College Republicans passed out bottled water to passers-by Tuesday in protest of the College of St. Benedict's new ban on bottled water in campus vending machines, cafeterias and sporting events. The protesters said they aren't against sustainability but are defending the free-market system.
"Just as the government should not ban plastic bottles in America, a school administration should not ban the sale of plastic water bottles on their campus," said Ryan Lyk, chairman of the Minnesota College Republicans, in a statement.
This fall, St. Ben's became the first school in the state -- and the ninth in the nation -- to ban the sale of plain bottled water on campus. Macalester took a similar step Sept. 1.
Students can buy bottled water off campus and bring it to class.
The protesters' release points out that St. Ben's 31 new "hydration stations" cost money to install. The college spent $20,000 on them, hoping to make it easier for students to refill reusable water bottles. In the long run, college officials said, they expect the ban to save money.
But that expense is just one part of the problem, said Kate Paul, a St. Ben's student and a Minnesota College Republicans leader. Her statement: "The hydration stations not only cost us money to use, they are costing us our ability to choose and convenience that derives from choice."
This is a stunning show of support not for the free market, but for consumer rights. St. Ben's is a private college founded by the Benedictine orders, known for moderation and hospitality. But the fifth chapter of Rule of Benedict concerns cheerful obedience to leadership, while the students are looking simply to service their own wants.
Moreover, the students seem to be a bit confused by their chosen analogy, which equates the private college's administration with government. Should they really wish to follow the free market arguments which appear to be so dear to their tender young hearts, the little darlings will recall the advice given to workers who wish to organize their workplaces.
That logic suggests that those who don't like working conditions or work rules have the choice to find a new job elsewhere. Likewise, in the free market of education, if students don't like the rules, they can simply go elsewhere if they don't approve of the private school's decision about an investment that it believes will in the long run cut costs.
Bluestem will keep our eyes up to see if the College Republicans will begin to approach Wells Fargo or Cargill with protests about how those private entities decide to spend their money or limit consumer options.
Or maybe this really is about College Republicans not liking sustainability, rather than sticking it to the private religious institution in the name of consumer choice.
Photo: water bottles in a landfill, the most awesomest manifestation of the free market ever.
When we last left Emo Senator, southern Minnesota's most popular blog telenovela, Mike Parry had abruptly ended a press conference when asked if he planned to run for congress against three-term Representative Tim Walz.
At at time when Republican legislators across the state have voiced opposition to school levy tax increases, Sen. Mike Parry (R-Waseca) stands in contrast to other party members by offering his support to the school district’s ballot initiative.
While Owatonna’s school district appears to have support from both parties, several Minnesota school districts seeking voter-approved tax increases this fall will face something they’ve never faced before: open opposition from some Republican legislators.
Parry interpreted the GOP stance, saying that his party colleagues are simply saying they don’t want local school district officials passing the buck on to the state legislature, or claiming the local budget problems were created in St. Paul.
“In fact, the (budget) bill was passed that added $50 per student,” Parry said. “I guess I’ve always been the guy that wants local control and I still believe our school boards are closer to the citizens than the legislators in St. Paul. They’re there with them on a daily basis, so I truly believe they’ve got the pulse of what the local community will accept as far as any kind of levy. It’s truly up to them to decide how that money is going to be used. . . .
If Parry and Drazkowski emerge as rivals for the GOP endorsement for MN-01, this position will differentiate The Emo Senator from the Draz. The OPP outlines Draz's thinking:
State Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, recently sent a newsletter to constituents asking them to contact school officials about proposed levy referendums and “urge them to drop their request.”
“What I urged them to do,” Drazkowski said, was to contact [school leaders] and say, ‘Do you really need to go to the voters again when this additional money came forward, money that you weren’t expecting when you made the decision about your budget months ago?’ ”
The Emo Senator's nemesis, local representative Kory Kath, also supports the Owatonna levy. Where will this new plot twist take our hero? Tune in to the next episode of Emo Senator and find out.
Ever since Greg Davids traveled to Willmar to share his views about how wonderful the elimination of the homestead credit is and it's all Mark Dayton's fault, the House Tax Czar has been in the limelight over news of the property tax increases.
State Representative Greg Davids visited the Houston County Board on Sept. 6 in response to an invitation from commissioners.
Davids said that as chairman of the House's Tax Committee, he was proud of many facets of the budget finally passed following the 20-day state shutdown.
"A major accomplishment of the tax committee was to be able to keep CPA (county program aid) and LGA (local government aid) at 2010 levels," he noted.
Keeping Payment in Lieu of Taxes at current levels was another accomplishment Davids mentioned, along with increased base funding for rural school districts.
"The Homestead Market Value Exclusion (HMCE) replaced the Market Value Homestead Credit," Davids stated.
He added that the new program will allow local governments to calculate the excluded amount "up front," so that when counties levy, they will receive the full amount.
Not only are county commissioners concerned that taxpayers may be angry about higher property taxes, they're concerned the new arrangement will punish job creators in small towns:
"When you look at a place like Eitzen, they're a smaller community and they've only got a couple of businesses," Commissioner Tom Bjerke said.
"If you shift all this onto an apartment building and a couple of small businesses, won't they bear most of the burden? We're just small little communities down here and what we're hearing is it's going to end up raising property taxes on every one of the small businesses that are struggling the way it is.
"There's a huge potential loss to our local businesses that are creating the jobs that are so scarce right now.
After all the Republican rhetoric about not taxing small businesses because they create jobs, Davids' bluster at the Houston County board meeting defending a change that affects small business deserved to get hammered.
The Walz congressional office just sent a press release out about a bipartisan jobs summit conducted by the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Bluestem will post it below the fold.
But a post at the Federal Eye blog, Partisan bickering marks veterans job summit, illustrates the southern Minnesotan's focus on results for vets, rather than the games political parties play. The Washington Post's Steve Vogel writes:
The event, billed as a summit to discuss best practices for hiring veterans into the private sector, began on a testy note during opening statements when Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.), criticized chairman Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) for suggesting the government should stay out of the way of businesses that are creating jobs for veterans. . . .
Speaking after Miller and Filner. Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) brought a stop to most of the partisan bickering. “From an ideological perspective, I don’t give a damn who creates the jobs,” said Walz, a retired Army National Guard command sergeant major. “I just want them created.”
Kudoes to Walz for taking the focus away from ideological spats and back to the needs of vets. The article points out that "[n]early a million veterans are out of work, with double-digit unemployment rates among younger veterans."
Some GOP lawmakers have gone on the offensive when it comes to school levies. Not satisfied enough to shortchange public education, State Rep. Steve Drazkowski, whose district includes large portions of Winona County, wants his constituents to vote against any school levies. In fact, in one of his most recent legislative newsletters urged residents to shoot down any local initiative for more funding. He mentioned, among others, Lewiston-Altura and St. Charles districts.
The irony would be rich and comical if it weren’t so sad.
Here a member of the majority party wants to tell other units of government how they should run when his own party couldn’t come up with an adequate solution to the budget.
Drazkowski is half right: The Legislature actually gave a per-pupil funding increase, the first in a long time. That means every student is worth more to a school district than they were last year or the year before.
Yet that ignores what the Legislature did to those same schools. Instead of paying school districts the full amount, the state will now defer a larger percentage of those funds, causing districts to dip into reserves or, if they don’t have any, to borrow against the state’s promise of paying later. It’s called a funding shift and it was the only way the GOP-controlled Legislature, packed with more politicians than statesmen, could pass a budget.
Having been attsacked, Drakowksi lets rip against a foe stronger that the immigrants and poor people he usually targets. In Ehrlick wrong: Look closely at school funding, The Draz whines:
Any regular reader of this newspaper should not have been surprised to see Darrell Ehrlick attempt to shame me yet again in a recent editorial.
We rarely see eye to eye on issues, and I've come to expect a personal attack nearly every time I submit a guest column to the Daily News.
However, I do have a problem when the editor chooses not to print my column (which was sent to all newspapers in the district and was printed by the Winona Post), yet feels the need to give a slanted, one sentence summary of it after I've shipped it out to my email subscribers — knowing full well most of his readers have not seen it.
No, shame on you Mr. Ehrlick.
I don't mind that you bash my views, but to me, it would seem a bit more ethical to print the column and respond to it rather than withholding it from the readers and then giving them your biased 20 word summary, subsequently proceeding to mislead them.
Poor, poor Draz. Evil, evil Ehrlick. Draz also implies that Ehrlick only criticizes Republicans for shifting school funds to pay a general fund deficit gap. A note at the end of the column clarifies that, with mention of "Constitution Has an Education Mandate," an editorial criticizing DFL leadership for funding shifts. Ehrlick is consistent in his scorn for the funding shift as a budget gimmick.
Bluestem found the column posted earlier this summerat the Winona Post that Draz mentions. It's clear from his response to the editorial that Draz doesn't get the notion of summary, nor does he and the Republican caucus seem to possess the reading ability to comprehend the dismantling of the GOP caucus's defense of the budget and shift that Beth Hawkins delivered at MinnPost.
Wielded with enough might, it turns out a spreadsheet makes a pretty good blunt instrument.
Midway between July’s blitzkrieg special session and November’s referenda-heavy election, Minnesota House Republican leaders are revving up the message machine. The state’s public schools, they insist, are getting hefty budget increases and might not truly need the levies.
They’re circulating materials [PDF] that suggest that far from being in a financial crisis, schools will get an average of almost $500 per pupil in new funding in fiscal year 2012. The figures have been making the rounds in political circles for some time, and appear to be the underpinnings of a campaign to defeat the 120-plus operating levy requests appearing on ballots in November.
They’re accurate — but only in the same way it’s true that withholding 40 percent of school funding adds up to a balanced budget.
A new calculation The GOP leadership arrived at the numbers via a wholly new calculation that depicts public education as the session’s big winner, not by using the traditional method of calculating ups and downs in education revenue. . . .
Read the whole thing. As a commenter notes responding to the article, the Republican New Math violates the consistency principle in accounting:
A bedrock principal of accounting is the consistency principle, that financial reporting needs to use the same accounting method from one accounting period to the next. The self-proclaimed fiscal conservatives are playing fast and loose with the numbers, violating the fundamental rule of accurate and true fiscal conservatism. I suppose there is the possibility that their numbers are pure politics, where Enron accounting is more than adequate.
Jeepers, who would have guessed? Bluestem thinks we'll see a lot more of this sort of bamboozlement from the Republicans as local communities sort through the details of the budgets the majority caucus negotiators delivered for the Governor's signature.
"Volstead Fever: Prohibition in Minnesota," a new documentary about the dry times, will premier tomorrow night in New Ulm's Turner Hall, the Journal reports in Prohibition movie premier Tuesday.
The sacred local brewery that snuggles in the German American Disneyland makes a cameo appearance in the flick:
In April 1923, federal agents tested some Schell's beverages produced under a government permit authorizing cereal beverages containing less than one half of one percent of alcohol.
Schell Brewing claimed that if the tests were right, the slight increase was unintentional and due to the light winter and spring beverage demand and that the beverages tests were unusually old.
Schell's was found not guilty of any law violation and charges were dropped by a federal judge.
Schell's Brewmaster Ted Marti said federal agents were at the brewery almost every week back then, checking for alcohol level violations.
Marti and Elmer Rolloff Jr. were interviewed for the PPT documentary at Schell's.
The documentary, produced by Appleton-based Pioneer Public Television (PPT), gave people in Brown County a chance to recall when they ran their own stills south of town. Essig and Springfield were hot spots:
"Lots of moonshine was made on alcohol stills on farms south of Essig and out in the woods, south of the Cottonwood River," Rolloff added.
Alcohol raids were by local and federal law enforcement were common in that era.
"Sometimes, they shot up the bottles on the site," Rolloff said.
A Burnstown Township farm south of Springfield generated an estimated 400 gallons of alcohol a day, according to Dan Hoisington's historical research that appeared on a Lifestyle page of the Sunday, Oct. 10, 2004 edition of The Journal.
A still near Essig that was raided included a large number of railroad cars filled with still equipment, according to Brown County Historical Society files. The property where the still was located was owned by Howard Gimbel, reportedly a member of Al Capone's gang.
. . ."Rum runners had a mail order business on the side....My dad ordered a new Remington 12-guage shotgun that's still in the family," Rolloff said.
Of course, people in Southern Minnesota haven't distilled their own corn, save in ethanol plants, since Prohibition was repealed, despite what readers may have heard or drunk over at the neighbor's place. All of the wisdom gained about making liquor during the Noble Experiment simply vanished with the melting snows in the spring of 1934.
Sadly, the Draz's talking points are being adopted by the Republican House leadership, who fear their caucus will be correctly blamed for property tax increases. It's unfortunate that they are unwilling to take responsibility for the direct consequences of the budget gimmicks that will force many schools to borrow or ask for levies to be extended or raised.
Bluestem believes when the clown car fits, drive it.
Minnesota school districts seeking voter-approved tax increases this fall will face something they've never faced before: open opposition from some Republican legislators.
State lawmakers traditionally stay out of local levy decisions. But after delivering a rare funding increase to K-12 school this summer, some Republicans say it's time to speak out against schools that continue to plead poverty.
State Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, chairman of the House Education Finance Committee, said he doesn't like what he's been hearing lately about school district finances. The latest tally from the Minnesota School Boards Association shows about one in three districts are planning to ask voters in November to provide additional operating revenue through local property taxes.
However, many of the levy requests wouldn't raise tax rates:
A large share of the proposed referendums would renew existing levies. In those cases, taxes would not increase.
Scott Croonquist, executive director of the Association of Metropolitan School Districts, said voters need to understand the distinction. Croonquist said voters and state legislators should also understand that districts are not seeking tax increases based solely on the outcome of one legislative session.
"The facts are very clear that education funding has not kept pace with inflation in Minnesota over the last decade," Croonquist said. "Consequently, school districts have been trimming and cutting substantially during that time frame. And many of them have now reached a point where there's just no more fat left to cut."
Croonquist said funding situations are unique in every school district. He describes the broad accusations from Garofalo as "unfortunate and unfair."
Tidbit: The unprecedented move shows that Republicans are concerned that they will be blamed for the financial woes of schools. It also highlights the coming election battle over property taxes.
MinnPost says the House GOP is using an accounting trick to claim that schools are seeing a big bump in pay.
That MinnPost article, by Beth Hawkins, walks readers through the voodoo accounting the House GOP is talking to avoid getting stung by their own deal. It's a long but worthy read.
Image: Chocolate zombie Draz bunny, eating your children's brains, one shameless lie about public schools in each bite. By Tild.
Now that Goodhue County commissioners have unanimously approved a moratorium preventing silica sand mine operations in the county for up to a year, plans are in the works to develop a group that can dig deep into the effects of silica.
To make good use of the next year, Goodhue County Planning Supervisor Mike Wozniak said county staff and commissioners are going to develop a steering committee to thoroughly research certain issues of concern surrounding silica sand mines.
“The challenge we will have here is a lot was asked for, and how do we organize this into a manageable project?” Wozniak said Thursday.
. . .The committee will study a long list of things that could be effected by a potential mine, including water and air quality, roads and bridges, the county’s recreation and the area’s high level of tourism.
“Whoever gets appointed, it’ll be a pretty intense work group,” Goodhue County Land-use Management Director Lisa Hanni said. . . .
An official with an oil exploration company that wanted to mine a special kind of sand in southeastern Minnesota expressed disappointment Wednesday about a vote by a county board for a one-year moratorium while it studies the potential environmental, health and financial impacts.
People filled a public hearing room in Red Wing for a meeting Tuesday night that lasted nearly three hours and included public comments from 20 people in support of the moratorium. No one spoke in opposition to the temporary ban, which Goodhue County Commissioner Jim Bryant said will give officials time to assemble an advisory board to study the impact. . . .
"We're disappointed that the county board decided to impose a moratorium but we intend to comply with all the regulations that exist in Goodhue County for the future work that we do," Chip Krohn, a geologist with the company [Windsor Energy Resources Inc./Windsor Permian], told The Associated Press on Wednesday. He said the company believes the county's existing regulations are "more than sufficient" for the board to decide whether to approve or reject permits.
There's a lot to like about the one-year moratorium on silica sand mining in Goodhue County that was approved on Tuesday.
For starters, the vote by the county board was unanimous. Issues like this can lead to deep divides in communities and governing bodies, but that didn't happen in this case. Some commissioners might have some concerns about this decision, but they presented a united front when it was time to stand up and be counted, which will make things easier down the road.
We also like the fact that so many county residents are, for lack of a better term, "taking ownership" of this decision. . . .
Editors at two daily papers in Southern Minnesota are asking probing questions about anti-government sentiment
In today's New Ulm Journal, a thumbs down goes to consequences of anti-revenue legislative zealots' inflexibility on local government. The editorial board asks:
A lot of legislators and no-tax fans will tell you that the LGA cuts have no real impact on property taxes, that your local council members and commissioners are the ones making the final decision on how much to levy. We wonder what kind of decisions they would make when setting up city and county budgets. Unlike the state, cities and counties can't use funding shifts and bookkeeping tricks to balance their budgets. They have to become more efficient, cut back on services, or raise taxes.
It seems like the default setting for most politicians today is crying, stomping and yelling loudly.
The best I can figure is this new breed of politician has changed what it means to be a politician.
Concepts like change and reform have been the watchwords of politics for centuries. It’s not like the vocabulary has necessarily changed. It’s just that every generation believes they’re the first to want to clean up corruption or lower taxes.
What is different is the new breed of politician seems eager to destroy government. Government, we’re reminded by many contemporary politicians, is the enemy and cannot be trusted. Government has gotten us into all of these messes and we’ve been duped.
And that’s probably the biggest thing that’s changed.
You see both Minnesota and Wisconsin have a strong tradition of reformers from Hubert H. Humphrey to Robert LaFollette.
They wanted change and demanded reform. But they still believed in the basic ability of government to be effective and deliver services people needed.
But this new breed is more parasite than politician: They want to enter government to destroy it.
Consider Republican darling, Texas Gov. Rick Perry. He gets all kinds of cheering when he says that he wants to make government inconsequential as it can be.
I shudder to think of a government without consequence.
Ehrlick asks readers to consider the practical consequences of government: roads, schools, care for veterans, relief from drought (yeah, he's looking at you, Governor Perry).
The Winonan concludes:
The problem boils down to one of anger. It feels good to be outraged during uncertain times. But it’s not real good at getting anything productive done. Even worse, it’s an emotion with constantly diminishing returns: You use it once and the next time you need even more to feel the same sense of satisfaction.
But part of the responsibility comes right back on us — not those blind, deaf and dumb politicians we’ve heard so many rant about. If we keep electing angry people who hate government, we will surely get a government torn apart, the victim of political tantrums thrown by alleged adult members of Congress.
Instead, if we’re so hellbent on making a radical departure from the way politics is played, why not demand real ingenuity and vision? Why not find candidates who believe in the system enough to make it work?
The man has a point. Perhaps it is unfortunate that the press has become professional to the point that journalists no longer run for office. Minnesota's best loved governor, John A. Johnson,* edited the paper in St. Peter, and we could use the sass and common sense of people like Ehrlick up in St. Paul He shapes his lede around his interactions with his two-year old daughter, and that would certainly be great job training for working with the likes of Steve Drazkowski.
State Sen. Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, told the audience [at Governor Dayton's meeting at Southeast Technical], “Government does not create jobs.”
It’s a common refrain, especially among Republican lawmakers. And there’s a lot of truth to the statement — but it’s not entirely true. . . .
Government does create jobs. It creates them by investing in places like Southeast Technical. It ensures that higher education — even if not a four-year program — is accessible and affordable. Government creates jobs when it funds grants and subsidizes student loans so that people have access to education. College education or technical training used to be optional, but not anymore. Government creates jobs when it recognizes the value that higher education brings to a region and state and funds it so that it creates programs that specialize in things like composite engineering.
Government also creates jobs when it makes sure the roads and bridges are adequate enough and reliable enough for fleets of trucks. It creates jobs when it helps expand the Port of Winona to handle more barge traffic.
It will create more jobs if government can come together and figure out how to remove rail siding from the Winona Levee to create a more open, inviting riverfront.
So while adding a bunch of new jobs at, let’s say, the Department of Motor Vehicles may not be the answer to economic recovery, letting people believe the government has no role in job creation does a disservice to those who work in the government now, and the potential that government can have to help hasten the recovery.
Photo: A middle school in central Minnesota.
*A character based on John A. Johnson, childhood friend of the first great American Wagnerian opera singer Olive Fremstad, puts in a cameo appearance in Willa Cather's "Song of the Lark," but that is, as they say, another story.
As a rural Minnesotan who favors marriage equality, I've been hoping that the umbrella group that has formed to defeat the amendment that enshrine discrimination into the Minnesota constitution.
The group just hired Richard Carlbom, an old friend, as campaign manager. Carlbom is a great choice, since the personable young man understands the dynamics of Twin Cities politics, having just finished a stint as Mayor Coleman's communications director, while knowing Greater Minnesota as well as anyone. Shortly after graduating from St. John's, Carlbom was elected Mayor of St. Joseph. He was 23. He came out as a gay man during his first term and was reelected to a second.
He left office to serve as Tim Walz's finance director in 2008, then managed the campaign that brought Walz to a third term in my native southern Minnesota during a tough year for Democrats. Possessed of great humor and boundless energy, Carlbom helped Walz retain the Republican-leaning seat (though the credit for that win ultimately goes to Walz's own good cheer, tirelessness, and fearsome work ethic).
Here's the release:
Minnesotans United for All Families, the campaign to defeat the constitutional amendment banning marriage for same-sex couples, announced today that Richard Carlbom has been hired as Campaign Manager.
Carlbom, 30, is currently the Communications Director for St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman. He was Campaign Manager for Congressman Tim Walz’s 2010 congressional race, and prior to that was the Finance and Political Director for Walz. Carlbom was the Mayor of St. Joseph, Minnesota, from 2005-2007. He is a graduate of St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota.
Senator Scott Dibble (D-Minneapolis) and Representative Tim Kelly (R-Red Wing) both participated in the hiring process, and praised Carlbom. Dibble said, “I know that Richard Carlbom is the individual who can lead us to victory. His work ethic is excellent, and his intelligence and insight inspire confidence.” Rep Kelly stated, “Mr. Carlbom is a fantastic choice. From my perspective, this issue is not one of partisanship but rather, one of individual freedom and choice. Richard has the ability to bring this message to all Minnesotans in a clear, concise manner, and I look forward to being a part of that effort. ”
"We are thrilled to welcome Richard Carlbom to lead the Minnesotans United campaign," said Ann Kaner-Roth, Executive Director of Project 515, one of the founding organizations of the coalition. Monica Meyer, Executive Director of OutFront Minnesota, another founding organization, stated, "Richard comes to us with broad campaign experience and a track record of working across political spectrums. We are fortunate to have someone of his caliber.”
“I am honored to lead this incredibly broad and diverse coalition of organizations and individuals. We will defeat this amendment by remaining united and focused on victory in 2012,” said Richard Carlbom.
Also praising the selection of Carlbom was Tom Knabel, MD, a member of the Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors, who stated, "Richard has important experience in greater Minnesota as well as the metro area, and we're anxious to draw on his relationships across the state as we move forward in our campaign.”
Cristine Almeida, an attorney from St. Paul, facilitated the hiring process for Minnesotans United, and indicated that Carlbom will officially begin work on the campaign on Saturday, September 24, 2011.
Minnesotans United is a coalition of DFL'ers, Republicans, Independents, Greens, Libertarians, business people, labor and faith organizations, elected officials, community leaders and various others who all care deeply about defeating this amendment.
Bluestem doesn't favor full equality for all people because we feel sorry for LGBTQ people. We favor equality abstractly because we believe in the dignity and worth of all people. But that's not why this blogger is ready to fight against this amendment.
Bluestem's fighting the amendment because the marriages enjoyed by LGBT people in my life enrich my life. This isn't an abstract. It's an ordinary thing, like bread or poetry. Who would settle for life without either?
Photo: Richard Carlbom (center, blue jacket) claps at the 2010 Walz Victory celebration.
A report in the Rochester Post Bulletin suggests the ALEC zombie legislator Steve Drazkowski won't say no yet to prodding by fellow Republicans to run for Congress against three term congressman Tim Walz.
It's unclear from the reports whether those are the same Republicans who drew the redistricting lines so that The Draz would live in John Kline's turf should the plan be adopted. Politics in Minnesota reports:
Drazkowski noted that the still-pending redistricting process is deterring possible Republican contenders from committing. Under a plan crafted by Republicans last session, Drazkowski’s hometown of Mazeppa would actually land in the 2nd Congressional District, pitting him against congressman and fellow Republican John Kline.
Drazkowski said several people have asked him to consider running against the three-term congressman.
"I haven't ruled it out, but I am not pursuing it at this point," he said.
Carlson reports that failed burrito and Republican party chair Tony Sutton is swooning over the possibility:
Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Tony Sutton said he believes Drazkowski would be a strong candidate.
"Drazkowski would be a great candidate. I think he has the ability to raise money, I think he has the ability to motivate activists and grassroots people and I think in this environment he is the kind of person people would be looking for," Sutton said.
The Carlson's article only includes Draz's positions on hot-button issues that would rally the GOP (and her own devoted readership among the Rochester Tea Party Patriots), thus leaving out the examples of his true legislative genius, like proposals to cut down black walnut trees in state parks and repealing the Pay Equity Act, which makes sure local governments don't pay men more than women for the same work.
Drazkowski is not the only legislator who may be eying Walz’s seat. At a recent press conference about veteran’s funding, GOP Sen. Mike Parry dodged a question about a possible run in the district, and GOP Sen. Julie Rosen’s name is also in the mix, according to the Post Bulletin.
Carlson reports that Walz shrugged at the news, noting that the Republicans have their process, while he has a job to do.
Bluestem is torn over whether a bid by the Emo Senator Mike Parry or one by Draz would make the best copy. We suspect our inner Catullus would be fed by either, but we'd go all Edward Morrow if it's Rosen.
The "pre-pile" has begun in the Red River Valley, as the lockout of union workers in the sugar beet refineries continues.
Pre-pile harvest begins in early September. This limited harvest allows farmers to open roadways through fields in preparation for the main harvest, which begins in October.
But with union workers in their second month of being locked out by the company as the labor dispute continues, this isn’t just any pre-pile harvest.
Company officials continue to express confidence that replacement workers will be able to efficiently and effectively operate the factories once the harvest is running at full-speed. Union members, however, counter that the jobs they perform are specialized and require experience and skill, and they question whether the replacement workers will be up to the task.
American Crystal has locked out its union labor force in its plants and as seasonal workers for the harvest campaign as part of an ongoing labor dispute, so the company is using replacement workers in its plants and for campaign work. No further talks have been scheduled between the union and the company.
Bernardson said the company has been able to fully staff its beet piling sites and the lockout did not negatively impact the first day of pre-pile harvest.
“Labor has not been an issue for us so far,” he said.
Union representatives have expressed skepticism that the company will be able to run its plants as efficiently or safely once the plants begin operating on Thursday with replacement workers. Company officials have expressed confidence in the replacement workers’ ability to operate the plants.
Letters to the editor supporting the locked out workers continue to appear in local newspapers. In the Fargo Forum, Daryl G. Thompson writes in Shame on union workers who drive for Crystal:
Many of you take time from your regular employment to drive truck during the harvest. But if you are a union member or association member in your regular employment and you cross the picket lines at American Crystal, shame on you. This type of action is how “union busting” gets started.
As I think about the conversation, a number of thoughts come to mind, none of them pleasant:
** Just how much money is going out of the valley that used to be spent locally? And how long before that income loss begins to be felt as lost business and tax revenue?
** The replacement workers have just as strong an attachment to their home communities as the locked-out workers have to ours. But those who live here have a vested interest in making sure American Crystal survives because this is their home. Workers from outside don’t.
If things at the plant do start to go south, how long before the new workers start doing the same?
** And what about management? They have convinced the farmers that the new hires can operate the plants just as efficiently as the old hands. But if they’re wrong, the losses could be horrendous.
A major risk is being taken in what amounts to a deadly game of chicken between the farmers and workers. And who’s taking the risk? If a crash should occur, farmers and workers stand to lose everything. But executives? Million-dollar salaries make for a comfy golden parachute. I doubt the execs will be around to pick up the pieces.
** Are the differences between labor and management so great that it has been worth trashing a carefully built trust developed over years of working together?
While some free market purists might insist that all services, including water works, ought to be private, most Americans don't object to government involvement in supplying the basics, like security, fire protection and water.
Geological conditions in that region result in truly nasty groundwater, which at its worst can sicken animals while smelling of rotten eggs.
Few projects will unite uber-conservative Iowa congressman Steve King and Minnesota First District moderate Tim Walz or U.S. Senator Al Franken and Minnesota Rep. Joe Schomacker. This one does.
In Attention Obama: Invest in Lewis & Clark, a column published by the Worthington Globe, Lewis & Clark's Troy Larson implores the President to fund the project:
President Obama will soon be releasing his proposed JOBS package to stimulate the economy, which I understand will include additional investment in critical infrastructure. Whether it is through this proposal or the FY12 budget, on behalf of the estimated 300,000 people in the tri-state region who will benefit from the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System when it is completed I want to take this opportunity to outline for the president why increased funding for Lewis & Clark is a perfect fit.
Lewis & Clark is not “new spending.” It was authorized by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton in July 2000. Based on the federal government’s commitment, the states of South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, as well as the 20 member cities and rural water systems, have paid a combined $153.5 million — 99.7 percent of their cost share. By contrast the federal government has paid 51 percent of their cost share and has a remaining balance of $194.3 million.
The remaining cost share is indexed each year for inflation, which lately has been running $5 million to $7 million a year. The longer funding is delayed, the more expensive it becomes for the taxpayers and the longer it takes to realize the positive economic impacts from the water.
The non-federal funds have been spent or obligated toward current construction projects, so the future construction schedule is entirely dependent upon federal funding levels. . .
. . .Not only would these projects create many good paying construction and manufacturing jobs on the front end, but more importantly it would create even more long-term jobs on the back end as the cities and rural water systems use the water to attract and expand businesses and industries. This has already happened in Hull, Iowa, where a cheese factory recently located there because of an “emergency connection” Lewis & Clark has between Sioux Center and Hull. The factory currently employs 127 people and processes 50 truckloads of milk each day from area dairies. They have plans to double production in the next one to two years, which would mean another 30 to 35 jobs. The factory, which has an enormous economic impact on the region, would not be in Hull today if not for the water being provided through the “emergency connection” and the promise of future water from the Missouri River aquifer. . . .
Former President George Bush famously praised the project, then failed to fund it, leaving congressional delegations from the three states to seek earmarks. With the change of administration, the project still lacks support from the White House, which is nearly fatal at this time, when congressional earmarks have been banned.
Fund this--and put construction workers on the job, as well as those whose jobs depend on a stable, useable water supply.
Last October the police received a report of a man covered in blood sitting out in front of PJ’s Tavern who was believed to have been part of a bar brawl.
Upon further investigation the police found 39 other people covered in blood — dressed like zombies. This year, organizer Tim Miller said they have already alerted authorities about the upcoming Second Annual Zombie Crawl scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 24 from 6 p.m to 1 a.m.
The crawl is a charity event designed to help kids enjoy Halloween:
All of the money raised from the crawl goes to purchase Halloween costumes, make up, accessories, pumpkins and carving kits for kids. They will be given away on Saturday, October 8 at the Miller Armstrong Building. The kids will also receive goodie bags filled with all kinds of donations. ...
“Last year we gave away 60 costumes,” Miller said. “The crawl is awesome, but I think the best part is seeing these kids walk away with some great stuff and huge smiles on their faces.”
“This is a really cool event,” said Jennifer Hamilton. “Parents get dressed up and have a good time plus we are raising money for kids.”
Hamilton explained that if dressing up like a crazy, brain eating zombie is something you would enjoy, then by all means mix up a batch of fake blood and have at it.
Costumes are optional, however. Read the entire article at the County News.
Photo: Waseca's very hungry zombies. Submitted photo at WCN.
Last night, the Goodhue County board unanimously voted for a one-year moratorium on silica sand mining, the Red Wing Republican Eage reports in Silica sand mine moratorium unanimously approved:
Goodhue County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a moratorium preventing the issuance of any conditional use permits for silica sand mine operations in the county for up to a year.
Citizen group Save the Bluffs has been working toward getting the moratorium in place for months, and received letters of support from the cities of Red Wing and Lake City, as well as Florence, Hay Creek and Featherstone townships. . . .
Silica sand has become a valuable commodity in recent years because it is crucial to an oil- and gas-extraction technology called hydrofracking, which is transforming the domestic U.S. energy business.
Sand mining, however, has aroused local controversy in recent months as Red Wing-area residents organized around an effort for the moratorium. "We were elated and relieved" the board approved it, said Jody McIlrath, a member of the citizens group opposed to the mining operation."
. . . The debate in Goodhue County echoes those in small communities across Wisconsin and southern Minnesota as dozens of companies acquire land at high prices to supply drill rigs from New York to Texas.
The Star Tribune reports that mining on the Windsor Permian land in Goodhue County would be too small of a project to trigger state oversight. The local concerns that led to last night's decision:
Opponents say the county shouldn't permit a mining facility near residential communities. They fear damage to local streams and groundwater, and they say the open pit mine will be a blight on Red Wing's beautiful rolling landscape. They are also concerned about potential health effects. Dust from silica sand can cause a number of lung diseases, including cancer.
The hydrofracking process blasts a mixture of sand, water and chemicals into wells, creating fissures in the rock and freeing hard-to-reach pockets of oil and natural gas. Hydrofracking has raised major environmental questions and is under review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Wisconsin and Minnesota are among the few places in the country that can provide the perfectly round, inert silica sand used in the process; it comes from the 500-million-year-old Jordan sandstone formation that lies close to the surface in parts of both states.
A proposal for a one-year moratorium on fracture mining, often called fracking, was popular at a meeting Tuesday evening in Red Wing.
About 200 people filled the public hearing room for a meeting that lasted nearly three hours and included public comments from 20 people in support of the moratorium. No one spoke in opposition. . .
For Goodhue residents like Keith Fossen, the moratorium is a victory. Fossen lives near the property purchased by Windsor Permian and said he wants county commissioners to take their time to study the potential impacts of fracture mining, including water pollution and damages to bluffs and roads.
"The work has just begun," Fossen said. "Are we going to permit that kind of industrial mining in our county?
"If the answer is no, then how do we do that correctly? If the answer is yes, then how do we control it? How do we not let it impact the quality of our lives?"
Fossen, who lives 100 yards from the proposed site, took part in a Rochester Post Bulletin community dialogue on mining last week. Read about it here.
Photo: Aerial view of the potential site in Rock Creek Township, Goodhue County.
Note: The current iteration of this post reflects the correct spelling of Keith Fossen's name. He is incorrectly identified as "Keith Fossum" in PB's reporting.
But the whinging about poor Nick Espinosa as an obscure subject of desire doesn't come until late in the podcast. When Bluestem was asked by friends to listen to the podcast, we noticed something even more striking about Emmer and Davis's lamentations about the tonal horrors of contemporary political discourse.
To prove their points--and then to bash unions while calling for right-to-work-legislation to be passed in Minnesota--Emmer and Davis played a doctored tape of a speech by International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Jim Hoffa. By leaving out references to voting, what was Hoffa's call to the ballot box in November 2012 becomes instead a call to violence.
Here is a transcript of Hoffa’s entire speech on Monday:
“Are there any Teamsters in the house? This is Motown, but today, this is union town. We are union, we are workers. That is the message that we send today, and that is the message that we send to America.
There is a war on workers. You see it everywhere: It is in the unemployment, it is in the Tea Party, it is in the people that fight what we believe in. And we see the war in Wisconsin where they try to take collective bargaining from our public employees. We took two senate seats back, we are taking Wisconsin back.
That’s number one. Number two, in Ohio, we are fighting a battle there with regard to taking away collective bargaining. We will beat SB5. We’ve got a million signatures. We are going to win in Ohio — that is our number two. And in Michigan, they are thinking about right to work. It ain’t going to happen in Michigan. No way.
We have to keep an eye on the battle we face — a war on workers. And you see it everywhere there is the Tea Party. And you know there is only one way to beat and win that war.
The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what, they’ve got a war, they’ve got a war with us and there is only going to be one winner. It is going to be the workers of Michigan and America – we are going to win that war. All the way.
But it starts with your involvement, it starts with next November. We’ve got a bunch of people there that don’t’ want the president to succeed, and they are called the Tea Party – the people who don’t want him to do anything right and he is working hard for us.
President Obama is frustrated by what’s going on. Well, guess what, we’ve got the vote. And the answer to what we say is, we remember in November. We will beat the Tea Party and give this country back to workers and America. We can do it together.”
We’ve also got to talk about jobs. I get so tired about people who …(inaudible) these big corporations that send our jobs to Mexico, they send our jobs to China, and they’ve got the audacity to say ‘where are the jobs?’
Well I’ve got news for you. It’s time to bring those jobs back to America and bring America back to work. That’s what we’ve got to do.
We are going to hear from President Obama in a few minutes, and I am so glad that he has come to Michigan because this is where he sees the real America. He looks out on this army of people and you know what I say? President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. President Obama, we want one thing: Jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs…(The crowd joins the chant.)
That’s what we are going to tell America…..When he sees what we are doing here, he will be inspired, but he needs help. And you know what? Everybody here has got a vote. If we go back, we keep the eye on the prize, lets take these sons-of-bitches out and give America back to America where we belong.”
Some excerpts from the speech are found at ABCNews.com [link here] in which it's obvious that he's talking about working people will "take these sons-of-bitches out" of office via petition and the ballot box. [Update] Moreover, it's not unusual for campaigns to be compared to war; indeed conservative bagman Charles Koch recently compared the 2012 election to the Iraq War. [end update]
Fox Then Aired Clearly Edited Video Of Hoffa's Comments. Approximately 20 minutes after Henry's initial report on Hoffa's comments, Fox News' Megyn Kelly reported that Hoffa had issued "a pretty harsh attack on the tea party and Republicans. Here's some of that now." Fox News then aired a clearly edited version of Hoffa's speech:
HOFFA: We gotta keep an eye on the battle that we face: a war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there's only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what, they got a war, they got a war with us, and there's only gonna be one winner. It's gonna be the workers of Michigan and America. We're gonna win that war.
[...]
HOFFA: President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march.
[...]
HOFFA: Let's take these son of a bitches out and give America back to America where we belong! Thank you very much! [Fox News, America Live, 9/5/11]
Blakeman: "I Think It's Thuggery At Its Best." After she aired the clearly edited version of Hoffa's remarks, Kelly asked Republican consultant Brad Blakeman to respond. He said, "I think it's thuggery at its best" and "these are the kind of remarks you'd expect out of Tony Soprano, not a union president." Blakeman further said: "When a union president says, 'let's take these son of a bitches out,' it usually means somebody's legs are going to get broken, somebody's going to disappear." [Fox News, America Live, 9/5/11] . . .
It's that sort of discourse Emmer and Davis decry; sadly, they don't seem to know what Hoffa really said. There's no evidence of due dilgence, just two guys repeating a something they heard because it supports a talking point the political agenda they support: passing right-to-work laws.
Willful misinterpretation of Hoffa or just convenient laziness in failing to do the due diligence of checking a tape for accuracy? Does it matter?
The blather about the doctored audio Emmer and Davis bloviate over brought to mind words about voting by another famous Detroit native, pop star Eminem. In 2004, he urged Americans to good to their polling places, knowing that his call for a fight would be taken the wrong way. He wrote in Mosh:
I scrutinize every word, memorize every line I spit it once, refuel and re-energize and rewind I give sight to the blind, my insight through the mind I exercise my right to express when I feel it's time It's just all in your mind, what you interpret it as I say to fight, you take it as I'mma whip someone's ass If you don't understand, don't even bother to ask
Just in case people were confused about what it means to speak and be heard in this country, the artist had a video made. It's dated and it's a different election, but by the end, it's clear what process Eminem is talking about. It's what Hoffa was talking about. Voting, dudes, but perhaps Emmer and Davis didn't hear that part.
As a dedicated chronicler of the right's congenital inclination to paint itself as the victims no matter who it picks on, Bluestem is getting some good belly laughs from the "What if" school of mythmaking reacting to Sunday's Glitzkrieg at the State Fair.
Dismayed by the sudden appearance of a Minnesotans For [Discriminatory] Marriage booth on a grassy boulevard, clever giltterati dropped the sparkly on the booth from the Minnesota State Fair's signature skilift ride. The City Page's Roy Pratt noted that
As usual, Nick Espinosa chose the least violent, most colorful protest yet known to man.
The template response to glitterbombing is "What if these barbarians dropped something other than glitter?" with the expectation that the audience will then froth out at the imaginary image of acid or knives or fill-in-the-blank. And already, a spokester for Minnesotans for Marriage passively aggressively whined to WCCO/CBS Minnesota and whomever else will listen about the "tolerance" from "the other side."
When is this guy going to be charged? Why do our so-called "reporters" give an attention-hungry child what he wants? Why are the reporters not questioning authorities about their hands-off approach to this assaultive behavior? Yes, we are just talking about glitter but that should not be the issue. If an immature young man like this one was dropping glitter on a high school student in Anoka, wouldn't we hear the media cry for more bullying laws. . . .
In short, let's not talk about the glitter, but let's imagine that LGBT activists were dropping glitter on gay students, why then....
The ability of orators and statesmen like Tom Emmer to inflict the hypothetical on impressionable minds may be in large part responsible for the popular cliche: "It is what it is." At a time in which some many wish to frighten us about what might happen, Americans need to be reminded of simple facts.
The “glitterbombs” that have targeted Michele and Marcus Bachmann, Newt Gingrich and Tim Pawlenty were taken to the Minnesota State Fair on Saturday when Minnesota For Marriage, a group that opposes rights for same-sex couples, was showered with glitter from the fair’s Skyride. The glitterbomb phenomenon, homegrown in Minnesota, has also secured a place in pop culture. Fox’s hit show Glee is explicitly using the glitterbomb in its fall season promotional ads and the New York Times examined the phenomenon last week. . . .
The glitterbomb has quickly become a pop culture reference, especially following Fox’s decision to use it in its upcoming promotions of the hit show Glee. . . .
The ad makes direct reference to activist Nick Espinosa shouting “Taste the rainbow” as he showered presidential candidate Newt Gingrich with glitter at a book signing hosted by the Minnesota Family Council earlier this year.
No, Tom Emmer, the media wouldn't be calling for anti-bullying laws. They'd be calling it the season premier of Glee.
It's back to the classroom for most kids in Minnesota, and thus the perfect occasion for the Winona Daily News to school ALEC zombie legislator Steve Drazkowski.
Some GOP lawmakers have gone on the offensive when it comes to school levies. Not satisfied enough to shortchange public education, State Rep. Steve Drazkowski, whose district includes large portions of Winona County, wants his constituents to vote against any school levies. In fact, in one of his most recent legislative newsletters urged residents to shoot down any local initiative for more funding. He mentioned, among others, Lewiston-Altura and St. Charles districts.
. . .Drazkowski is half right: The Legislature actually gave a per-pupil funding increase, the first in a long time. That means every student is worth more to a school district than they were last year or the year before.
Yet that ignores what the Legislature did to those same schools. Instead of paying school districts the full amount, the state will now defer a larger percentage of those funds, causing districts to dip into reserves or, if they don’t have any, to borrow against the state’s promise of paying later. It’s called a funding shift and it was the only way the GOP-controlled Legislature, packed with more politicians than statesmen, could pass a budget.
We use the term “budget” loosely because the Legislature has essentially balanced the budget on the backs of school districts. The school districts can’t stop this “funding shift” from happening. Yet, one of only two responsibilities the Legislature has, according to the state constitution, is to provide for public education.
Many of these districts will see some of the increased money they get per student eaten up by having to borrow money to make ends meet. The increase is also paltry when you consider how long it’s been since Minnesota has given districts an increase. . . .
... The reason the districts need to raise the levy is because the state is shorting them millions of dollars they’re owed. It’s been shorting districts for decades by funding shifts and adding nothing to education.
What’s worse is that the extra money coming from taxpayers’ pockets won’t be funneled into the classroom, it’ll go to paying interest on the promise the Legislature hasn’t kept, despite a constitutional clause that demands it....
...We’d try to shame Drazkowski. But that would imply he could be shamed.
Read the entire editorial at the Winona Daily News, since th papers has a lot more to say and says it well.
Left to their own devices by the Legislature, several school districts are asking local taxpayers to pay more.Dave Aeikens of the St. Cloud Times says: “As many as nine area school districts and as many as 120 in Minnesota will have at least one question on the Nov. 8 ballot [emphasis added by BSP]. Many will have two, and one will have three. The requests for residents to raise their property taxes come as schools try to maintain their programs and services while state funding has not kept up with costs, school officials say. Schools also are dealing with costs from having to borrow money because of delayed aid payments from the state. ‘We’ve had flat funding for so long. The hole is deep. In order to get out of the hole, you have to do something. You can’t continue to cut all the time. We have been cutting for 10 years in a row,’ said Gerry Arndt, superintendent of Upsala, a district of about 420 students in Morrison County.”
Bluestem stands by its recommendation that we reform government by slashing legislative salaries, since Draz and other members of ALEC in the Minnesota legislature have outsourced writing legislation to the conservative corporate bill factory:
Bluestem thinks that the selfless creation of model bills on the part of America's finest corporate citizens should be acknowledged in Minnesota by cutting legislative pay by two thirds and doing away with the per diem system. Since the Republicans believe that there's nothing wrong with having the American Legislative Exchange Council write our laws, perhaps Minnesotans should simply concede our out-dated and expensive conceit that legislators work for us. We can save a lot of money by not paying them for plagiarizing model bills written elsewhere. Surely $10,000 should be a generous stipend for each lawmaker to act as ALEC's file clerks.”
But in the spirit of Draz's willingness to stomp on local school districts' efforts to ask voters for money to adequately fund their kids' education, we're willing to revise the salary amount. Since the legislature couldn't figure out how to do one of its two specific constitutionally mandated tasks--and members like Draz now urge voters to follow that leadership in starving the schools locally--it's only fair to half our original suggestion. Schools shouldn't be alone in being nickel-and-dimed.
Indeed, $5000 a year would be a generous reward for Draz. If shame doesn't provide a dose of reality upside his head, maybe a hefty paycut will.
Bluestem asked UFCW member Dale Moerke for his thoughts on Labor Day. A forklift driver at JBS, Moerke is an activist grandfather.
Today I have an extra special reason to celebrate Labor Day. My youngest daughter and her husband blessed me with another grandchild, a baby girl born yesterday. She gives me reason to smile on Labor Day, when I probably could be spending the day lamenting about the attacks on the working class this last year.
Yes, there is hope. She joins five other grandchildren (four boys and one girl) who someday sooner than we would like will be in the workforce. I believe there is still an opportunity for them to make significant contributions to our economic and social prosperity.
There will be challenges of course. Women still have to fight for equal pay and opportunities and respect in leadership roles but with some guidance and encouragement I am confident my little rebel girls will be more than ready. Other challenges? The push by business groups and groups on the right to limit the ability of workers to organize and to freely associate must be countered by freedom loving folks like grandparents and grandkids. The free trade folks want us to believe we will all be better off with their wonderful trade agreements. Shipping jobs overseas, murdering trade unionists, and stifling freedom--well, even a kid knows there is something wrong with that.
It has been a rough spring and summer but because of hard working folks who show up to work every day and do their jobs to the best of their ability I can still look to the future and see hope. I know that my grandkids will have the freedom to marry whoever they choose. They will be able to work despite any disabilities they might have. They will be able to vote regardless of their economic status.
A bunch of wishful thinking from a grandparent? I don’t think so. When I see the new baby I know that my work is not done nor the work of my colleagues. This Labor Day I will recognize the contributions of others and continue to pave the way for future generations.
Peace & solidarity
Dale Moerke
Photo: Brother Dale Moerke and his newest granddaughter. A big congratulations to the families.
In this week's installment of Emo Senator, the impetuous Mike Parry, state senator from Waseca, hastily closes a press conference about honor guards at military funerals when he is asked whether he plans to run for congress in Minnesota's first congressional district.
Several days ago, news reports indicated that the state had stopped paying for military honor guards at veterans’ funerals. The funding cut apparently slipped by all the top officials as political leaders this spring and summer debated a $34 billion, two-year budget.
Sen. Mike Parry, R-Waseca, was one of those incensed, but also was involved with the change since he is chairman of the Senate State Government Innovation and Veterans Committee.
But being the Emo Senator, he had to point fingers at Dayton, as Davis notes and the video documents. Fans of Emo Senator will be relieved that at least Parry didn't blame the gardener at governor's residence for the slip-up.
But while the Emo Senator may be chiding the Governor, Davis goes on to use the K-word to describe the Governor's pleasure at Parry's response:
After the honor guard lapse came to light, Veterans Affairs Commissioner Larry Shellito promised to find funds to continue the service. On Friday, Parry announced he has written a bill that would give Shellito’s office a new avenue to fund the program, which gives $50 to honor guards.
Shellito and his boss, Gov. Mark Dayton, immediately praised Parry.
“I commend Sen. Parry for his leadership in restoring this important funding, and will do whatever I can to support it in next year’s session,” Dayton said.
The Dayton-Parry kumbaya came a day after law enforcement leaders and prosecutors praised legislators’ efforts led by Rep. John Kriesel and Sen. Katie Sieben, both of Cottage Grove, to make synthetic drugs illegal.
As Parry was closing the conference, he was asked if he were running for congress. He had to get to the State Fair really fast that very moment, which was captured for posperity and the Library of Congress's tweet collection by Associated Press reporter Martiga Lohn.
Tune in for the next espisode of Emo Senator, Minnesota's most popular blog telenovela.
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