We were involved in a subzero split the kipper contest out on Mud Lake early this morning, and have only now recovered. Our apologies for the late post.
Yesterday, the New Ulm Journal reported that Granite Falls' Fallen soldier has local ties:
A U.S. Army soldier whose father lives in Searles died Jan. 26, from small arms fire injuries suffered in Waygul, Afghanistan
Sgt. 1st Class Matthew R. Kahler, 29, of Granite Falls, was the son of Ron Kahler of Searles and Colleen Kahler of Montevideo.
The Department of Defense said Kahler may have been hit by friendly fire from an Afghan guard who mistook him for an enemy, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Searles is south of New Ulm on Minnesota Highway 15. The Marshall Independent reports Trust fund set up for soldier's family:
A trust fund has been set up by the Yellow Medicine East Class of 1997 for the Matthew Kahler family. Contributions may be sent to: Matthew Kahler Trust Fund, care of Granite Falls Bank, PO BX 8, Granite Falls, MN 56241 or dropped off in person at the bank at 702 Prentice Street, Granite Falls.
Kahler leaves behind a wife and four-year-old daughter.
A friend sent us an article from CQ Today that appears to be lodged behind a firewall, "Freshman Democrats Push for Contempt of Congress Citations for Bolten, Miers"
A determined group of freshman Democrats is pushing for a House vote on a resolution citing White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers for contempt of Congress.
The freshmen, who were elected to the House on a wave of anti-Republican sentiment in 2006, say the House needs to act in order to preserve its authority to oversee the executive branch.
“I think the American people are eager to see Congress taking steps to reassert the proper balance in our constitutional framework,” said Paul W. Hodes of New Hampshire.
The House Judiciary Committee approved the resolution last July. The committee had subpoenaed Miers to appear at a subcommittee hearing on the firings of several U.S. attorneys in 2006. The committee subpoenaed Bolten for White House documents related to the firings. Miers and Bolten did not comply with the subpoenas; the White House asserted executive privilege in preventing Miers from testifying and in refusing to hand over documents.
Tim Walz of Minnesota, the president of the 44-member freshman Democratic class, echoed Hodes, saying “maybe it’s coming from the freshmen because we’re so ground level.” Walz said that his class is pushing Democratic leaders to put the resolution on the floor, and freshman proponents are working to build support in their individual state delegations.
Democratic leaders may have political reasons for putting off a House vote. Republicans are certain to paint it as a partisan exercise. And one House Democratic aide said that not all freshman Democrats are eager for the vote.
But Walz, Hodes and their allies insist that the House needs to act. . . .
The Albert Lea Tribune asks How will you spend a rebate? In Owatonna, the residents simply doubt one is on the way in Economic stimulus package met with cynicism. A taste of the mood in Owatonna:
"I'll believe it when I see it," Muir said dryly. "There's always something to spend it on, I won't have any trouble with that."
Others believed the package is too good to be true.
"I'm a little wary of it because, as I see it, all the rich people will get most of it and we'll all get $20," said Target employee Melissa Haselton as she worked the electronics counter in the store.
The reporter interviewed Walz:
Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., wasn't surprised that the measure was met with disbelief, but was optimistic that the package had enough support from both parties to be out of the congressional chambers and onto the President's desk within a week.
"I would say they have become wise on that, and I wouldn't blame them," Walz said. "But if there's been an issue that has united us, it's the package."
Walz called the package the "first real relief for the middle class" and said he expected to pass the package in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. The Senate will look at the package today.
In the New Ulm Journal, a letter writer suggests buying American-made products with the rebate, or at the very least, shopping local in Stimulating the economy – whose?.
The Owatonna People's Press also reported Walz leads fundraising for 2008 election. Read remarks from the Walz political director and the three GOP contenders at the OPP.
The OPP also reports Walz witnesses arrests on U.S.-Mexico border, though the story isn't on its front page online. Walz's view on immigration reform is contrasted with that of the local GOP contender's support for a "wall" between the two countries:
By contrast, Walz believes that the key to solving the problem is stepped up security and immigration reform, which would make legal immigration more efficient and attractive than a risky journey through the desert.
"There are 5,000 spots, but there are 10 million [people] in the line," Walz said. "We're incentivizing illegal immigration." Walz added that employers are in dire need of workers, and that a better immigration policy would enhance the economy. On this point, activists with Centro Campesino are in agreement.
"The U.S. has its right to protect its borders, just like every country," said Ernesto Clara, who works for Centro Campesino. "What we're against is that they're apprehending hardworking people, rather than real targets."
In Worthington, a speaker talked to school children about the Holocaust in From Holocaust to racism, according to the Globe. The lead:
How do you see the spirit of the Holocaust alive and well in Worthington, Adrian or Ellsworth?
Is it in the school cafeteria, where the popular kids congregate with their kind and the stoners and the loners with theirs?
Is it at home, where parents talk negatively about the community’s influx of Hispanics, Asians and Somalis?
Is that spirit alive within you — a flicker of hatred toward gays, lesbians, blacks, Jews, Jehovah’s Witness? … The list goes on and on.
If you can look at yourself in the mirror and see even the tiniest flame, then Timothy Scott wants you to extinguish it before it gets fanned. . . .
. . .Scott, an attorney with Bakke Norman Law Office in western Wisconsin, has spent the past 17 years traversing the Midwest to tell the story of the Holocaust and relate it to the racial and ethnic tensions that are alive today in countries across the globe — and in our own backyards.
“You don’t have to be white to hate,” he said.
The documentary film "So the Bible Tells Me So" has been shown in Jake Reitan's home town, the Mankato Free Press reports in Acclaimed film reaches Mankato:
The film features Jake Reitan, and his parents Phil and Randi, while telling the stories of religious couples who discovered one of their children was homosexual. Jake Reitan was 15 years old and a sophomore at West High School when he first told his sister he was gay. It was a year later before he told his parents.
An interesting coalition teamed up to show the film:
And it was a group of six local churches — along with the Human Rights Campaign and Minnesota State University’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Center — that has brought “For the Bible Tells Me So” to MSU’s Ostrander Auditorium and downtown’s Maverick 4 Theatre in the Mankato Place Mall.
IAM leader Rich Michalski looks at the impact of trade policy on good jobs in Opportunity for U.S. aerospace in Minnesota in the Albert Lea Tribune.
The Waseca County News reports Economic measures affect Waseca. Former Congressman Tim Penny and other local leaders discuss the economic climate.
The Fairmont Sentinel editorial board writes Mouthing ‘change’ won’t alter underlying realities. As usual with the very conservative paper, they're against Walz. And expanding SCHIP, ending the Iraq War, and affordable health care insurance, and economic policy directed toward helping the middle class.
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