And boy, can Cameron Olafson write letters to the editor! The Mankato Free Press has published one today: Farm Bill touted by Walz squashes family farmers.
It's not Cameron Olafson's first letter to the Mankato Free Press scolding Walz. Last December, he sent in this epistle:
Walz should be working on DM&E issue
After reading a recent story in The Free Press about the city of Mankato’s remaining concerns over the possible DM&E railroad expansion, I asked myself a few questions.
Isn’t Tim Walz from Mankato? Didn’t he campaign and get elected on this issue? Shouldn’t he do some real work on this now that he was elected? I would say the answer to all those questions is yes, which is why I found it quite odd that he was not even mentioned in the story.
Cameron Olafson
Mankato
Okay then. The handsome devil tried to spin the absence of Walz's name in an article as proof that his congressman-elect wasn't doing "any real work" on the DM & E issue. Awkward.
In today's letter, Cameron Olafson concludes:
The Farm Bill, which Walz is so proud of passing, props up huge corporate farms while squashing the family farmers in his district already struggling to get by. Maybe Walz should be reminded that he works for us, not the lobbyists in Washington with bottomless pockets.
It's good that Cameron Olafson is as concerned about family farms as he was about the DM & E railroad. As for those lobbyists in Washington with deep pockets, he must mean Blue Earth County farmer Kevin Papp, who travelled to DC to lobby Walz about the Farm Bill. Or somebody.
Like the National Farmers Union and Land Stewardship, Papp's organization was happy with the Farm Bill:
"We are pleased with the passage of the House version of the Farm Bill," said MFBF President Kevin Paap. "Congressman Collin Peterson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, showed exemplary leadership and a genuine commitment to agriculture in crafting this legislation in committee and leading it through the House."
"This fiscally responsible bill expands benefits to all sectors of agriculture and makes some significant policy reforms," said Paap. "The bill continues to provide an all important safety net for farmers, while at the same time provides a strong nutrition, conservation and energy title."
"We thank Congressman Peterson for his leadership," said Paap. "We also thank our members of Congress James Oberstar, Tim Walz, Betty McCollum and Keith Ellison for voting in support of this bill."
We must also wonder what Mr. Papp thinks at being accused of helping to squash family farms. He has some explaining to do to the 40,000 members of the Minnesota Farm Bureau. Maybe not.
Cameron Olafson also writes letters to the Minnesota State University, Mankato Reporter. This one is typical:
Liberal Students and Professors Trying to Smear Mark Piepho
I am writing to disprove the patent disinformation about senate candidate Mark Piepho being propagated in this paper. Over the last two weeks, ultra-liberal students and professors have been trying to smear Mark by suggesting that as a state representative he wanted to raise college tuition and increase the financial burden for students.
But Mark has always been a strong advocate for students and keeping tuition low. Mark Piepho used his position as Chairman of the Higher Education House Committee to push for lower tuition costs by committing the state to pay for nearly 70% of college costs. Mark was so effective in his advocacy for low tuition and protecting students that he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Minnesota State University Student Association. This dose of truth certainly disproves the lies that Professors Slocum and Dimock have been spreading.
Since Mark left the House in 1986, the state's commitment has eroded away and students' burden has increased from about 30% of costs to nearly 50%. If you ask me, we should send Mark Piepho back to St. Paul where he can fight again for lower tuition, a stronger education, and a less-indebted student body.
Cameron Olafson, Construction Management Student
Cameron
Olafson is not only handsome but pretty clever too. Let's have a closer
look at the handsome devil who has his own fan club on Facebook, as the
screenshot that begins this post reveals. Note that the devil horns
and pitchfork were supplied by the pair of college students who set up
the Facebook group.
Now where have we seen that charming face before?
Hmmm....hmmm...processing.
Like Mr. Papp, Cameron Olafson--or should we say Cameron Klundt (who we believe hails from the Sioux Falls, South Dakota area)--is an officer in a statewide membership organization. Not the Minnesota Farm Bureau, but the Minnesota College Republicans. Cameron Olafson--or should we say Cameron Klundt--serves as the MCR Vice Chair South; his school is Minnesota State University-Mankato.
He does like the Facebook shot,
Cameron Klundt (MNSU) wrote
at 10:26am on October 26th, 2006I love the picture!!!!
Heaven knows why Klundt signs those letters he sends to the Mankato Free Press and the MSUM Reporter as Olafson, Construction Management student. There's no Cameron Olafson listed in the school directory, but there is this guy:
Found 1 match(es).
Name: Cameron Mark Klundt
Department: Construction Management; Type: student
[address and email info removed by BSP before posting]
The Minnesota College Republicans don't add the Olafson letters to their MCRs in the News listings. Doesn't Cameron Klundt tell them about Cameron Olafson?
Heaven knows why a leader in the Minnesota College Republicans is trashing legislation the head of the Minnesota Farm Bureau and other farm leaders had a hand in shaping. Awkward.
If I were a cynic, I might think that Cameron was making a brazen and dishonest attempting to discredit Tim Walz while posing as someone who is not a Republican partisan, but an independent, or even a liberal. I might also think that, as a leader in the Minnesota College Republicans, Cameron might be be a part of an organized campaign to discredit Tim Walz. And, if I was really cynical, I might think that Cameron might be getting paid by someone to do this dirty job.
But I choose to look at this incident as something else. I believe it is a cry for help from a tormented soul who is having terrible trouble integrating their multiple personalities. To think otherwise would mean believing that Minnesotans could descend to depths of depravity so low that you would have to travel to Washington D.C. to see their like.
Please, if you know Cameron, try to get him the help he so desperately needs.
Posted by: Jeff Hanneman | August 13, 2007 at 02:03 PM