniversary of America's most lethal spree shooting, the tragedy at Virginia Tech. In 2008, Star Tribune staff writer Pat Doyle reported in Bill would allow students with permits to carry weapons on MnSCU campuses:
A year after a deranged gunman killed 32 students and faculty at
Virginia Tech, a debate over thwarting future attacks continues in
Minnesota, where a legislator advocates allowing students to carry
concealed weapons for protection on campus.
The proposal by Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Good Thunder, faces an uphill
climb but reflects a national movement among gun advocates and some
students to overturn prohibitions on students carrying weapons at
college.
. . .The bill Cornish introduced Wednesday would remove the authority of
universities to prohibit gun possession by students on school grounds.
The change would allow students 21 and older with gun permits to bring
weapons on campus.
In reports about the bill from Minnesota Public Radio and City Pages, Cornish is getting the attention he craves as the Republican lead (ranking minority member) of the House Public Safety committee the retired lawman chaired last session when the MNGOP controlled the legislature.
But Cornish first garnered some hometown headlines when he went on the local CBS/FOX affiliate, KEYC-TV, to preen in front of the camera the very day of the shootings, before the children's bodies were even removed from where they fell.
But while state representative Tony Cornish believes legislation can
help, he holds the opposite view of what lawmakers should do.
"Israel had a problem with this years ago, and they started letting
teachers carry guns and it solved the problem, says Cornish, a
Republican from Good Thunder. "Other state in our nation have passed
laws allowing teachers to carry firearms, and I've heard from a number
of parents that agree with this."
Cornish says that while liaison officers can offer some armed presence and security in schools, the state needs to go further.
"In fact I had a policeman tell me tonight that we need to arm our teachers because they can't be everywhere."
So teachers get added duties: armed security officer. To give Cornish his due, we must remember that he was endorsed by Minnesota's teachers' union, Education Minnesota, in 2010. Although he was unopposed in 2012, the union did not endorse him.
Here's the video:
Stories from the Holy Land: armed security guards
The "Israeli teachers carry guns and there's no problem" tale (variation: "All Israeli teachers are required to carry") is so common right now that it's hard to track down whether or not the example is true or not. Bluestem looked into the question and found some interesting answers.
First, when we examined the sources of the claim about packing Israeli school teachers, we generally found that those making these assertions passed around the same set of links and articles that eventually traced back to articles posted between 1999 and 2002. With each spree shooting, the example was repeated, but not examined anew.
There are a couple recent examples online in the last couple of days where writers familiar with Israel say that the claim's a weak one. Most send readers to this post, Are Israeli Teachers Armed?--crossposted at various venues. Ron Cantor, the writer is aligned with messianic Judaism--no dirty hippie--and the column is turning up on mostly conservative Christan sites. Take with a grain of salt.
Stories from the Jerusalem Post are much more persuasive and largely confirm Cantor's general premise that school security guards protect schools from terrorist attacks. Some of the most persuasive articles cover what happens when the guards don't show up en masse, either through funding cuts or strikes.
When they heard about the Sandy Hook school slaughter, my children were
surprised that the school had no security guards. Educated in Jewish
schools in Montreal and in Jerusalem, they have always studied shielded
by security guards and locked gates. They take that situation for
granted, even as resent Jews’ unfortunate vulnerability in both cities. I
want my kids, I want all kids, to live in a world where schools are the
super-safe refuges they should be rather than the targets for
terrorists and maniacs they sometimes are.
On August 28, 2008, the JP's Abe Selig reported in "School year still under threat despite cancellation of cuts":
But with only
four days left and two other major matters unresolved - the issue of
security guards for schools and safety violations in a number of
institutions across the country - the threat of classes not starting at
all remains very real.
"If security guards are not
standing at the entrances of schools on Monday, teachers will still
arrive for work, and they will send their students home," said Keren
Shaked, a spokeswoman for the Secondary School Teachers Organization,
the union that led last year's strike that paralyzed public schools for
55 days. "We cannot allow there to be a situation in which the entrances
to our school are unguarded and anyone can just walk right in."
The
security guard issue remains a complicated one, with the Education and
Public Security ministries trading blame over who is responsible for
providing such guards and the underlying funding issue rooted in
proposed cuts to the draft 2009 state budget that was approved by the
cabinet after a 16-hour session on Monday night.
While
a last-minute agreement was reached between senior officials from both
ministries regarding guards for elementary schools on Wednesday evening,
upper level schools, where the SSTO holds sway, remain a problem.
A
spokeswoman for the Education Ministry told The Jerusalem Post on
Wednesday that the Public Security Ministry, which oversees the police,
has been responsible for the security guards since 1995. She also
referred to police Cmdr. Meir Ben-Yishai's statements at the Knesset on
Wednesday morning, in which he protested the government's decision to
cut the budget for security guards, saying it would severely detract
from safety at schools.
"The police
inspector-general [David Cohen] has held three separate meetings on this
issue," Ben-Yishai said, "And he has recommended that school security
needs to continue, the same way it does at the entrances to restaurants,
banks and event halls."
The Public Security
Ministry quipped back in a statement: "The responsibility for deployment
of security guards at educational institutions is the responsibility of
the Education Ministry. To our regret, the Education Ministry did not
bother to fight against the budget cuts for security guards, which is
their job and does not fall under the responsibility of the police."
The Education Ministry spokeswoman responded: "Every year in the past [the Public Security Ministry] has had the budget for [school security guards]. Now that the money isn't there, it's become our problem."
The
issue threatens to derail the school year from day one, with the SSTO
leading the call for classes to be canceled, and others following suit. (Nexis All News, accessed 12.18.2012)
In short: without the security guards, the teachers don't protect students themselves. They send kids home. On September 1, 2009, the JP's Selig reported in "School year to begin today, despite looming issues":
Meanwhile,
the head of the Secondary School Teachers Organization, Ran Erez, said
earlier in the week that a number of other unresolved issues were still
looming on a national level.
According to Erez, those issues included the ongoing shortage of certified security guards for the country's schools . . .
Police officers will temporary fill in for missing school security guards until after Rosh Hashana, Lt.-Cmdr. Meir Ben-Yishai, head of the Israel Police's Security Department, said Monday, as an estimated 10 percent of all guard positions are unfilled.
Ben-Yishai
met with security officers and Education Ministry officials Monday to
assess security at schools ahead of the start of the school year.
Erez had said that any junior high or high school that has no guard Tuesday would not open. (Nexis All News, accessed 12.18.2012)
Security cameras proposed for Israeli schools
There's more. In "School security guards to be trained to intervene against student violence" (July 29, 2009) Yaakov Lappin reported in the Jerusalem Post that the security needs of the schools were changing:
School security guards,
who until now have focused on preventing external threats like
terrorism, will begin receiving specialized training on how to deal with
pupil violence.
In addition, closed-circuit
television cameras linked up to control rooms will monitor school
playgrounds, as part of a series of steps being taken by police to
tackle violence in schools.
The measures were announced Tuesday by Lt.-Cmdr. Meir Ben-Yishai, head of the Israel
Police's Security Department, during a meeting with security officers
responsible for educational institutions from across the country.
"These
steps stem from a need that has been identified in recent years,"
police spokeswoman Orit Friedman told The Jerusalem Post. "The guards
will be trained to deal with confrontations and to intervene in fights
between pupils.
"Until today, the role of the guards
was limited to dealing with terrorism and external threats. But they
should be able to provide solutions to incidents on school grounds as
well," Friedman said.
Friedman denied there was a
recent rise in school violence, but noted that injuries resulting from
fights and stabbings were a reality in Israeli schools.
"Having trained guards on site will cut out the need to wait for police to arrive," she added.
As part of the reforms, CCTV cameras installed in school playgrounds will feed live images to municipal control rooms.
"Pupils
will be monitored at all times in playgrounds and other areas of the
school, where the presence of teachers could be lacking," Friedman said.
While away from the front gate, the security guard can lock the school's main entrance to avoid security breaches, she added.
The type of training school guards receive from their companies is dictated and monitored by the Israel
Police. According to the new guidelines, courses for new guards will be
extended from four to six days, and there will be a greater emphasis on
firearms training.(Nexis All News, accessed 12.18.2012)
So not only was the training changing, but security cameras were to be installed at schools, with monitors feeding images into the local police stations. This proposal drew cries of "Big Brother," according to a report by the JP's Ben Hartman, "CCTV cameras won't go into classrooms or corridors. Surveillance to be limited to school gates and yards, police say":
A plan to set
up police surveillance cameras at 12 schools across the country will
not be implemented by the time the school year starts on Wednesday,
police told MKs on Sunday.
During a meeting of the
Knesset's Education, Sports, and Culture Committee, police said that the
cameras, which will broadcast back to a police command center, will not
be placed in classrooms or hallways, and will be limited to gates and
schoolyards, where they can help security guards patrol the campuses.
The
plan has stirred controversy, with critics branding it a "Big Brother"
program, and others saying it attempts to replace teachers' education
and discipline with cameras. . . .(Nexis All News, accessed 12.18.2012)
What sort of problems with violence were Israeli schools encountering? Hartman writes:
According to
an Education Ministry study from 2006, "moderate physical violence"
occurred in over half of Israeli schools in 2005, while "serious
physical violence," involving injury or threats, took place in one out
of every five.
Almost half of all students described
the atmosphere in their school as violent, according to the study,
while 27.2 percent said they felt unsafe at school. In addition, 3.7% of
students reported carrying "cold weapons" such as knives to school,
while 1.5% reported carrying firearms.(Nexis All News, accessed 12.18.2012)
It's illegal for children to carry firearms in Israel; indeed, non-veterans can't obtain permits or guns until age 27. Nor are civilians as well-armed (or as often dead) as in the United States, Addicting Information's Wendy Gittleson writes:
Teachers are neither trained nor paid to be the first line of defense
against high-powered rifles. Out of one side of their mouths, the right
is cutting school funding and attacking the teachers’ union and on the
other side, they are wanting teachers to take on the responsibility of
police and military sharpshooters . . . .
In Israel, there are approximately 7.3 guns per 100 people. In 2008,
there was less than one gun homicide per 100,000 people. In the U.S.,
there are 88.8 guns per 100 people and in 2008, there were over 3 gun
homicides for each 100,000 people. Source, gunpolicy.org. This is despite the fact that some in Israel actually do live in a war zone. . . .
Israeli soldiers, police and volunteers mobilized for school security
That's another element that articles in the Jerusalem Post make clear. On September 1, 2005, staff writers Talya Halkin and Yaakov Katz reported in "Dovrat Reform debuts as schools open":
. . . Meanwhile,
thousands of policemen will deploy across the country on Thursday to
ensure that the new school year gets off to a secure and peaceful start.
Policemen,
backed up by volunteers, will patrol various carpool pickup spots,
schools and main population centers to prevent Palestinian attacks.
Soldiers will beef up the seam-line on the West Bank to prevent terrorist infiltrations.
While
police had not received concrete intelligence regarding terrorist
threats, they did not intend to take any chances, said Asst.-Cmdr. Ze'ev
Welednger, head of the Police Security Department,.
"We
do not have concrete information, but usually there is none when terror
strikes," he said. "Since we don't have intelligence reports, we get
ready for a range of scenarios that could happen and prepare ourselves
to the best of our ability."
Welednger said terrorism was not the police's only concern.
"In
addition to the terror threats, we are also prepared for the changes
people go through on the first day of school," he said. "People's moods
change since it is a day full of pressure, and we need to be there to
help everyone get to school and home safely." . . . (Nexis All News, accessed 12.18.2012)
Other than the gated schools, armed security officers, cameras, and occasionally fully mobilized military, police and civilian volunteer force, one supposes it's the teachers who decide to carry guns into Israeli schools who've prevented incidents like Ma'lat.
Indeed, at the time of the blood standard for school attacks--the Beslan, Russia, school siege, where at least 335 children and adults were killed in September 2004--security advisor Steve Albrecht wrote in a column in the San Diego Tribune, "School violence; The terrorists' new weapon here?":
Speaking at
the national conference for the Association of Threat Assessment
Professionals in Anaheim last week, Lt. Col. David Grossman, a retired
U.S. Army Ranger, foreshadowed the Chechens' attack on the school.
. . . A hush fell over the room
as Grossman reminded the group that as far back as 1974, terrorist
attacks on an Israeli school killed 21 children. As a result, schools in
Israel, starting then and certainly today, have armed soldiers, armed police, or armed security on every campus.
Israel
has taken this psychologically significant and economically difficult
step because the leaders felt they had no choice. Terrorists don't enjoy
targeting police stations and soldiers' barracks because these people
fight them with lethal violence in kind. Terrorists attack school
campuses for two undeniable reasons: children can't shoot back at them
and any incident involving violence at what is supposed to be a safe,
"protected environment," like a school, a hospital or a day care center,
creates tremendous anxiety in the nearby community. (Nexis All News, accessed 12.18.2012)
Other than the soldiers, the police, the security guards, the fenced and gated schools, the back-pack searches, the camera images piped into the local police station, sure, those teachers who choose (it's not mandatory) to carry have stopped those terrorist attacks, Representative Cornish, and that's all we need.
Or is it? Perhaps a good gauge for the tale might be the reaction of Israeli teachers and parents when they learn that the guards aren't in place. At the time of the Beslan attacks, the Post's Stuart Winer reports in "School guards leave before children go home":
As the world reels from the Beslan school massacre, a security lapse at Israeli schools was revealed on Monday.
The Union of Local Authorities (ULAI) in Israel admitted that school security guards are leaving their posts at 2 p.m. even though there are lessons that continue till 4 p.m. in many schools. . . .
. . .Although the standard school
day ends at 2 p.m., according to [Head of Security and Deputy Director-General of the ULAI Sharon] Azriel, there are some lessons that
continue till 4 p.m. in half the country's schools. . . .
. . .Chairman of
the National Parents' Association Erez Frankel called on parents to
collect their children from schools as soon at the guards leave.
"Can
you imagine a cafe owner sending home the guard when there are still
customers inside?" he said. "If there is a need for school security then
it needs to be for all the pupils all the time.". . .(Nexis All News, accessed 12.18.2012)
Pre-1991: Parent-volunters (Heckova PTA)
It's clear that Israel has increasingly beefed up security in its schools, and so it possible that the "armed teachers" narrative was born before 1991, when Israel first employed paid guards rather than having parent volunteers stand watch. Armed teachers would have been an important element at that time.
On November 30, 1990, JP staff writer Bill Hutman reported in "Every Public School To Have Armed Guards":
Trained armed guards will be
placed at all public schools within the next three months, an Education
Ministry official said yesterday. The ministry has called a meeting
today of IDF, police, and local authority officials to work out the
details. Ami Kahan, director of the ministry's security department,
said implementation will meet the February 28 deadline set by the
Knesset education committee for hiring school security guards.
Trained armed guards will be placed at all public schools within the
next three months, an Education Ministry official said yesterday.
The
ministry has called a meeting today of IDF, police, and local authority
officials to work out the details. Ami Kahan, director of the
ministry's security department, said implementation will meet the
February 28 deadline set by the Knesset education committee for hiring school security guards.
But
the Local Authorities Council, whose cooperation is necessary for the
implementation of the plan, remains opposed to the idea. Armed guards
are not necessary in all areas of the country, said Givatayim Mayor
Yitzhak Yaron, who heads the council's education committee.
Yaron
explained that trained guards were not needed in his town, for example,
because "few Arabs pass through the city." He also raised doubts
whether security companies would be willing to work in remote
settlements.
At present, parents and sometimes high
school or even elementary school pupils serve as guards. In many cases,
schools are left unguarded when parents don't show up for duty.
The
situation in kindergartens is more severe, with not even a parent-guard
system organized in some instances. Moreover, many kindergartens don't
have phones, making it difficult to call for help in case of emergency.
Last
month, in wake of the wave of violent attacks on civilians, the Knesset
education committee demanded that the ministry switch to professional
guards. Committee members severely criticized the ministry for not
implementing the recommendations to tighten school security, made over a
year ago by the Knesset-appointed Givoli commission.
Kahan noted that kindergartens are not included in the commission's recommendations.
In
Jerusalem, at the initiative of the Parents Association, over one-third
of the schools have hired security companies. The association
presented the details of their initiative to the ministry, in hope it
would be used as the basis of the nationwide plan.
The
ministry estimated that the professional guards will cost parents
around NIS 30 per year. But the cost may be two or three times higher
in development towns and remote settlements, Yaron said.
Despite the cost to parents, the National Parents Association is firmly behind the plan, chairman Moshe Mizrahi said. (Nexis All News, accessed 12.18.2012)
It can't happen here?
Since Minnesota's teachers unon endorsed Cornish in 2010, he can't be counted among the high command of education union bashers. The problems with the idea--and using Israel as analogy--are extensive. As a review of reports from the English-language Israeli press has shown, armed teachers have been an increasingly insignificant part of Israeli school security since the early 1990s.
Moreover, Israel is much smaller and much more militarized in daily life than the United States, even though our security apparatus has been transformed since the September 11, 2001 attacks. For Israeli Jews, military services is universal for those judged fit to serve; few Americans have military service and the attendant weapons training.
Perhaps the most damning things about the proposal, though, is the sense that the solutions to potential gun violence in schools are more guns, and in the hands of those we expect to teach. Let teachers teach, politicians across the spectrum say--with the exception of Tony Cornish and his kindred across the country, who also seem to want volunteer security officers.
It feels like the same old nickel and diming of the schools. security on the cheap, and lethal force handed out to those who are routinely denigrated by the political right in the state. Cornish may see this as straight shooting, but it's got the feel of blanks misfired to start out the session.
Photo: Tony Cornish, top; Union thug, bottom.
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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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