Bluestem Prairie

Tales of Hoffman: Vergas yarn peddler slapped with ethics beef; local editorial jeers her tweet

When Bluestem last left Gretchen Hoffman, the charming freshman senator and poster child for listening comprehension tests had sniffed that she looked forward to talking to Barbara Goodwin about an offensive tweet.

The plot of this opera buffa thickened today when ethics charges were filed against Hoffman--and the yarn-peddling princess of Fargo, North Dakota, tossed out a statement that Goodwin had indeed insulted people with mental illness and developmental disabilities. Because, you know, Hoffman is a nurse.

In sunny Detroit Lakes, the DL Online reports in Ethics complaint filed against Sen. Hoffman:

Sen. Gretchen Hoffman, R-Vergas, is in hot water after a Wednesday night tweet.

An ethics complaint was filed today against Hoffman by Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, for a Twitter comment Hoffman made regarding Sen. Barb Goodwin, DFL-Columbia Heights.

Hoffman tweeted around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday that Goodwin used derogatory names when referring to people with mental illnesses.

Hoffman’s tweet stated: “Sen. Goodwin just called people with mental illness-idiots and imbeciles-while debating HHS bill #offensive #mndfl #mnsrc #mnleg.”

This was after Goodwin approached the floor to debate cuts in the Health and Human Service bill.

“I’m concerned this is a rationing of healthcare in other parts of the bill,” Goodwin said, referring to the Omnibus Health and Human Service Bill.

Goodwin said that, before working in the Legislature, she worked on a study relating to the institutionalization of state hospitals.

“We took a look at what the costs were of the state hospitals – at that point 10 state hospitals – and what it would take to de-institutionalize those folks, get them back in the community,” she said.

Goodwin then went into the history of state institutions in Minnesota, specifically in the late 80’s.

“This is how far we’ve come, the way state institutions used to be; they were called institutions for the idiots, imbeciles and the insane – and that’s what it said right on the hospital,” she said. (These comments can be found around 3:50 of the YouTube clip of Goodwin's speech.) . . .

. . . Toward the end of her remarks, Goodwin again referred to the name previously used by state institutions.

“These are people, these aren’t fiscally wise decisions in so many ways,” Goodwin said referring to cuts in the bill. “We might not have the 10 state hospitals for the idiots, insane and the imbeciles like we used to, but that’s because a lot of people put a lot of hard work and logic into how to develop absolute basic services we need in our communities.” (These comments can be found around 11:20 of the YouTube clip of Goodwin's speech.) . .

The skinny on the complaint:

The complaint suggests Hoffman violated a Senate rule that states any member shall not publish material about another member’s position that is known to be false or clearly misleading. It also alleges that Hoffman violated a portion of the rule that states members are to adhere to the highest standard of ethical conduct.

In a separate editorial, the Detroit Lakes paper's editorial board posted its opinion in Jeers for Hoffman’s inflamatory ‘tweet’:

Jeers to State Sen. Gretchen Hoffman of Vergas for her needlessly incendiary way of doing business in the Legislature.

She is in trouble for a “tweet” message Wednesday night during a Health and Human Services debate in which she took a fellow legislator’s comments completely out of context.

Hoffman, a small business owner, is no fool. Perhaps she was bored or tired — it was a late session — but we don’t understand what she hoped to gain by sitting back and sniping falsehoods through her Twitter account.

As a rookie lawmaker, she is new to politics, so her constituents may want to cut her a little slack.

She should apologize and move on. And most importantly, make sure it doesn’t happen again.

If she is going to cover the Legislature by tweeting messages, she has a journalist’s responsibility to get as close to the truth of the matter as she can.

Hoffman fell far short of that mark on Wednesday night.

It doesn't look likely that Hoffman will apologize. In Ethics complaint filed against senator for Twitter message, Rachel Stassen Berger reports:

In a statement Friday, Hoffman said: ""On Wednesday, May 18, Senator Barb Goodwin referred to people with mental illnesses as idiots and imbeciles in the Minnesota State Senate floor.  As a registered nurse who has worked with patients with mental illnesses for many years, I was offended by her remarks.  I shared Senator Goodwin’s remarks with my Twitter followers. Until the Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct completes their work, I have no further comment.”

Okay then.

Photo: Gretchen Hoffman.

Related posts: Tales of Hoffman: Unsweet tweet may meet ethics complaint fate

Tales of Hoffman; or, Newman off-shores Minnesota job-killing tax blame game

Tales of Hoffman: Attention gay Raelians! Schedule your next skeet shoot in Fergus Falls!

Bleg: Like Bluestem's investigative blogging? Drop some coin in the tip jar

Not long at Bluestem started in mid-July 2006, the blog drew national attention to Tim Walz’s triumph over then-Representative Gil Gutknecht at their first head-to-head debate. A writer at Daily Kos used the coverage to explore why local blogging matters.

Since then, story after story has first appeared here, as well as commentary about news from Greater Minnesota that often pushes rural life and politics toward a broader audience.

Think for a moment about items that first appeared on the little blog on the prairie. Emmer’s mortgages. Buesgens' home foreclosure. Quist’s political resurrection. The NRCC’s lifting of a slogan for an anti-depressant in a much-ridiculed attempt at re-branding. Randy Demmer’s abuse of the per diem system while attending NRCC candidates' school in DC. 

Story after story has broken at Bluestem, which runs on my own dime and tips from individual readers. Since the breaking of the Giefer pardon story on Sunday, November 28, people have been asking how they might help with the investigative work Bluestem provides for progressive causes in Minnesota.

The answer is simple: leave a holiday tip for Bluestem Prairie.

Want more research and blogging from this site? Contribute via Bluestem’s tip jar. All contributions will go toward keeping Bluestem going by paying the expenses for the site and  for research projects.  I enjoy a frugal life in rural Minnesota, and will use each dollar carefully as I pursue leads and story ideas.

Can you spare a few dollars to help fund the best little blog on the prairie? Not comfortable with the tip jar? Email me for an address where contributions can be sent.

Thank you,

Sally Jo Sorensen

P.S. I continue to appreciate news tips as well; the Giefer pardon research started with a reader's tip.

The Uptake: Livestreaming the Emmer concession speech

The press conference is over. Here's the archived footage:

Watch live streaming video from theuptake at livestream.com

Put a little holiday cheer in the Uptake's stocking. Link for contributions here.

Politico notes Demmer's lack of name recognition, tags story with "Randy Emmer"

How much does Randy Demmer's lackluster campaign need the money the NRCC and Norm Coleman's Big Money interests are pouring into it?

After Demmer's dismal debate performances in which he admitted not reading the health care bill and claimed that Israel and Palestine had been in peace talks for a 1000 years, quite a bit.

A new story in Politico sets up the situation. James Hohmann reports in  Tim Walz confident about survival:

The incumbent is a husky, insuppressible ball of energy. At the Wagon Wheel Café, he wore blue jeans and an untucked yellow polo shirt underneath a red fleece. He fist bumped the cook and joked with the waitress about controlling his weight. He’s part Chris Farley, part Dennis Hastert.

“I don’t make any bones about it that, yes, there was a wave in ‘06 that helped me, but I had to get on the board and ride it,” he said. “My opponent can’t even get on the board by himself. They’re trying to lift him on the board, and I don’t think he can ride the wave.

And Demmer? Whoever tagged the story nailed the content down. Hohmann writes:

Demmer’s biggest problem now is that people don’t know him. An internal campaign poll in July found his name recognition below 50 percent.

That gives Walz an opening to define his opponent. He’s been running an ad with grainy footage from early 2008 of Demmer sounding receptive to the partial privatization of Social Security.

The tag on the story? "Randy Emmer."

Those who are annoyed by Washington-based attempts to buy the district can contribute to Walz's campaign here.

Images: Walz in Worthington (above); a screenshot of Politico's lack of name recognition (below).

 

 

 

Emmer's Waitergate road trip: if you're in a hole, quit digging; scrubbing YouTube? Maybe not

The Worthington Globe reported Friday in Political Notes: GOP's Emmer gets plenty of tips:

During a Moorhead visit, Emmer said Fargo has many more eating places in part because North Dakota laws are similar to those he wants, which makes it less costly for restaurants to make money because they would be able to pay servers less than minimum wage.

Intrigued by that tidbit, I went to the web site of the Fargo Forum, owned by the same newspaper chain as the Globe. Here one can read in Emmer defends tip credit:

Tom Emmer points to Fargo’s rows of restaurants as one reason to pay Minnesota servers less.

While in Moorhead on Tuesday, the Republican gubernatorial candidate defended his stance on reinstating minimum wage restrictions for tipped employees in Minnesota.

He said it could reinvigorate the restaurant industry in the border city.

“This is a great example of what Minnesota needs to do to be competitive,” he said. “And it’s not to reduce wages; it’s hopefully to increase more opportunity and allow them (servers) to garner more wages.”

Restoring a “tip credit” in Minnesota like one used in North Dakota and other states would allow restaurants to pay tipped workers less than minimum wage.

North Dakota employees who make $30 or more in tips a month can be paid $4.86 an hour. In Minnesota, large employers that take in $625,000 or more must pay a minimum of $6.15 an hour.

While the article simply reports what Emmer said in Moorhead, the paper was quick to note the flaws in the Republican candidate's logic.

The paper's editorial board weighed in with  Emmer’s wage idea for servers not very helpful (emphasis added):

Tom Emmer got it wrong. The Republican candidate for Minnesota governor would cut wages for Moorhead’s restaurant servers so, he said, Moorhead restaurants can compete on a more level playing field with Fargo restaurants. He said the difference in the way the two states pay wait staff is why there are more restaurants in Fargo.

No, that’s not it.

Fargo is a bigger city. It has more of everything than Moorhead because the customer base is bigger. Therefore, investors in restaurants and nearly every other retail business go where the traffic is.

How much bigger is Fargo than Moorhead? Fargo is home to around 95,000 people ( 2009 estimates), while the 2008 city population estimate for Moorhead is just over 36,000 (see figures in right hand column). The editors continue:

Additionally, Moorhead has several of the better restaurants in F-M, which attract customers from Fargo because they are good restaurants. They thrive because they offer good food and good service at fair prices – and they do so within the framework of Minnesota’s wage laws.

Finally, does Emmer really want to paint Moorhead as a low-wage city at a time when Fargo and Moorhead are focusing economic development efforts on creating good-paying jobs? It’s the wrong signal.

Tom Emmer apparently took that advice to heart, more or less, and the campaign (or someone) has pulled a YouTube of his remarks in Moorhead. A google hit ghost remains:

YouTube - Tom Emmer in Moorhead on Jobs Tour

Jul 6, 2010 ... Tom Emmer gives an update from Moorhead on Lumber Companies and Tip Credits.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QsuGZ5oKT0 - Cached

At RogueOn Minnesota, one can see this post, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs – Emmer Message, and there's a black space for a Youtube, which one learns has been removed by the user. (And yes, I've saved screenshots).

The "Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jos, Jobs" message is posted on the real Emmer for Governor Facebook page, but when one clicks through to the link to the Emmer for Governor campaign website, the message is "Page Not Found." Another post with a similar title is now on the website.

Who  posted that clip? RogueOn Minnesota or Emmer for Governor? Who took that YouTube down?  Perhaps someone downloaded the clip and could email the footage to me via so I could see who produced the now vanished Emmerism.

While the brain trust running Team Emmer might have fancied that the far northwestern corner of the state was a place to make a tepid defense of the tip credit, away from the meddling minions of moderation in the metro, an early May post at Outstate Politics suggests that this might also be an area where rural Republicans may be tempted to feel a bit of buyers' remorse:

For all the talk about unity coming out of the Minnesota Republican Party Convention this weekend, this article from the Bemidji Pioneer shows that rural Minnesotans aren’t all that excited about the Twin Cities Republican ticket:

Seifert’s loss left a huge chunk of rural Republicans without a candidate they fully support.

On Friday’s balloting, the 1st, 7th and 8th congressional districts went heavily for Seifert. They represent by far the bulk of rural Minnesota, pretty much everything outside of the Twin Cities and St. Cloud.

Seifert noted that Emmer received “zero from Moorhead south to the Iowa border.” [emphasis mine]

Unfortunately for them--and Minnesota--it's pretty difficult to send this half-baked popover back the kitchen. Dave Mindemann at Mnpact looked at the same Forum chain article in A Rural Opening for Democrats?

Cyber attacks, nukes, Michele Bachmann and Paul Baran

Most of the laughter and consternation over Michele Bachmann's statement about using nuclear weapons in response to a cyber attack centered on the notion of proportionate response. (The Department of Defence had issued the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review Report earlier in the week) The post from Washington Monthly's Steve Benen is typical:

I appreciate the role a nuclear arsenal can play in serving as a deterrent against adversaries. But Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota may not appreciate the notion of a proportionate response.

"If in fact there is a nation who is compliant with all of the rules ahead of time and they've complied with the United Nations on nuclear proliferation, if they fire against the United States a biological weapon, a chemical weapon or maybe a cyber attack, well then we aren't going to be firing back with nuclear weapons," Bachmann said. "Doesn't that make us all feel safe?"

"No!" shouted the crowd of thousands in Minneapolis.

There are obviously a lot of errors of fact and judgment in that quote, but that "maybe a cyber attack" is the part that stands out...

Few observers came as close to the source of my entertainment as Little Green Footballs in Michele Bachmann: Nuke the Internet:

. . .Many cyber attacks are perpetrated by distributed networks called “botnets,” consisting of thousands of computers infected with viruses that let them be used without the owner’s knowledge. Who the hell does Bachmann think she’s going to nuke?

If Michele Bachmann’s computer was part of a botnet that launched a cyber attack against American networks, would she nuke herself?

To me, the irony is more fundamental that that. The structure of the Internet is itself based on a theoretical model conceived by Paul Baran in response to the question of how to keep lines of communications between researchers robust in the aftermath of a nuclear strike. A collection of his research published by the Rand Corp notes:

While working at RAND on a scheme for U.S. telecommunications infrastructure to survive a "first strike," Baran conceived of the Internet and digital packet switching, the Internet's underlying data communications technology. His concepts are still employed today; just the terms are different. His seminal work first appeared in a series of RAND studies published between 1960 and 1962 and then finally in the tome "On Distributed Communications," published in 1964.

Essentially, Baran suggested replacing centralized and decentralized communications systems with a distributed grid. Should one node be knocked out, another node and pathway would be used.

Thus, I wonder how effective it might be to nuke a node from which a cyber attack originated when other means might be more tactically wise. Rather than hurling a Minuteman or Trident, it seems more appropriate to email the nerd Marines.*

Image: Paul Baran's conceptual drawings of centralized, decentralized and distributed networks.

*One of my young friends is in the nerd Marines, though he doesn't share any details beyond that description with his family and acquaintances. And if my friend is any indicator, the nerd Marines are every bit as physically ripped and combat ready as the rest of the Corps--not a guy I would consider messing with, on or off the Internet.

Discipline, punish & Flip-video: a Tea Party Panopticon

The Strib included this gem from a speaker at yesterday's Tea Party Express stop in St. Paul:

Mark Skoda, a member of the Memphis Tea Party, warned the crowd that opponents will try to infiltrate upcoming anti-tax rallies. He urged people to buy small video cameras to document Tea Party events so "you know who's next to you."

Many pixels have burned as pundits, journalists and others try to decipher the discourse formation of the Tea Party Movement. Once instruments for disseminating the anger and anti-government message of the protests, video cameras will now evolve into a medium for control.

In short, the gatherings' own self-induced paniopticon. Jeremy Bentham would be proud of the use of technology, though probably not impressed by the rest of it.

Campaigning like it's 1999: New Ulm Journal praises Hagedorn emails as "leg up" on rivals

I had a good laugh at the lede for an article in the New Ulm Journal, Hagedorn uses the Internet:

If Internet campaigning, like President Obama used in his 2008 campaign, is the way to go, then Republican Jim Hagedorn, who is seeking his party's endorsement to take on incumbent Democrat Congressman Tim Walz in Minnesota's First Congressional District race in November, must have a leg up on his competition with his aggressive E-Newsletter campaigning.

Staff writer Ron Larsen must have mistaken aggression toward Hagedorn's fellow Republicans for effectiveness, because there's little in Hagedorn's "internet campaigning" that resembles Obama's highly effective social media strategy.

With the possible exception of Frank McKinzie, all of the candidates are using email. It's been a staple of professional campaigns for a decade.

But online campaigning is much more sophisticated than email, however mean the messages in those email may be.

Zillions of megapixels have been burned delving into the Obama campaign's social media strategy; one typical and very basic introduction is found in the readwriteweb's short posts Obama's Social Media Advantage and Obama's Social Media Advantage, Act II, which compare the Obama and McCain use of Twitter and MySpace. Google a bit, and readers can find plenty of reading to suit their curiosity.

MySpace isn't playing much of a role in 2010 campaigns, but candidate are turning to twitter, YouTube and Facebook in the First. So how is Hagedorn doing at that?

His web site provide icons linking to twitter and Facebook. Hagedorn isn't following anyone on twitter, and has picked up 16 followers with the 19 tweets posted since December 2; he's not on any lists. The content is mixed between personal  and campaign material.

On Facebook, he's picked up 118 fans; the page is mostly a link farm to campaign publications. A few comments have been added by fans, but there's little sense of engagement. (Hagedorn has an active YouTube channel with more material, but it's not accessible from his front page, and much of the content is of the other candidates speaking).

Late comer Jim Engstrand's page includes icons for twitter and Facebook. Engstrand is following 10 tweeps, but only has 3 followers. Most of those being followed are from outside Minnesota; two of the followers are from First. Two people appear to be tweeting from the account: Engstrand and his campaign manager Cynthia (Newman) Werner. The account isn't on any lists.

Despite entering the endorsement race in late January, at 127 people Engstrand page has nine more fans than Hagedorn, though the level of fan interaction is about the same: virtually nil. It's mostly a link farm to calender events and campaign media.

Demmer For Congress also links to twitter and Facebook. Like Hagedorn, Demmer isn't following anyone on twitter; he has, however, picked up 62 followers and is included in 6 lists. On Facebook, the Hayfield Republican has picked up 192 fans and his posts include links to campaign materials and genial status updates. More fans interact on the page as well, "liking" posts and  occasionally commenting. Demmer's page also includes an icon linked to the campaign's YouTube channel.

Allen Quist for Congress includes icons for twitter, Facebook and YouTube, and his web master has included a widget for Quist's Facebook page on the campaign site's front page. Quist follows two Mankato media organizations, while he has 72 followers; the account has tweeted 19 times. There's only one YouTube up.

Quist's Facebook fan base towers over that of his competitors, with 696 fans. While Quist may be the oldest major candidate in the field, his campaign is hooked in to the Facebook phenomenon, and the list of fans reads like a Who's Who of conservative activists in the First (I'm not so sure of that Russell Hess guy, though). Though the page is set so that one has to click open feedback, Quists does get more "likes" and comments, even though the site is mostly links to press releases and other campaign material. 

Does Hagedorn have a more net-savvy strategy than his competition?

Hardly. He's certainly more critical of his rivals online, but his campaign doesn't attract online followers or fans. Did the New Ulm Journal's reporter even ask himself what "internet campaigning" meant--or did Hagedorn pitch his email attacks on other Republicans as the thing all the cool kids are doing these days?

Transparency update: Congressman Walz submits FY2011 earmarks requests

My March 11 post, Tim Walz conducts virtual hearing on district earmark proposals, looked at Congressman Walz's use of his web site to ask Southern Minnesotans for comment on 99 earmark proposals he had received from local government, public schools and college and non-profits for earmarks.

Drawing from the comments submitted by over 1,000 people and the soundness of the proposal, Walz has winnowed the 99 projects down to 42 projects (by my count) which he has forwarded to the House Appropriations Committee.

in a press release, Walz thanked those who had looked over the proposals:

“I want to thank folks for taking the time out of their day to provide me with their thoughtful, well-informed insight into the local needs of southern Minnesota,” said Walz. “Their input was critical to my final decisions and they played an important role in helping me identify projects that are good for the local economy and good for Minnesota taxpayers.”

For the second year, the reformed earmark process, which was championed by Walz, now requires Members to post all earmark requests and requested dollar amounts on their website, as well as the potential recipient, information about the necessity of the project, and contact information for requestors.

“While it is likely that only a few of these meritorious projects will ultimately receive funding, I believe it is important for residents of southern Minnesota to be able to see the list of projects I am supporting and I am proud to release this information about priorities.”

For more on the process, read below the fold.

Tim Walz conducts virtual hearing on district earmark proposals

It's been an interesting two days for those who enjoy watching federal politics in Minnesota's First Congressional District.

The most fascinating development has been the response to Congressman Walz's virtual hearing on the 99 earmark proposals he's taken in for review. A cross-partisan site, Techpresident, reports in Minnesota's First District Has a Homework Assignment: Judging Earmarks:

. . .Walz is putting a little bit of that creativity and collaborative thinking to work on Capitol Hill. Last Friday, Walz, who represents Minnesota's 1st District as a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, posted online the 98 different applications for earmarks received by his office.

For one week, he's asking the people of his district to help him vet the applications, running the gamut from a "new aerial port facility" for the 934th Airlift Wing, worth $7.7 million, to half a million dollars for dental care for the underserved and uninsured people of southern Minnesota. He's asking that they judge the projects based on accountability, impact, and the level of public support they would receive.

"We cannot fund all of these projects," reads a Walz press release, "so I am counting on southern Minnesotans to take some ownership of the important decisions I will soon be making on their behalf." . . .

The official comment period closed at 5 p.m. today, though responses can still be submitted. However, late reactions have no guarantee of being read. From the sounds of news reports, Walz and his staff will have a lot of reading to do. The Winona Daily News reports in Walz listening on earmark requests:

One of Congress' most vocal proponents of transparency in the earmark process, Walz invited residents to submit online comments at walz.house.gov on the proposed earmarks in what he called a "virtual hearing." He had received more than 700 responses as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, Severs said, and comments submitted through 5 p.m. today will be considered as Walz determines which projects to submit to the appropriations committee.

The congressman submitted 44 projects from his district last year, and his selections this year will be posted March 19 on his Web site.

"He is looking for projects whose requesters share his commitment to transparency and accountability," Severs said.

The Rochester Post Bulletin noted Tuesday in Deadline near to comment on federal appropriations:

Now's the time to sound off about which projects deserve federal funding in southeast Minnesota.

Rep. Tim Walz is soliciting public comments through his Web site, where he has listed 99 projects sent to him with funding requests.

Projects range from a $198 million project to replace the Interstate 90 bridge over the Mississippi River to a $600,000 funding request to launch a municipal pet-licensing program.

So far, more than 500 comments have poured in to Walz's office. The deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday.

The congressional office will continue to accept comments past the deadline, but can't guarantee Walz will read them before a March 19 deadline to submit a project list to the House Appropriations Committee.

It's the first year Walz's office has conducted appropriations in this "transparent" fashion, said an office spokeswoman.

"As far as we know, we're the only member of Congress to be doing this," said spokeswoman Sara Severs.

The Post Bulletin article reports that the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce urged its members to comment:

The Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce sent an electronic message to members on Tuesday asking them to send Walz their comments supporting five requests in particular.

Those included a $2 million request to help build a Rochester railroad bypass; $2 million to help build a high-speed rail route to the Twin Cities; $15 million to build a U.S. 52 interchange at 65th Street in Rochester; $5 million to help build a U.S. 52 interchange near the proposed Elk Run biobusiness park; and $7 million to extend 55th Street in rural north Rochester.

Not every group in the area supports the railroad bypass; I'm an active member of the Minnesota Farmers Union, which opposes the project because county locals in the area have come out against the RACC-promoted concept. Walz will likely be reading comments from both sides. (I'm also not a fan of Winona's PRT proposal, for reasons pointed out on this blog).

Yesterday, KEYC-TV reported in City Of Fairmont Works To Persuade Cong. Walz To Give Them Funding:

When Fairmont's new water treatment facility opens in 2012, residents could be paying twice as much as they did in 2008.To keep the costs lower, the city has applied for federal funding to pay for half of the cost.News 12's Erick Lind tells us that the city is now asking for as many people to show the plant is worthy of Washington's help.Fairmont knows the water treatment facility needs to be replaced.The plant has stood for over 80 years and is scheduled for an update in 2012.

But it's a 30 million dollar update.The city requested 15 million dollars of federal funding from Congressman Tim Walz.Now city leaders are hoping for more voices to help the Congressman decide.

Fairmont Public Works Director Troy Nemmers says, "He's put together this virtual meeting on his website for the public to provide comments on all the applications he's received. Then he takes that information into consideration when he's selecting the projects he want to request federal dollars for."

Nemmers says that any citizen can go online to ask for the funding for the new plant.

Business leaders in the community have already done that.Fairmont Chamber of Commerce President Bob Wallace says, "We've got quite a few responses out of the business community because they really how important this is, and how much this impacts us and the community, and we'd like to reach the general populace too."

Wallace says the federal help won't just keep taxes lower.He says with so many in the city relying on water, keeping the water costs lower can keep businesses coming to town.

But, Nemmers knows Fairmont's project is one of 99 applications that Congressman Walz is considering for funding.He just hopes it will help Walz's decision if enough constituents voice the need.Nemmers says, "We ask everybody to get out and provide some comment on the project. The more the better."

Then citizens may have a better chance of upgrading their water without downgrading their wallets.In Fairmont, Erick Lind, News 12.

The virtual meeting has been running since the end of last week and will close Thursday afternoon at 5.

The response by Walz's Republican challengers to the issue of earmarks has been predictably confused.

A verbatim press release: "Fact Check: NRCC Health-Care Robo Calls"

Over at Minnpost, Eric Black posted A verbatim press release: "Code Red: NRCC Launches Targeted Calls Against Tim Walz Alerting Minnesota Families to the Democrats’ Dangerous Healthcare Takeover - And How to Stop It".

That being the case, here's a verbatim press release from the DFL responding to the NRCC robocalls:

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party

For immediate release

[contact info redacted] 

Fact Check: NRCC Health-Care Robo Calls

St. Paul (March 4, 2010) — The DFL Party released this fact-check on the NRCC’s anti-health-insurance reform robo calls that began running in Minnesota’s first Congressional District this week:

NRCC Claim	Fact
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Obama are planning to ram their dangerous, out-of-control health care spending bill through Congress...”	The Democratic Bill "Covers 12 Times As Many People And Saves $36 Billion More Than The Republican Plan."  The Washington Post's Ezra Klein wrote: "According to CBO, the GOP's alternative will shave $68 billion off the deficit in the next 10 years. The Democrats, CBO says, will slice $104 billion off the deficit. The Democratic bill, in other words, covers 12 times as many people and saves $36 billion more than the Republican plan." [Washington Post, 11/5/09]
“…a bill that will kill jobs…	Health-Care Reform Will Create Up To 4 Million American Jobs In The Next Decade.  According to the Center for American Progress, "Relative to baseline employment forecasts from the Employment Projections Program at the U.S. Department of Labor, we estimate that moderate medical savings from health care modernization as envisioned under the legislation now before Congress would lead to an average of 250,000 additional jobs created annually. Under the larger assumption about savings due to health care reform, 400,000 new jobs a year would be created on average." [Center for American Progress, New Jobs Through Better Health Care, January 2010]
“…raise the costs of health care and increase taxes.”	Democratic health-insurance reform will lower costs for families. PolitiFact: "For Most People, Premiums Would Stay About The Same, Or Slightly Decrease."  According to PolitiFact.com: "The CBO reported that, for most people, premiums would stay about the same, or slightly decrease. This was especially true for people who get their insurance through work. (Health policy wonks call these the large group and small group markets.) People who have to go out and buy insurance on their own (the individual market) would see rates increase by 10 to 13 percent. But more than half of those people -- 57 percent, in fact -- would be eligible for subsidies to help them pay for the insurance. People who get subsidies would see their premiums drop by more than half, according to the CBO. So most people would see their premiums stay the same or potentially drop." [PolitiFact.com, 1/27/10] CBO: House Bill Will Result In Lower Costs For American Families.  The Congressional Budget Office estimated that in 2016, premiums will be $5,300 for an individual and $15,000 for a family of four in the Exchange.  Without reform, the average family premium is expected to grow to $24,000. [CBO, 11/2/09; House Education and Labor Committee, 11/2/09] Gruber: Senate Bill Lowers Premiums And Improves Coverage.  In his analysis of the Senate health care bill, MIT economist Jonathan Gruber wrote: "It is worth noting that these savings are all in addition to the more generous benefits that these groups will receive through the exchange compared to the non-group market...So not only does the Senate proposal lower premiums, it does so while also improving coverage."  [Gruber, "The Senate Bill Lowers Non-Group Premiums: Updated for New CBO Estimates," 11/27/09, via Politico; emphasis added] Senate Bill Will Cause Premiums For Low Income Americans To Drop Thousands Of Dollars.  Politico reported that MIT economist Jonathan Gruber found "that people purchasing individual insurance would save an annual $200 (singles) to $500 (families) in 2009 dollars. And people with low incomes would receive premium tax credits that would reduce the price that they pay for health insurance by as much as $2,500 to $7,500." [, 11/28/09]
“Tim Walz should be focusing on creating jobs.”	Health-insurance reform will create jobs and benefit our nation’s long-term fiscal health by cutting the deficit by over $130 billion. Health-Care Reform Will Create Up To 4 Million American Jobs In The Next Decade. According to the Center for American Progress, "Relative to baseline employment forecasts from the Employment Projections Program at the U.S. Department of Labor, we estimate that moderate medical savings from health care modernization as envisioned under the legislation now before Congress would lead to an average of 250,000 additional jobs created annually. Under the larger assumption about savings due to health care reform, 400,000 new jobs a year would be created on average." [Center for American Progress, New Jobs Through Better Health Care, January 2010] CBO: Democratic Bill Would Cost $1 Trillion, Cut Deficit By $132 Billion. According to the Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the Democratic health care plan: CBO and JCT estimate that, on balance, the direct spending and revenue effects of enacting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act incorporating the manager's amendment would yield a net reduction in federal deficits of $132 billion over the 2010-2019 period. [Congressional Budget Office, 12/19/09] The Democratic Bill "Covers 12 Times As Many People And Saves $36 Billion More Than The Republican Plan."  The Washington Post's Ezra Klein wrote: "According to CBO, the GOP's alternative will shave $68 billion off the deficit in the next 10 years. The Democrats, CBO says, will slice $104 billion off the deficit. The Democratic bill, in other words, covers 12 times as many people and saves $36 billion more than the Republican plan." [WashingtonPost, 11/5/09]

-30-
Chair Brian Melendez, Associate Chair Donna Cassutt
255 East Plato Blvd., St. Paul , MN 55107 www.dfl.org

Disclosure: I have a contract with the DFL advising the state party with social media issues. It did not involve the production of the press release above. For more details, see the "Important Information" on the right hand column of this page.

Will Jim Engstrand's volunteers really be making phone calls for "Michele"?

Update: Engstrand's campaign has fixed the form, so I'm happy I posted screenshots and saved copies of the form. So far, the online payment link has not yet been corrected. [end update]

GOP hopeful Jim Engstrand's campaign web site can best be described as a work in progress. However, none of the rambling run-on sentences nor homonym errors quite measure up to the latest chuckle.

It appears as if Engstrand's contribution form was swiped from Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, his name substituted for that of the gentlewoman from Minnesota's Sixth, rearranged a bit, and the edited pdf posted on his own contribution page. Download pdf "Contribute_to_Engstrand".

True to the rest of the site, the campaign doesn't seem to have invested in proofreading, however, and so potential contributors read this checklist of volunteer opportunities 

Yes, I would like to:
____ Host an event at my home
____ Place a lawn sign in my yard
____ Help with literature drops and mailings
____ Make telephone calls on behalf of Michele
____ Write a letter to the editor of my local newspaper
____ March in parades

This list resembles that on the form found on the congresswoman's campaign site:

Yes, I would like to:
____Host an event at my home
____Place a lawn sign in my yard
____Help with literature drops and mailings
____Make telephone calls on behalf of Michele
____Write a letter to the editor of my local newspaper
____March in parades

This similarity led one of my uncouth friends to speculate on whether the First District Republican hopeful ever did Bachmann drag. I find the suggestion completely inappropriate. 

Instead, I wonder if the proofreading error signals that Congresswoman Bachmann will be supporting Engstrand, rather than Allen Quist, who is the spouse of her district director, Julie Quist. Did a Bachmann campaign staff member direct Engstrand's campaign to adapt the form?

Another entertaining item: Engstrand's newly added "Donate" button leads to a Paypal notice:

We cannot process this transaction because there is a problem with the PayPal email address supplied by the seller. Please contact the seller to resolve the problem. If this payment is for an eBay listing, you can contact the seller via the "Ask Seller a Question" link on the listing page. When you have the correct email address, payment can be made at www.paypal.com.

As one can see from the snarl of code in the screenshot to the left, that troublesome email address looks to be one of the accounts used by Engstrand's staff/volunteer from Duncanville, TX, Cynthia Werner.

It takes a worried man: SD 26 GOP Endorsee Mike Parry scrubs potentially offensive twitter posts

Update 1/6: To read about the twitter scrubbing story hitting the local news (and Mike Parry's denials) check out Uproar: Parry twitter scrubbing story hits local papers in Waseca and Owatonna End update.

According to today's Waseca County News, GOP-endorsed SD 26 candidate Mike Parry boasted at the recent GOP endorsing convention in Faribault:

He told delegates that, like them, he wants “a senator that is not worried about being politically correct....”

However, when progressives on twitter began to research and respond to Parry's twitterstream, Parry appears to have reversed himself about both his state of mind and political correctness.

After Patrick Timmons, who tweets as @mngopwatch, discovered a May 26 Parry anti-Obama tweet which Timmons copied into his own tweetstream:

Putting this here, in case he deletes it. RT @mikeparry read the exclusive on Mr O in Newsweek. He is a Power Hungry Arrogant Black Man

Parry began to scrub the posts being discussed on twitter. Readers won't find all the tweets discussed in this post if they visit  Parry's twitterstream at http://twitter.com/mikeparry. To better read the screenshots, clink on the images in this post to access larger files.

Since he's scrubbed some his posts, so I'll be posting screen shots of the material under examination. The "Power Hungry Arrogant Black Man" from May 26 is the third tweet in the screenshot above. The first tweet in the screenshot ("4th grade Graduation at Sacred Heart. Hope these kids are tainted by Mr. O") from May 29.

Other tweeps and bloggers are raising questions about the "Arrogant Black Man" post. I'll be focusing on  two other Parry tweets--scrubbed and unscrubbed--that carry more implications for SD26 voters in the January 26 special election.

 My subject is Parry's understanding of the concept of "Absentee Voter fraud."

 Facing a mid-winter special election, SD26 "snowbirds" who have gone south for the winter--but who may well wish to vote via absentee ballot--might be perplexed by Parry's original take on their voting rights.

Parry hasn't yet scrubbed a post (click on the image to the right)in which he decried absentee voter fraud.  What's missing is the post that had followed, in which he observed that "Only those serving overseas can vote absebtee! [sic]."

Tweeps dissecting Parry's posts remarked about the now-scrubbed item about absentee voting. One sharp-eyed tweep wondered while correcting the candidate's spelling:

maybe he should learn the law before running for office: RT @mikeparry Only those serving overseas can vote absentee!

Then pointed to Minnesota's laws on which voters may use absentee ballots:

guess he doesn't know how to use the internet http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=211

Were Mike Parry to follow that link, he'd learn:

You may find that you are unable to get to your polling place location on Election Day but still want to vote in the election.

In Minnesota, citizens are allowed to vote absentee for the following reasons:

• Absent from your precinct
• Illness or disability
• Serving as an election judge in another precinct
• Religious discipline or religious holiday or observance
• Eligible emergency declared by the governor or quarantine declared by the federal or state government

Click the links below for more information:

General Absentee Information
Military and Overseas Voters
Delivery of Absentee Ballots by Others
Permanent and Ongoing Absentee Ballots
Voters Moving From Minnesota to Another State

One acquaintance suggested that perhaps Parry's now vanished tweet was actually a call to change Minnesota law to restrict the use of absentee ballots to only those in the military serving overseas. 

Under either reading, the deleted post is a slap in the face to most voters who need to obtain an absentee ballot--and may legally do so under Minnesota law.

How worried was Mike Parry about this and other scrubbed content? How extensive was the scrub job? As Southeast Minnesota Area Labor Council President Laura Askelin, who tweets as "cursedthing", noted earlier this afternoon:

cursedthing Corrected count...@MikeParry deleted 33 tweets today to try to scrub questionable tweets. (was at 124 now at 91)

I'll update this post if more bloggers find additional telling information among those scrubbed post. What's self-proclaimed anti-political correctness warrior Mike Parry so worried about that he hoped voters wouldn't read--and so erased from twitter?

An earlier Minnesota Progressive Project post,Does Mike Parry have any positions? If so, what are they? looked at Parry's retooling of his web site. Parry had been originally planning to run against Rep. Kory Kath for a seat in the Minnesota House, and so the links to the national Republican platform are even more curious.

Note: in copy editing this post, the title was changed within 30 seconds of the original publication.

Bluestem Youtube: R.T. Rybak on social media

I'm still working on editing a Youtube of Mayor Rybak's campaign kick-off stops in Mankato and New Prague last week. I'd arranged to interview the mayor on the drive between the Southern Minnesota cities.

The last question I asked wasn't about Greater Minnesoa, but how Rybak would use social media as a tool in his administration.

His response:

For me, Rybak's, observations about social media as a tool for creating community recalled a recent post by Robin Marty at Power Liberal, An open letter to all gubernatorial candidates. Marty, a MAK supporter, writes:

I am also excited to see that you are all beginning to embrace online media. Many of us have spend years using the internet as a place to share information and organize on line. We are happy that you have decided to join us and engage us here on our home turf.

The most ethical use of social media by a campaign is about community, not simply having another channel.

Finally, I recommend Aaron Brown's excellent series of interviews of DFL gubernatorial candidates at Minnesota Brown:

For posterity, here are the links and dates of the posts:

State Sen. Tom Bakk (June 13, 2008)
State Rep. Paul Thissen (Nov. 17, 2008)
Former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton (April 24, 2009)
Former State Rep. Matt Entenza (May 4, 2009)
State Sen. John Marty (June 23, 2009)
Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner (July 13, 2009)
State Rep. Tom Rukavina (Aug. 11, 2009)
State House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher (Aug. 17, 2009)
Former State Sen. Steve Kelley (Oct. 18, 2009)
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak (Dec. 16, 2009)

Brown plans to release an e-book of the interviews and analysis early next year. I look forward to reading it. Lke marty, Brown shares his thoughts on the brave new world of social media and campaigns:

These interviews have been a fascinating experience and prove that we're entering a untamed new era in journalism. I am a trained journalist, but function as an independent blogger with a stated agenda (selling books and strengthening Minnesota's Iron Range through political and community action). . . .Seeing these candidates in a wide variety of situations has given me a glimpse into their personalities, operating styles and campaign strategies that 99 percent of caucus goers and primary voters don't get. For that I am grateful and hope to inform people in a way that is fair to all the candidates and viewpoints that differ from my own. . .

Brown's blog sticks to the Range, but it's one of the state most consistently strong blogs.

Minnesota Farmers Union convention to fill open vice president slot

I'll be dividing my time this weekend with Netroots MN and the Minnesota Farmers Union convention, so posting will be light. Here's an article from the Farmer about the latter event:

Minnesota Farmers Union is having their annual state convention Saturday, November 21 and Sunday, November 22 at the Ramada Plaza in Minneapolis.

"Every year since 1942, Farmers Union members have gathered to develop our state policy from ideas they bring to the table," said Doug Peterson, MFU president. "We then take that policy to the state and federal level and fight for the issues important to our members!  During policy debate this year, some of the issues I expect we will be discussing are health care, climate change, and fair pricing for livestock and grain production."

Along with policy discussion, there will be elections for both president and vice president. Doug Peterson, current MFU president, is running for re-election unopposed. Long-time MFU vice president Dennis Sjodin has decided to not run for re-election. Vying for the v.p. chair are: Tim Henning of Adrian, Scott Hoese of Mayer, Tim Velde of Granite Falls, and Gary Wertish of Renville.

Speakers at the convention include Gene Hugoson, Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner; Linda Hennen, State Executive Director of Farm Service Agency; Colleen Landkamer, State Director of USDA Rural Development; and Roger Johnson, National Farmers Union president.

Keynote speaker at the banquet will be Congressman Jim Oberstar. Senator Amy Klobuchar is also expected to be in attendance.

For more information, check out our website, www.mfu.org.

After thinking carefully about the Vice President choices, I've decided to support Gary Wertish, a knowledgeable and soft-spoken leader and farmer from Renville County. I like his understated style, and those who attended my county convention spoke highly of his years of experience working for Senator Dayton. They're right. 

All of the candidates bring strengths to the table, however, and so I wish them all good luck.

The Minnesota Progressive Project will be posting from Netroots Minnesota if you're curious about the event but unable to attend.  I'll be tweeting from both events on my person account for those who wish to follow my adventures.

Netroots Minnesota: Coming to St. Paul November 20-21

I n 2007, I traveled to Chicago for the YearlyKos conference, which has since morphed into the annual Netroots Nation conference. One of the people I met there was Jason Barnett, who was taking the initial steps in setting up The Uptake, the Minnesota-based video outlet for citizen-journalism.

The value of The Uptake was mostly clearly demonstrated in streaming Minnesota's Senate race recount effort.

Now Minnesotans will have a chance to have engage in their own state-level Netroots conference--and who knows which great new tool or venue will emerge in Netroots Minnesota sessions next month:

Progressives from all over Minnesota will gather in St. Paul on November 20th and 21st for the first ever Netroots Minnesota conference. This conference is an important way to strengthen our community, inspire action and serve as an incubator for ideas that challenge the status quo and ultimately affect change in the public sphere.

This conference will be modeled after the Netroots Nation conference (formerly known as the YearlyKos Convention).  The netroots played a critical role in helping shape a national progressive agenda over the last several years.  We hope to build upon that same success in Minnesota.

Go sign up for registration and suggest a panel or workshop. The next great idea coming out of Minnesota might be your own.

The Uptake's Barnett, Joe Bodell the Minnesota Progressive Project, Bluestem, and representatives from state progressive organizations ranging from the Alliance for a Better Minnesota, Planned Parenthood, SEIU, Transit for Livable Communities,  Wellstone Action, and other groups met on Monday to kickstart the conference.

That weekend in November will be a big one for me, with the conference going on at the same time as the Minnesota Farmers Union convention.  Perhaps family members of MFU delegates can be encouraged to attend Netroots MN--and bring a health piece of rural Minnesota's grassroots to the table.

Disclosure: New media contract with the Minnesota DFL

I've always promised readers that I'll disclose any assistance, contracts, or other renumeration that thics would suggest need to be transparent in order for reader to assess the work here.

One such project has come my way: I am now consulting on New Media training and strategy for the DFL. Hence, the following disclosure will appear in a sidebar my designer will be adding to Bluestem:

Sally Jo Sorensen, editor and proprietor of Bluestem Prairie, serves as a New Media training and strategy consultant for the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.

However, all of the statements, opinions, and views expressed on this site by Sorensen are solely her own, save when she attributes them to other sources, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Minnesota DFL, its staff, officers, elected officials, candidates, donors, precinct chairs, volunteers, and senate district and county unit officers and directors.

The opinions, statements, and views of contributing writers are their own.

This web site is not a production of the DFL, and the DFL does not necessarily support or endorse any of the contents on this site. 

The work doesn't involve any blogging for the party.

Now showing at the MSHS: Maps and legends

On Thursday, a friend arranged for a tour of Minnesota on the Map by MSHS Acquisitions Curator and bibliophile legend Patrick Coleman. Since the exhibit closes on September 7, I jumped at the chance to learn about the show from the man who put it together at the state history center.

The show is worth a visit. The MSHS was founded before statehood and the map collection would be a gem among any collection. Coleman selected 

dozens of maps, atlases and artifacts from the Society’s collection, including an atlas from 1595, displayed alongside current road, city and tourist maps. The Society’s extensive collection of early exploration and travel maps of North America includes document maps and atlases used by Europeans to understand the geography of the "new world" and illustrates how that understanding changed over time.

Perhaps that sounds dry, but the spirit of the curator's sly wit informs the exhibit. This isn't a pedant's catalog, but a lively stroll through the art and foibles of the mapmakers' culture and understanding.

The show is filled with gems, such as an 18th century globe viewable online. Coleman describes its acquisition in one of a group of podcasts that accompany the show. On our tour, Coleman pointed out that globes were fairly common at the time in Europe--only their destruction in the passage of time makes them rare today.

The globe is a pretty thing, whatever its price. That beauty is repeated throughout the show in the detailed work on the maps and the tiny cartoons that mapmakers tucked into their corners. Other pieces gain their beauty simply through the fine craft of their creators. My favorite is a 1930

Midwest Rural Assembly to gather on August 10-11

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and  more than 20 other organizations from around the Midwest are hosting the Midwest Rural Assembly on August 10-11, 2009 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, just across Minnesota's southwest border.

According to the web site announcing the conference, participants will:

• Share resources and strategies for rural economic and community development opportunities;
• Hear from and talk with local to national policymakers about your rural policy priorities;
• Meet other rural leaders and welcome new voices; and
• Begin building a regional network to advance policies and initiatives that can help revitalize rural communities.

Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, Nebraska State Rural Development Director Maxine Moul, nSouth Dakota State Rural Development Direct Elsie Meeks, and Minnesota State Rural Director Colleen Landkamer are featured speakers.

Plenary panels and participatory sessions will focus on topics such as rural health care and education, sustainable working landscapes, rural technology access and leadership development.  I'm especially pleased to see the inclusion of Day Two training sessions on social networking strategies as organizing tools.

Photo: a rural landscape in SE Minnesota. Photo by Chad Larimer.