Bluestem is relieved to learn that the American Action Forum and the American Action Network nonprofits have not been unprofitable to Norm Coleman and other living things.
Leading two politically focused nonprofits has generated big money
for former Republican Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota — with paydays
better than when he served in Congress’ upper chamber.
Coleman collected more than $570,000 during a nearly three-year
tenure at the helm of the American Action Network and the American
Action Forum, for an average of about $190,000 annually, according to a Center for Public Integrity review of federal filings.
That includes a combined salary of more than $116,000 in 2011, according to the groups' most recent annual reports — though Coleman was only a paid, full-time employee of the organizations for a portion of that year.
According to documents filed with the Internal Revenue Service,
Coleman worked a combined 40 hours a week for the two conservative
nonprofits during 2009 and 2010 — their first two years of existence,
when he served as both groups’ chief executive officer.
He dialed back his time and responsibilities during the third year after taking a job at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm and lobbying shop Hogan Lovells, where his clients this year include Airbus Americas Inc. and Hong Kong-based investment firm Primus Holdings Ltd.
Photo: Norm Coleman.
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Readers know Bluestem has a bee in our bonnet about the House Republican Caucus using new legislation and funding for pollinator habitat as an example of "waste," when bees and other pollinators are an important part of the ag economy, as well as a key link in food production.
Many believe the insecticide’s spread to other plants has caused a
recent increase in bee deaths. The European Union passed a two year ban
on neonicotinoid pesticides in April.
While Sundberg is concerned, he still isn’t completely convinced. He will, however, take caution in the future.
“I’m not ready to point the finger and say corn farmers are killing
our bees,” he said. “But it does affect how I’m going to run my
business.” . . .
Habitat is a greater concern for the beekeeper:
Sundberg said he believes the biggest reason for losses could be a
lack of available food sources in the area. A recent trend of farmers
planting crops instead of renewing CRP contracts and cutting in road
ditches has meant less alfalfa, sweet clover, buckwheat, basswood trees
and other plants where bees collect pollen and nectar.
“It could be related to a lack of nutrition and diversity,” Sundberg
said. “We’re dependent on all this land that we don’t have control
over.”
Who represents this area? Bud Nornes. While he didn't join in the vocal, public bee-bashing, he voted against the Omnibus Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Finance and Policy Bill, which funded bee habitat.
Photo: A bee helps out an apple tree.
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In the 13-page document, the crux of the defendants' argument is to appeal to the truth of their accounts and the privilege that journalists receive for "fair and accurate reports of official documents":
Thus, this lawsuit is about whether Plaintiff can sue Defendants for making that one statement in light of the magistrate's finding that Plaintiff's behavior was "grossly inappropriate," and the Ohio appellate court's decision affirming the magistrate. He cannot, and the reasons he cannot is because the statement is truthful and cannot form the subject of a claim for defamation, because he does not identify any true statements of fact as is necessary to state a claim for defamation by implication, and because his claims are barred by the substantial truth doctrine and the privilege for fair and accurate reports of official documents.
A Florida lawyer has hit City Pages with a $1.4
million defamation lawsuit for a story last fall that said the lawyer
inappropriately touched his children.
Larry Klayman's lawsuit, announced Monday, March 25, said City
Pages sought to hurt the attorney in retaliation for Klayman's
representation of Bradlee Dean, the controversial anti-gay preacher and
founder of an Annandale-based group You Can Run But You Cannot Hide.
The City Pages story, which ran Sept. 28 last year, said an
appeals court in Ohio had ordered Klayman to pay his ex-wife $325,000 in
attorney's fees, and that the order noted a lower court magistrate had
heard evidence of sexual abuse from his children's pediatrician, who
reported it to children's services, and from a social worker at that
agency.
The story said the social worker's findings were changed to
"unsubstantiated," but the magistrate found that Klayman acted in a
"grossly inappropriate manner" with one of his children, although his
conduct may not have been sexual....
The National Republican Congressional Committee has rented a mobile billboard on the side of a truck to schlep around Minnesota's vast Seventh Congressional District, asking residents to contact their United States Representative.
Incumbent congressman Collin Peterson welcomes the attention, telling the Marshall Independent that he views the attention as encouragement to run again.
"There's always speculation about me; they're trying to run a
campaign against me to try to get me to retire," he said. "It's actually
making me more inclined not to retire. But I never decided until
January or February of an election year."
Peterson, who turns 69 next month, said he "needs to see where things
are at" in early 2014 before making his final decision on whether or
not to run again and whether or not his presence in Washington will be
beneficial for the country and his district.
The claim requires a lot of context. Peterson was one a small group of Democrats to vote against the health care law
in the House in 2010 when it was passed. Peterson has subsequently
voted against GOP bills that would repeal the law, including a measure
almost two weeks ago that passed the House almost entirely along party
lines and faces no chance of passage in the Senate.
Mostly, Peterson's been trying to keep it real and pass a new Farm Bill. In the face of Republican obstructionism and Democratic reluctance to cut food assistance, it's "not out of the woods yet," the Blue Dog told Forum Communications.
This latest campaign against Peterson is part of a long ritual for
Republicans in the 7th District. The area has voted for GOP candidates
at the top of the ticket for years while returning Peterson to
Washington at the same time. . . .
"It's pretty clear that the NRCC is out of touch with the vast
majority of Republicans in the 7th District who support Congressman
Peterson and who appreciate his work to get the farm bill passed in
spite of the Republican leaders who are buying billboards to attack
him," said Peterson spokeswoman Allison Myhre in a statement to MPR
News.
But the Democrats say this campaign is part of a misguided and harmful strategy.
“Republicans just lost a national election by trying to repeal health
care reform and put insurance companies back in charge – and now
they’re foolishly doubling down on a failed strategy,” said Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee spokeswoman Emily Bittner.
The Washington Post’s fact checker criticized the
NRCC’s new campaign, saying its claims that the IRS will be “running
healthcare” go too far, especially because the employer-provided system
is largely left intact under the new law.
Significant omissions and/or exaggerations. Some factual error may be
involved but not necessarily. A politician can create a false,
misleading impression by playing with words and using legalistic
language that means little to ordinary people.
Last week in Hann campaigns against kindergarteners, Bluestem looked at Minnesota's Senate Minority Leader's kvetching to the West Central Tribune about new state funding for all-day kindergarten.
More than $100 million will go toward all-day, everyday kindergarten
across the state, which is a popular move with some but not others,
Westrom said. Graduation standards for students were eliminated in the
session, along with the basic skills test for teachers, Hann said.
“I found that to be amazing,” Hann said.
House District 18A representative Dean Urdahl (R-Grove City), himself a retired high school teacher, disagrees. The Litchfield Independent-Review editor Andrew Broman reports in Urdahl says tax fears came true:
Urdahl bucked his party
on at least one occasion by voting for a $15.7 million education bill.
Urdahl was one of only five Republicans to vote for the DFL-backed bill.
The education bill included several DFL priorities, including funding
all-day kindergarten.
He said he objected to
Republican-led efforts to mandate a high school graduation testing
requirement. The proposed test is flawed, Urdahl said, because as many
as 30,000 of the state’s 60,000 graduating seniors would likely flunk
it, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.
“So what are we going to do with 30,000 kids?” Urdahl asked. “I think we need to reevaluate how we’re going to do this.”
Bluestem thinks we may have to revise our older headline to "Hann campaigns against kindergarteners--and high school seniors." We do give him credit for covering his bases, as well as alienating up to 30,000 additional young voters. It's the Republican Party way.
Urdahl continues:
Urdahl also said he
supported the education bill because of a provision that would allow
teachers to continue teaching for an additional two years if they fail
state-mandated licensure exams. Urdahl said some teachers are failing
the exams, even though parts of the test aren’t related to their
teaching field.
For example, Urdahl said,
kindergarten teachers should not be expected to pass a test for
college-level mathematics. “What does that have to do with what they
teach?” he said.
Urdahl said he supports giving school boards the flexibility to decide whether to keep a teacher that flunks a licensure test.
His 2012 opponent, Dassel's Nancy Larson, praises his vote:
Larson gave Urdahl credit for joining some Republicans in voting for the education bill. “I’m willing to praise Dean anytime he takes good votes, and he has, and that’s important,” Larson said. “We respect that.”
So does Bluestem.
Photo: This 2012 photo of Dean Urdahl holding up a piece of the state capitol building while arguing for a bonding bill to save the structure doesn't have much to do with our post, but the LIR article does mention Urdahl's support for the successful but slimmed down 2013 bonding bill which largely goes to repair the historic building. We mostly like the photo, via WDAZ.
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It's not enough, apparently, that much of the groundwater in Southwestern Minnesota is so naturally awful that the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System has to be built.
Officials in Nobles County fear a manure spill from cow dung stockpiled too close to a small private gravel pit may threaten area wells drawing from the local aquifer, as well as nearby creeks that are home to the federally-protected Topeka Shiner, the only endangered fish living in Minnesota.
Those who argue against the need to regulate anything anywhere might want to consider what would happen were no regulations in place for manure management.
A large stockpile of cattle manure, coupled with recent rains, has
led to a significant manure spill in Nobles County’s Little Rock
Township.. . .
The manure, which had
come from a large, rural Rushmore cattle feedlot, was being stockpiled
at the edge of a farm field in the northwest quarter of Section 25,
Little Rock Township. Several yards to the south of the stockpile is a
privately-owned gravel pit filled with water.
County ordinance
states manure stockpiles be at least 300 feet from a road, buildings or
waters. This stockpile was in violation in both proximity to the
township road and the water body. . . .
There are two main concerns about the manure spill, the first being
that it occurred in an area of Little Rock Township that has a shallow
aquifer.
Craig Schafer, state program administrator-principal with
the MPCA’s Emergency Response Program in Marshall, who was notified
immediately of the spill, said it has the potential to impact
groundwater.
“Just because of the geology there, we know there is
the potential to impact the aquifer,” Schafer said. “The water table in
that area is fairly shallow. We take those groundwater incidents very
seriously.”
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Area
Hydrologist Tom Kresko, who was briefed on the spill late Wednesday,
said he planned to look into the potential impact to the aquifer today
and determine whether there are any wells affected by the spill.
The
second concern, according to Kusz, is the proximity between the spill
area and the Topeka Shiner habitat. The federally-protected minnow is
known to be in streams a mile and a half away. . . .
While it’s too early in the investigation for Kusz to say whether people
will be prosecuted for the manure spill, she said county ordinance
states a misdemeanor can be charged for every day manure leaks into the
water body. . . .
Read the whole article. Minnesota is the only place in its range where the Topeka Shiner is doing well.
Bluestem's editor is a member of the Minnesota Farmers Union and passes along this statement about ag funding and policy in the session that wrapped up last week.
The passage of language tweaking "Buy The Farm," the extension of the Farmer-Lender Mediation Act and the authorizing of funding of the new voluntary Agriculture Water Quality Certification Program (with guidelines set by a board that's peopled largely by active farmers, watershed activists and soil & water types) are all good things.
The statement:
Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) applauds action of Legislature.
“MFU thanks the legislature and Governor Dayton for
passing a strong agriculture budget,” said Doug Peterson President of
the Minnesota Farmers Union. “MFU is also pleased that the Farmer-Lender
Mediation Act was extended for an additional
three years, allowing time for farmers and lenders to find solutions
when financial stresses hit rural Minnesota.”
Key legislative actions:
·
$20 million in the AGRI-fund, which can be used for livestock, NextGen energy grants, and farm to school programs;
·
$2 million for educational and cultural programs at fairs;
·
The current wolf hunting and trapping season
was not eliminated, however, MFU was disappointed wolf depredation
funding was decreased;
·
Buy the Farm legislation passed which
provides landowners facing the threat of high voltage power lines more
rights regarding attorney’s fees, appraisals, relocation and a
reasonable time frame;
·
Farmer-Lender Mediation Act was extended for an additional three years;
·
authorizing language and funding of the new voluntary Agriculture Water Quality Certification Program; and
·
language that clarifies estate tax by saying
agriculture land held by farm trusts and other business entities will
qualify for the extra $4 million exception from the state estate tax.
Photo: A riparian buffer zone.
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Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 18B.05, $150,000 the first year and $150,000 the second year are from the pesticide regulatory account in the agricultural fund to: develop and use best management practices that protect pollinators by providing habitat necessary for their survival and reproduction; incorporate these practices into pesticide applicator and county agricultural inspector training; and increase public awareness of the importance of pollinators and pollinator habitat. The commissioner may transfer a portion of this appropriation to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to design habitat and measure and report the outcomes achieved under this paragraph. This is a onetime appropriation.
And this:
POLLINATOR REPORT REQUIRED. No later than January 15, 2014, the commissioner of agriculture must submit a pollinator report to the legislative committees and divisions with jurisdiction over agriculture and natural resources. The commissioner of agriculture must develop the report in consultation with the commissioners of natural resources and the Pollution Control Agency, the Board of Water and Soil Resources, and representatives of the University of Minnesota. The report must include, but is not limited to, the following:(1) a proposal to establish a pollinator bank to preserve pollinator species diversity;(2) a proposal to efficiently and effectively create and enhance pollinator nesting and foraging habitat in this state including establishment of pollinator reserves or refuges; and (3) the process and criteria the commissioner of agriculture would use to perform a special review of neonicotinoid pesticides registered by the commissioner for use in this state currently and in the future.
And this:
Article 4 (DNR Policy), section 12
Sec. 12. [84.973] POLLINATOR HABITAT PROGRAM. (a) The commissioner shall develop best management practices and habitat restoration guidelines for pollinator habitat enhancement. Best management practices and guidelines developed under this section must be used for all habitat enhancement or restoration of lands under the commissioner's control. (b) Prairie restorations conducted on state lands or with state funds must include an appropriate diversity of native species selected to provide habitat for pollinators throughout the growing season.
Doubtless we'll continue to hear the same talking point repeated; perhaps those repeating the mantra should be asked where exactly the "signage" language actually appears in statute.
So what do they have against food and the bees that help plants produce it?
Photo: A honeybee helps an apple tree produce apples.
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My second term thus far has been quite different than my first term. In
the minority, it’s difficult to get anything passed. However, I didn’t
let that get me down. I was able to get two bills passed and signed into
the law. The first was a bill that would allow Panther Distillery in
Osakis – the only whiskey distillery in Minnesota – to offer a 15 ml
tasting of each product on site during tours. The bill was included as a
provision in the omnibus liquor bill, passed with bipartisan support,
and was signed into law by Governor Dayton earlier this month. I may
have to stop over to Panther Distillery now after this legislative
session! I was also successful in passing a sales tax exemption for
capital equipment for businesses.
What's peculiar about that modest list? So far as Bluestem is able--and we've contacted others with more expertise than we have in examining the legislative record--none of the 36 bills Franson introduced in the 2011-2012 session became law. That was when the Republican Party was in the majority.
In the final hours of the special session, GOP Rep. Mary Franson
successfully pushed for a last-minute technical change striking a
reference to an exchange in the Health and Human Services budget bill.
Did any bill Franson chief-authored get rolled into an omnibus bill in her first term? Not according to her response in an email inquiry.
In the meantime, perhaps Franson can thank the DFL majority for helping her do something more than just raising eyebrows.
Photo: Mary Franson, who has been more successful getting legislation passed under DFL control than when her own party held the reins. Perhaps the 2014 bonding session will lead to her greatest triumphs as a lawmaker.
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Buck Zumhofe, an AWA star from the 1980s, and a
promoter in the U.S. Midwest for years, was arrested on Monday in
Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, charged with molesting his daughter years
back.
In total, there are 12 criminal sexual conduct charges that have
been filed by County Attorney Jennifer Fischer against Eugene Otto
Zumhofe, who is 62 years of age.
Zumhofe's daughter, now 29, came forward in March with details of
the abuse that occurred while she was a teenager.
. . . According to the criminal complaint filed against him, Zumhofe
started having sex with the victim when she was 15 years old, in June
1999. She had first met him in 1998. The abuse is alleged to have
continued until 2011.
The woman, who is now 29, reported the abuse after seeking therapy and medical care in 2012.
The abuse began when she moved into Zumhofe's home in June 1999 in
New London. The abuse began with his touching her breasts and then oral
sex. Zumhofe also made her dance in front of him in bra and panties and
watch pornography with him, the complaint states.
After about two weeks, the abuse progressed to intercourse two to
three times a day. In later years, intercourse took place two to three
times a week until the woman left in June 2011.
She alleges that approximately 1,800 separate acts of sexual abuse
occurred during those years. Some took place in Kandiyohi County and
some in Pope County, as Zumhofe moved to Cyrus in 2001.
The woman's mother tried to remove her from Zumhofe's presence when
she was a teenager. However, he threatened to kill himself and told the
victim that it would be her fault, so she stayed, according to the
complaint.
Since the victim left Zumhofe, he has become violent, according to
the complaint, and has threatened the woman, her husband and others. He
has also threatened suicide. . . .
A source tells Bluestem that Zumhofe and the daughter's mother were not living together at the time of the activity in the allegations.
The Sun notes that Zumhofe served 36-month prison sentence at the Minnesota
Correctional Facility in Stillwater after being convicted of criminal sexual conduct in 1989 in Carver
County. He also violated a
domestic abuse order for protection in 1999 in Kandiyohi County.
In light of the charges, Zumhofe's comments about his daughter during a August 2012 interview at Interactive Radio on Epicenter Wrestling take on scary connotations. About the 3:53 mark:
Host: And is it still a family thing? Are you still doing it with your daughter?
Zumhofe: Well, no, she decided a year ago that--she's in her--you know that women don't like to tell their age, but she's into her later 20s already and unfortunately I guess women get this idea that boy my girlfriends in college and high school, by the time they're in their late twenties they've got two-three kids . . .Well, my daughter has no family at all and she's in her late twenties and she decided that she's going to get out of the business for a while. . . .
Photo: Zumhofe's mug shot, 2013.
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Bluestem's editor makes no apologies for her love of pro rasslin', the theater of which has helped her understand politics better than any political science class she never took.
Longtime pro wrestler and promoter Eugene "Buck" Zumhofe was arrested in
Kandiyohi County, Minnesota on Monday and is facing several criminal
sexual conduct charges. You can view his mugshot and more details at Kandiyohi.mn.us/depts/Sheriff/SO/LETG-Reports/custody/custody.html.
Looking at the alleged charges (and the bail/bond set at $500,000.00
or
$100,000.00), it would seem that Zumhofe is in a great deal of trouble.
Eugene Zumhofe (born March 21, 1951) is a professional wrestler better known as Buck "Rock n' Roll" Zumhofe,[1] wrestling's self-proclaimed original rock and roller. . . .In 2000 Buck opened the Rock & Roll Wrestling promotion. Zumhofe
actively promotes his shows around Minnesota, North and South Dakota,
Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.
A year ago, the Minnesota Legislature blocked a grant that [University of Minnesota associate professor of entomology Vera] Krischik received from the Minnesota Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources to study how treating trees for emerald ash borer is affecting bees.
This year the Legislature passed a pollinator habitat bill. It appropriates $150,000 a year to improve bee habitat and increase public awareness of pollinators. The legislation also requires state agencies to create a report on pollinator habitat and to establish a process for reviewing the safety of neonicotinoid insecticides.
The legislation reflects a growing public concern about bees, said Marla Spivak, a Distinguished McKnight Professor in the University of Minnesota's entomology department.
When Republicans controlled the Minnesota legislature, they blocked bee research. Thrown out of office, they chose to use the common-sense bee legislation--introduced by Ag Policy chair Jeanne Poppe (DFL-Austin), a Greater Minnesota lawmaker the Republicans had early on praised for her knowledge of farming (Mountain Lake Republican Rod Hamilton wanted her committee to handle all ag finance)--as the mascot for endless prattling about wasteful spending.
There's more of the cheap sound bites from House minority leadership, then this curious exchange:
There is Republican support for legislation to help pollinator habitat. Rep. Paul Torkelson (R-Hanska) co-sponsored HF595, which would direct DNR to establish criteria for a program to provide enhanced habitat for honey bees, and other pollinators, on state lands. But that language was not included in Wagenius’ bill. . . .
Language is one thing, but bees don't feed off words, however much those words might be fodder for Republican talking points. The article continues:
Wagenius said educating people about the importance of pollination and pollinators was a good idea and that, while she shared Torkelson’s concerns, her bill does more than the original legislation asked for, directing DNR to include growing plants that are good for pollinators throughout the growing season when doing restorations.
“You did not include any money,” Wagenius said. “We spent some money and we changed policy.”
Words are like honey, but money will actually sweeten the hive. Is that wasteful spending? Bees are an economic driver:
Bluestem believes it's better that the Republicans are left in the minority to whine about bee research, rather than controlling the legislature and blocking it outright, as their buzz is far worse than their sting these days.
Among them is Mike Corbin, who has a law practice in Faribault.
Corbin takes issue with the argument that the new tax will simply have
high earners like him paying their "fair share -- so much so that he's
thought about relocating his business.
"All those euphemisms are
nothing more than poll-tested, feel-good phrases," Corbin said. "At some
point it doesn't make economic sense to continue to stay in Minnesota."
From his marble-floored home, Tierney can see his gardener planting
shrubs on a beautifully groomed lawn. He did very well for himself in
the injection molding business and strongly disputes the notion
Minnesota's tax system is now fairer because people like him will be
paying more.
Tierney said the new tax will cost him "thousands" more every year.
"It
definitely will come out of somewhere," he said. "I doubt if we're
going to get rid of a car, stop traveling or we're going to change our
lifestyle very much."
Tierney said he has no intention of leaving Minnesota.
What are these job creators telling us? Read the rest of the headline contradicting article at the Grand Forks Herald.
Photo: Grumpy cat grooves the meme.
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The ban is touted as a way to protect the tourism industry from heavy industrial truck traffic.
Pepin
County only has one operating frac sand mine but people in the towns of
Pepin and Stockholm are worried more will spring up along the bluffs
that line the Mississippi River. Pepin County Board Supervisor Bill
Mavity represents the area and has co-authored an ordinance that would
create a mine-free zone the shore from Pierce County to the mouth of the
Chippewa River.
“It’s a narrow strip of land that
houses a great deal of the tourism business in Pepin County. It’s about
10 percent of the land mass. It produces or provides about 30 percent of
the tax base for the whole county.”
At The Price of Sand, documentary filmmaker Jim Tittle has released seven short YouTube clips drawn from an interview with Dr. Thomas Power, an economist from Montana State University, where he served as Chairman of the Economics Department and taught for 40 years. Power is the author of The Economic Benefits and Costs of Frac-Sand Mining in West Central Wisconsin, a study recently released by the Wisconsin Town Association, the Wisconsin Farmers Union, and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. We've embedded a copy of the study below the seven videos.
The Free Lunch Approach: Public Relations "Economic" Studies by Industry:
Multiplier Liars: Flawed assumptions and analysis in sand happy job talk
Frac Sand industry spokesters claim that every dollar of their payroll is multiplied in local communities. Some claim the value of these dollars is seven, or even sixteen times the amount paid. Here's what Power says about that (and he's not the only one questioning large multipliers):
Who Holds the Dollars? Will the frac sand industry make small town economies stronger?
Double Whammy: Extracting a mineral to extract oil and gas somewhere else?
Smell the Dirt: When a frac sand mine moves in, will it affect property values?
Buy A Truck, Make a Buck: When a new frac sand mine opens, some people borrow money, buy a truck, and go into business hauling frac sand. What's the risk?
Frac Sand See Saw: Powers answers the question, "How long will the frac sand jobs last?"
As could be expected within weeks of declaring their [gubernatorial] candidacies, the
relatively unknown Johnson and Honour both have serious ground to make
up in terms in name recognition. Only 3 percent of those polled have a
favorable view of Honour, versus 11 percent who have negative opinion;
the rest are undecided. Johnson fares only slightly better, with a 6
percent to 13 percent favorable/unfavorable score.
Bluestem is here to help with Scott Honour's name recognition. And not in a nice way.
After his yeoman work to restore the fabric, if not the honor, of the Republican Party, we're surprised that former Republican Party of Minnesota Pat Shortridge, Honour's defacto campaign manager, agreed to have South Carolina political operative Wesley Donehue hired as his digital campaign manager.
My stars and garters, but that gentleman has a reputation in South Carolina--known for its dirty politics--for what the late Karl Rove once genteelly called "rat-fucking." And not the rat-fucking of Democrats, but rather, other Republicans. South Carolina Republican politics, Bluestem is shocked to say, is known for down and dirty Republican primaries, CNN reported in 2012 in South Carolina's dirty political reputation outlives reality.
Combing through that article, others online and in databases like Nexis, Bluestem has assembled a collection the sort of online internecine party civil war the Honour campaign is bringing to the Republican gubernatorial endorsement and primary process. Wes Donehue is the twitter-era spiritual heir of Lee Atwater, with a johnson for other Republicans.
Wesley Donehue, a Romney consultant during the 2008 race in South
Carolina, was caught red-handed after creating a Web site called "Phony
Fred" that impugned then-candidate Fred Thompson's conservative bona
fides.
Fred Thompson's campaign announced the members of his Minnesota Steering
Committee. Minnesota House Minority Leader Marty Seifert will serve as
the honorary chairman and will lead the Thompson campaign in Minnesota.
Other members of the committee include Rep. Tom Hackbarth, Margaret
Cavanaugh, Mike Barrett and Kurt Daudt.
I spent most of the evening drinking and reading Nikki Haley's just
released memoir, Can't is Not an Option, and in it the good guv is not
afraid to attack her enemies, perceived or otherwise. Not that she is
always willing to name them.
And in the case of Wesley Donehue, the man behind high-tech political
consultant group Donehue Direct and the co-host of the Columbia-based
Pub Politics, she's not. Haley pusses out.
In Can't is Not an Option, Haley writes:
I had set up a Web site where people could sign up to
volunteer, get yard signs, or make donations. Hundreds of people were
logging on. I began to allow myself to hope that we had tapped into
something real in the grass roots of South Carolina.
Then I got a call. Our Web site had been taken down. People trying to
log on to sign up for the campaign weren't getting in. The names of
hundreds of supporters were being lost. Instantly, I knew the reason.
The person who had built my Web site was also the Web site and
social-media consultant of my opponent in the primary, Congressman
Gresham Barrett. I had foolishly paid him to create my Web site and
social-media outlets. What should have been a great day of collecting
names was ruined by political dirty tricks.
It was a taste of what was to come, but there was no turning back. I was in. Just as before, the only option now was to win.
Yesterday, I got in touch with Donehue, who confirmed he built Haley's website, but beyond that he had no other comment....
Allegations about a Nikki Haley Affair
That's tacky, but the same post brings up another dirty politics episode in which Haley and Donehue played parts. For background, here's Wikipedia's summary of the smear:
On May 24, 2010, Will Folks, former press secretary for Governor Mark Sanford, claimed on his blog that he had an inappropriate physical relationship with Haley "several years ago".[45]
Haley denied the claim, stating "I have been 100 percent faithful to my
husband throughout our 13 years of marriage. This claim against me is
categorically and totally false."[46]
Folks attempted to substantiate his claim by releasing phone records
that he said showed 700 calls between the two while Folks was working as
a political consultant for the Haley campaign.[47][48]
Folks claimed that he was "forced" to reveal the (alleged) affair
himself, before Haley's political foes publicized it first (to sabotage
her campaign).[49]
On June 3, 2010, Larry Marchant, a consultant for Andre Bauer's
gubernatorial campaign, made a statement alleging that he and Haley had a
one-time sexual encounter.[50]
In a June 2010 interview, Haley said that if she were elected
governor and the claims were later validated, she would resign the
office (her immediate predecessor as governor, Mark Sanford, had been
caught in an extramarital affair with a South American woman, which he
eventually admitted to).[51]
As you may recall, Donehue was one of the key players in the events
leading up to FITSNews blogger Will Folks' allegation that he had an
"inappropriate physical relationship" with Haley. You can read the
barrage of text-messages between Folks, Haley Chief of Staff Tim
Pearson, and Donehue in the days before the shocking announcement here.
In those exchanges, Donehue both warned Folks that the allegations were
about to be made public and said that he would try to prevent them from
coming out, although he doesn't exactly say by whom — the assumption
being the Barrett campaign of course.
In one particular text, Donehue writes:
"Now, I don’t give a fuck [if] you believe me or not.
You['re] the one who screwed her. You’re the one who bragged about it.
She’s the one who told BJ [Boling]. Y'all point fingers at your own damn
selves and leave me the fuck out of it."
While Donehue has stated that he once believed Folks' claims, he says that he no longer does.
Now You Don't See It, Now You Do: Jake Knotts "Raghead" Interview Video
According to Wikipedia's entry on Donehue:
On June 3, 2010, South Carolina State Sen. Jake Knotts used the ethnic slur "raghead" to describe President Barack Obama and Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley
while appearing on a live broadcast of Pub Politics. Several people
present at the political talk show's broadcast confirmed Knotts said "We
already got one raghead in the White House, we don’t need a raghead in
the governor's mansion."[7]
The video of Knotts' remarks never made it online - unlike most of
Pub Politics' episodes. In a statement, Donehue and Bailey said that
what Knotts said does not fit with their program and its goals. A Washington Post
report added that, "Conveniently for Knotts - who has been condemned by
state Republicans anyway - the lack of the video prevents the story
from taking on more steam." The Post added, "What's interesting
about this is that Knotts is a close political ally of Rep. Joe Wilson
(R-S.C.) - and Donehue, according to FEC reports, has done work for
Wilson."[8]
While Donehue quickly tweeted a disclaimer, he later said that Knotts was trying to be funny but crossed a line:
Wesley Donehue, a political consultant who co-hosts "Pub Politics,"
says he believes the comment may have been in jest, but it crossed a
line. Related:Knotts Statement is the Talk of the Town
"I guess it was made as a joke," Donehue says. "He was talking about her religion and I think he took it a step too far."
"Knotts always says what's on his mind, so in that respect, he's a
very honest guy and whatever comes top of mind he always says it,"
Donehue adds.
Donehue and the team behind "Pub Politics" originally said they would
release the audio of the program, but now say they will not until at
least after Tuesday's primary election.
Well then. The plot thickened in 2012, when the Knotts was challenged in a primary, and the footage was leaked to Buzzfeed. Donehue denied leaking the tapes.
Sanford: A piece of dung--then client
FITS News posted about the Mark Sanford's new campaign consultant for the GOP congressional primary-- Donehue, had just months earlier called his new client a mean word in a panel:
Last September (a mere five months ago) Donehue offered a graphic description of Sanford at college GOP forum.
“Mark Sanford is a piece of human shit,” the strategist told roughly a
hundred college Republicans on the campus of the University of South
Carolina.
We remember because our founding editor Will Folks (a.k.a. Sic Willie) was also on the panel.
Not only that, Donehue is alleged to have provided a national
reporter with information on the whereabouts of Sanford’s sport utility
vehicle shortly before the governor was busted having an extramarital
affair in 2009.
Does Sanford know about that? Guess we’ll find out soon enough.
. . .The online conversation about the campaign, which happened on the
"NewMediaExchange" Google group for center right technologists, began
innocuously enough when one member posted a link about the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee and how it spent its money.
But then the conversation was taken up a notch.
"If all else fails when trying to raise money for congressional
candidates, just try this tactic," Wesley Donehue, a strategist
recently retained by Sanford, wrote to the group. "Fair warning—it's
illegal."
Donehue then linked to a news report
about confusion in the Bostic campaign over whether a website that was
raising money for the campaign was actually affiliated with it. It was
later revealed the website was created by Ali Akbar, at the request of
a volunteer on the Bostic campaign, according to local media reports.
Akbar, who is also on the listserv, immediately lashed out.
"Call Curtis and stop being scum Wesley," wrote Akbar. "It was
approved then, it's approved now... Taking advantage of a growing
campaign that's never experienced a race like this is unprofessional."
Akbar went on: "And what you're asserting is down-right damning. So in 6
months when the FEC doesn't report my company to the Justice Dept,
I'll get your Christian apology? Right brother? Low-level stuff dude.
Do your Sanford thing, while I keep doing my good work. Or just keep
making a meme out of me.Or yourself," Akbar then linked to a story
about Donehue, which noted that before he began working for Sanford,
Donehue had publicly called the former South Carolina governor a "piece
of human [sh#t]."
The back-and-forth didn't go much further before a moderator stepped in and told the two to take their name calling elsewhere.
When contacted by Whispers, Akbar said that Donehue's "gutter tactics" are "what is wrong with the consultant-class." . . .
Looks like U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s trial run with controversial South Carolina political consultant has been extended …
Wes Donehue – a new media specialist with ties to the state’s
“Republican in Name Only” establishment – was named as the latest member
of Bachmann’s South Carolina team, joining former George W. Bush
appointee Ron Thomas and social conservative activist Sheri Few.
. . . Bachmann’s hiring of Donehue to aid her “First in the South” effort
raised eyebrows – especially given the friendly relationship she’s
enjoyed up to this point in the race with S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley, who let
Bachmann stay at the S.C. Governor’s Mansion twice during campaign trips to the Palmetto State.
Last summer Donehue was one of the GOP operatives responsible for
advancing the story about our founding editor Will Folks’ 2007 affair
with Haley – as evidenced by Donehue’s starring role
in the numerous text messages released by Folks to support his stated
rationale for coming forward about his relationship with Haley.
Since the scandal broke, Donehue has been among Haley’s most vocal
critics – repeatedly skewering her on his weekly internet radio show.
“It’s a story in itself that Bachmann has hired a vocal Haley critic
who pushed the affair story during the primary,” one South Carolina
political operative told us. “Bachmann has been courting Haley for
months, now she’s officially lost any chance of an endorsement.”
A former Bachmann supporter, Olson said the Minnesota Congresswoman's
campaign turned him off when it hired Donehue and began going negative.
"There
are some Tea Party members working as paid staff for the Gingrich
campaign," he said. "But most of those people have previous experience
working on campaigns so I really see no problem with them working for
Newt's campaign."
The Patch article published one of the emails Donehue sent attacking Gingrich:
Bachmann staffers also distributed an email to supporters labeling Tea
Party leaders and activists who took positions with Gingrich's campaign
as sell-outs.
The email sent out by Bachmann's South Carolina Communications Manager Wesley Donehue reads, in part:
"Hey
everyone — Newt Gingrich is trying to get a hold on South Carolina’s
Tea Party activists. He’s just having one major problem — Tea Party
activists know that Newt is the epitome of a Washington-insider...
"Because
of these massive problems, Newt is doing the only thing he can ... he’s
trying to buy the Tea Party movement. He is hiring Tea Party leaders as
full-time staff and throwing fundraisers for Tea Party organizations.
Just like his days in Washington, Newt still thinks he can just buy
people off.
"Those who have sold out to Newt have not only
undermined their own credibility in the SC TEA Party movement, but they
have also seriously jeopardized the credibility of the entire movement
for South Carolina by lining up behind a candidate that is the
antithesis of all that it embodies." . . .
Regarding the education package that provides school districts
funding for all-day, everyday kindergarten, Hann said he would have
preferred that schools got the additional money for their general fund
without being required to spend it on kindergarten.
Hann also questioned claims that all-day, everyday kindergarten would
reduce the education achievement gap. He said it hasn't worked in other
states.
"If Republicans want to run against all-day, everday kindergarten,"
said Murphy, pausing a moment as Rep. Mary Sawatzky inserted, "Go for
it."
Sawatzky, a teacher and DFLer from Willmar who accompanied Murphy to
the Tribune, said the Willmar School District won't have to spend
$350,000 on the extra kindergarten days anymore and can instead use that
money for other general education programs.
The bill
provides $485 million over two years in new spending for public
schools. It sets aside $238 million to boost the basic school funding
formula, with funding increases of 1.5 percent each year. A new all-day
kindergarten program funded by the state will receive $134 million in
order to "provide funding for districts that want or need it."
In short, as Sawatzky pointed out, schools can shift resources from paying for all-day kindergarten to other programs.
An informal list of 17 members the NRCC believes can be convinced to
step down, privately called the "Dem Retirement Assault List," makes
clear the party needs Dem incumbents to step aside if they have hopes of
taking back the majority. The NRCC has taken pains to attack those
lawmakers in recent weeks.
The list includes 14 members whose districts voted for Sen. John
McCain (R-AZ) in '08. McCain won districts held by Reps. Ike Skelton
(D-MO) and Bart Gordon (D-TN) with more than 60% of the vote, and
districts held by Reps. Rick Boucher (D-VA), Alan Mollohan (D-WV),
Marion Berry (D-AR), Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Mike Ross (D-AR) with more
than 55%.
McCain narrowly won seats held by Reps. John Spratt (D-SC), Allen
Boyd (D-FL), Vic Snyder (D-AR), Baron Hill (D-IN), Earl Pomeroy (D-ND),
Tim Holden (D-PA) and Collin Peterson (D-MN)....
But that pressure seems weak
so far: press releases criticizing the incumbents, plus a little money
thrown to media buys in certain districts. But the emphasis goes on the
word little: in three districts ” not including Petersons 7th ” a total
of $6,300 was spent by the NRCC on ad buys.
In a conference call with reporters Wednesday, NRCC Executive Director
Guy Harrison listed 10 moderate Democrats who are in the committee’s
sights for 2012: West Virginia Rep. Nick Rahall, Arkansas Rep. Mike
Ross, Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson and Pennsylvania Rep. Jason
Altmire. All four were held under 60 percent Tuesday and represent
districts that voted for John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008.
Peterson increased his margin in 2012 against the hapless Lee Byberg.
In today's National Journal, Reid Wilson (remember him from the 2009 Hotline retirement piece?) reports in Parties Push For House Retirements:
In 1992, Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson won re-election by a single
point. Two years later, he defeated Republican Bernie Omann again, but
by just two points. He hasn't faced a serious re-election bid since.
But this year, more than 18 months before Election Day, House
Republicans are trying to convince Peterson he's in for a tough race.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has already spent a
small amount of money on advertisements in Peterson's district, and the
committee has a press staffer dedicated to pushing opposition research
to reporters in Democratic-held areas that, like Peterson's, voted for
Mitt Romney in 2012.
The amount of money and effort Republicans are putting into
Peterson's race, at the moment, is negligible. The committee spent just
$2,000 on the early advertisement, a drop in the bucket compared with
the millions spent every cycle on competitive races. But the goal isn't
to beat Peterson so far out -- it's to get in his head on a daily basis
and, eventually, to get Peterson to retire rather than run for a 13th
term.
So far, Peterson doesn't seem bothered by the Republican attention. "They don't have anybody else to go after," he told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune last month, when the ads ran. "It's kind of ridiculous, but whatever."
But when he goes home next week, Republicans will seek to remind
Peterson that he's not alone. The NRCC has a dedicated tracker set to
follow Peterson around his district . . .
St. Paul documentary filmmaker Jim Tittle was one of the first to take a close look at "The Price of Sand" when he learned in 2011 that energy production company Windsor Permian bought land near his parents' home in Goodhue County's Hay Creek Township, but isn't the last person asking that question.
A pair of stories in the LaCrosse Tribune extricate some of the price of sand in Wisconsin. In Natural gas boom fuels frac sand mining, political spending, staff writer Chris Hubbach reports that political spending by industry interests increased 21 times since 2007:
Just as frac sand mines have popped up across western Wisconsin in
the past half decade, so too has political spending from the sand and
natural gas industries.
Since 2007, contributions from industry
interests ballooned more than 21 times, from just $18,762 to more than
$413,000 last year, according to analysis by the Wisconsin Democracy
Campaign. . . .
A total of 100 Republican candidates and committees received
$710,790, while 44 Democratic candidates and committees received just
$47,104. Nearly 70 percent of the contributions — totaling $520,266 —
went to Gov. Scott Walker during the past two elections.
With
$8,525 in contributions, former Sen. Dan Kapanke of La Crosse was among
the state’s top five recipients in the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign
analysis. The others included Sen. Alberta Darling, Lt. Gov. Rebecca
Kleefisch and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, all Republicans.
In
addition to oil and gas companies, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign
based its findings on contributions from 17 companies — or their
employees — with interests in sand mining. . . .
However, it excluded some large donors — such as Wisconsin Manufacturers
and Commerce — that support frac sand mining but also lobby for other
interests, said Mike McCabe, director of the nonpartisan campaign
finance watchdog group. . . .
Read the whole thing at the Tribune. Bluestem will be curious to see if the flow of contributions and lobbying spills across the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers.
The paper also ran a story from the Associated Press, Wisconsin budget committee approves frac sand mining plan, which details how nearly $447,000 is being pulled from the state's state’s environmental management fund to inspect frac sand mines:
Money in the environmental management fund comes from a number of
sources, including fees landfills pay the state, vehicle environmental
impact fees and pesticide fees. The money goes toward recycling,
cleaning up contaminated land and fighting pollution run-off from farm
fields.
It's curious that not only is money being pulled from the environmental funds, other industry is paying for the frac sand interests. That's Walker's Wisconsin.
A scenic 10-mile stretch of Wisconsin bluff land would be off-limits to frac-sand mining under a proposed ordinance that has strong local support but must overcome a pro-business climate that has made the Badger State the nation’s hottest silica sand-mining range.
If the proposed no-frac-sand zone succeeds in the eclectic Lake Pepin shoreline corridor anchored by the villages of Stockholm and Pepin, it will be rare, if not unprecedented. Wisconsin has approved about 100 frac-sand projects in the past four years — more than any other state — and no Minnesota or Wisconsin county has flatly banned frac-sand mining in an area that covers multiple local jurisdictions.
Unlike the environmental concerns expressed in many failed frac-sand fights, the argument in the Stockholm-Pepin area is economic.
A study commissioned from two University of Wisconsin-Madison professors by Lake Pepin Partners in Preservation found that frac-sand operations “have the potential to significantly impair property values and tourist activity in Stockholm and Pepin districts.”
Mavity said the study’s details should matter to the 12 elected supervisors who will decide the issue in the coming months. That’s because the area outlined in the proposed ban is a prime economic engine for Wisconsin’s smallest county, population 7,390. . . .
But the Stockholm-Pepin study quoted a real estate agent who said that the mere possibility of frac-sand mining already has damaged the local housing market, where values and unit growth were the highest of any sector in the county from 2000 to 2010. . . .
“For these particular communities, the costs of local frac-sand activity may exceed the benefits in both the short and long run,” the study said.
The study comes on the heels of a report issued last week by the Institute for Trade and Agriculture Policy, the Wisconsin Farmers Union and the Wisconsin Towns Association that challenged conventional wisdom about the economic benefits of the sand industry.
Bluestem suspects that industrial-scale sand mining is great for large corporations, lobbyists, legislators' campaign committees and flacks, but not so much for many of the rest of people in the Driftless region.
Farmers will have an easier time securing their legal rights with energy corporations building high voltage transmission lines across their property, thanks to Northfield legislators David Bly and Kevin Dahle.
In the waning hours of the 2013 legislative session Monday night, state lawmakers approved an amendment to Minnesota’s “Buy the Farm” law.
The amendment was passed “with great bipartisan support,” 114-18, said Sen. Kevin Dahle, DFL-Northfield. It requires companies like CapX 2020, which is running a transmission line from Sioux Falls, S.D. across Minnesota to reimburse landowners and farmers for fees incurred in the process of acquiring land via eminent domain for losses incurred during the process.
Additionally, the new law says utilities acquiring land via eminent domain must file challenges to a landowners request the utility buys the farm within 60 days.
If an objection is raised by the utility, the district court must uphold or reject the claim within 90 days.
Dahle and Rep. David Bly, DFL-Northfield, Reps. Kelby Woodard, R-Belle Plaine, and Glenn Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe, supported the amendment. Woodard and Dahle represent Belle Plaine.
. . . CapX is less than thrilled with the passage. Randy Fordice, a spokesman for the group of utilities working together on high-voltage power line projects across the state, including the line that runs south of Belle Plaine across Blakeley and Belle Plaine townships, said the vaguely-worded amendment muddies the issues associated with the so-called reasonableness clause included in “Buy the Farm” requests.
Read the entire article at the Herald. Farm membership groups praised the passage of the bill. Minnesota Farmers Union government affairs director Thom Peterson wrote in an email to members:
MFU was pleased to see strong bipartisan votes in favor of the legislation known as “Buy the Farm” which was attached to H.F. 854. The Senate passed the legislation 49-16 and the House 114-18. The legislation provides landowners facing the threat of high voltage power lines more rights regarding attorney’s fees, appraisals, relocation and a reasonable time frame. MFU thanks the many legislators that worked to support the issue especially the chief authors Sen. Kevin Dahle and Rep. David Bly.
The Land Stewardship Project supplied more details in a news release:
An important clarification to Minnesota's groundbreaking "Buy the Farm" law was passed by the state Legislature on Monday, the last day of the 2013 session.
“Keeping the Buy the Farm law strong says that Minnesotans value family farmers above profits for energy conglomerates," said Dave Minar of Cedar Summit Farm near New Prague, Minn. “Our future as a fourth-generation family dairy farm was in jeopardy because Xcel Energy and others were trying to twist the law. This clarification means farmers will be treated fairly.”
Under the unique “Buy the Farm” law, which was originally passed in 1977, farmers have the right to require that utility companies purchase their entire farm if high voltage power lines are going to pass through their property. This law was intended to require that utilities reimburse farmers for their land, relocation expenses and lost business. The law was a result of the hard fought negotiations between farmers and utility companies over high power transmission lines cutting across farmland in the 1970s.
With the construction of more than 650 miles of new high voltage power lines across Minnesota underway, the law has renewed importance to family farmers and landowners throughout the state. Backers of the CapX2020 power line project, which includes Xcel Energy and 10 others, are trying to avoid paying their fair share to family farmers impacted by the project, said Land Stewardship Project organizer Mike McMahon.
"In an attempt to blur the intent of the law, they are claiming that farmers are voluntarily relocating their farms and that any reimbursements for moving expenses and lost business would be extra compensation," said McMahon.
The “Buy the Farm” provisions passed Monday clarify this issue, making it clear that farmers will receive compensation for moving and lost business, according to McMahon.
After stalling in conference committee, the "Buy the Farm" clarification was amended onto a bill on the Senate floor Sunday night and passed on the House floor Monday. It passed off the Senate floor on a 49-16 vote and off the House floor by a 114-18 vote.
Representative David Bly (DFL-Northfield) and Senator Kevin Dahle championed the "Buy the Farm Law" provisions from the beginning, and were key players in keeping them alive during the waning days of the session.
“When I heard that CapX was claiming that protections passed in 2010 concerning land takings under eminent domain did not apply to the Buy the Farm provision, and when I listened to the stories of dairy farmers like Julie Schwartz and Dave Minar, it was clear that refining this law could make the difference in whether or not they would continue to farm," said Bly. "That’s why getting Buy the Farm done this session was a priority for me.”
Dahle said that this bill strengthens legislation related to this issue that he passed in 2009.
“Corporations that skirt the law not only inconvenience us, but they can possibly put us in danger," he said. "The changes we’ve authored will further protect the rights of local farmers by closing loopholes and holding big companies accountable to the law.”
The bill had stalled in the Senate when key committee chairs refused to act on the proposal. Sen. Ron Latz (DFL–St. Louis Park), Chair of the Judiciary Committee, refused to hear the bill, making it unable to progress as a stand-alone piece of legislation. In the House, the provisions completed the committee process and were included as part of the House Environment and Agriculture Omnibus Finance Bill.
However, in conference committee Sen. David Tomassoni (DFL–Chisholm), the Senate Chair of the Conference Committee, refused to accept the language. By amending the language onto a bill on the Senate floor, Dahle was able to overcome these procedural roadblocks. Among the handful of Senators voting "no" were Dan Sparks (DFL-Austin), Chair of the Senate Agriculture Policy Committee, and Tomassoni, Chair of the Environment and Agriculture Finance Committee.
Bluestem applauds the work to get this law fixed.
Photo: A black helicopter helps out with installation of the CapX line. Photo via KVSC.
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McLeod County Chronicle editor Rich Glennie might have opposed the rapid enactment of marriage equality, but he's turned his attention to new developments that seem far more threatening to him.
Drones. Secret wiretapping of reporters. I.R.S. investigations. Corporations using facial recognition software to track consumer behavior.
Well, just like the Y2K millennium end-of-the-world scenario and the Mayan calendar doomsday predictions, the world did not end with the same-sex marriage bill passed recently by the Minnesota Legislature.
Despite this admission, Glennie's rhetoric does take on some violent sexual connotations:
This was the liberals’ one opportunity to foist their gay agenda onto the rest of us, who simply were not ready for such fast action from a traditionally slow-moving Legislature. . . .
There was no one to slow down the DFL juggernaut this session, and not only was gay marriage rammed down our throats, so has a whole truckload of new and expanded state taxes.
That truckload sound hard to take. But then he softens his tone, noting that many Christians were torn between strictures against same sex love and Jesus's great commandment to love one's neighbor as one's self--and that Minnesotans tend to recognize shades of gray on social issues:
To most Minnesotans, social issues are more gray than black-and-white. We tend to favor equal rights for all; we tend to defend the underdog; we tend to fight for fairness and openness.
So when the same-sex marriage push was made, it was with mixed feelings.
That being said, Glennie moves on to what he thinks is a real problem:
What Minnesotans, and Americans in general, should be more worried about, however, is the insidious intrusion of the federal government into our lives with increased use of domestic drones, the secret wiretapping of Associated Press journalists’ phone lines and the Internal Revenue Services’ revelations about zeroing in on specific political groups for more scrutiny.
To top it off was the “60 Minutes” report on Sunday that showed how facial recognition is being used to not only find criminals, but to identify your spending habits, where you used your credit cards and for what purchases. Corporations can then use that data to pinpoint their advertising campaigns.
Big government and big corporations diminishing civil liberties? He might be on to something.
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