Thul and Stevenson appeared on local cable access television show "Owatonna Today" on October 23 to tout the joint fundraiser for local Republican Party county units. The forum/fundraiser in Rochester took place two days later for the benefit of the Olmsted County Republicans.
It's certainly unfortunate that the First Congressional District chair didn't know about the looming debate at the fundraiser in nearby Olmsted County, part of the First, or she might have given the event a plug.
Thul also notes (video and partial transcript below):
There's been several gubernatorial debates in the Twin Cities but this will be the first major Republican debate in outstate Minnesota, and we want to make sure that these candidates understand that there is more to Minnesota than Minneapolis and St. Paul and that our issues down here are important as well.
As far as Bluestem can determine, only one Republican gubernatorial debate has taken place in Minneapolis or St. Paul (or close enough, at the State Fair), when three of the candidates did appear a discussion at the State Fair, moderated by political science professor Larry Jacobs, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for the Study of Politics and Governance.
All the rest of the Republican gubernatorial candidate forums have taken place in suburban locales: Mounds View, in northern Ramsey County and Chanhassen, in eastern Carver County. The latter event was sponsored by the Carver County GOP; much of western Carver County remains agricultural.
Two Twin Cities morning radio show hosts, noted rural affairs experts Twin Cities News Talk "Up & At 'Em" hosts Jack Tomczak and Ben Kruse, will moderate the forum in Owatonna.
Bluestem has to wonder: with as promising a candidate as Cam Winton running in the Minneapolis mayorial race, what do Republicans have against the Mill City? Or was this pitch simpl an awkward opportunity to engage in some anti-urban place-baiting?
Here's the video and a partial transcript (the exchange begins about 6:35 into the show) below:
Host Betty Johnson: So how is it you settled on Owatonna?
Thul: We started organizing this as a fundraiser a few months ago. The Steele County Republican Party has been doing a fundraiser about this time of year for a few years now and we settled on the idea of a debate not only to help us and the other local Republican parties raise some money, but for the idea that outstate Minnesota, Southern Minnesota, we kind of get overlooked by all of these candidates who are asking for your vote, right.
Host Betty Johnson: And there's more of Outstate Minnesota than there is of the Twin Cities area--
Thul: Yes, yes. Exactly. There's been several gubernatorial debates in the Twin Cities but this will be the first major Republican debate in outstate Minnesota, and we want to make sure that these candidates understand that there is more to Minnesota than Minneapolis and St. Paul and that our issues down here are important as well.
Host Betty Johnson: Well, we're a farming state, this is a farming area--
Thul: Absolutely. And that will be some of the focus of the debate questions, is questions about agriculture, about industries that are important to us down here, that your average resident of Minneapolis might not know anything about.
Host Betty Johnson: Now, are a lot of the questions pre-designated by the moderators or is it going to be an open question and answer?
Thul: As long as there's a focus on Outstate Minnesota, the questions will be up to whomever would like to submit them. We will be taking submissions from anyone who would like to, as well as, there's a big social media aspect to it. We'll have people on twitter and on Facebook pages can submit questions in real time.
Host Betty Johnson: And you don't have to be a member of the Republican Party necessarily to attend, because a farmer may want to know a few things [who] may not be affiliated with a particular party.
Thul: Absolutely. We're hoping to draw not just Republicans but peoplewho are independent, who don't categorize themselves as anything, as well as people who would say that they are Democrats, this is their chance to see what these people running for governor have to say on the issues . . .
Bluestem doubts that many folks will plunk down $20 to find out what they can read on twitter, although surely there must be some people who are curious about Rice, Steele and Waseca Counties' secret industrial base that those dirty hippies living in Minneapolis just won't understand.
During the last session, the industrial sand industry argued that Minnesota shouldn't be left behind from the gold rush going on in Wisconsin, and we should so not add regulations.
Fears that a Wisconsin-style frac sand mining boom could reach the east metro communities of the Twin Cities drew a crowd of more than 300 people to a forum Tuesday night in Mahtomedi.
It isn't likely that Washington County and surrounding areas would become the next site for industrial sand mining to supply hydraulic fracturing rigs with silica sand. But there was consensus that Wisconsin's experience, where many mines have clashed with local communities and in some cases have violated environmental laws, should not be repeated.
Even the Mayor of FracSandville is singing a different tune to lull the locals:
"Minnesota is not Wisconsin," said Dennis Egan, who represents the Minnesota Industrial Sand Council. Egan said Minnesota currently has nine silica sand mining operations, and only three new permits have been issued in the past year or so.
According to Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin has more than 100 permitted frac sand mines or processing facilities.
So the industrial sand industry in Minnesota is okay with that pace? That would make a cat laugh.
LSP: SE MN Citizens file state court brief in appeal of Nisbet mine
A group of Southeast Minnesota citizens with more experience with the sand mining industry are doing more than listening. From a Land Stewardship Project press release Wednesday:
WINONA, Minn. – Local citizens appealing the Winona County Board’s decisions on the Nisbit frac sand mine filed their legal brief last week with the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Twelve citizens joined together this spring to contest the County Board’s 3-2 decision in April to not require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the mine. They also contest the County Board’s 3-2 decision in June to grant the Nisbit mine a conditional use permit. The appellants’ brief concludes that the three Board members voting in the majority on both decisions acted “in disregard of clearly identified legal requirements under well established Minnesota law repeatedly presented in considerable detail.”
The brief calls on the Court of Appeals to require the Winona County Board to order an EIS on the mine and to vacate the mine’s permit until the EIS is completed, because the Board's earlier decisions “resulted from an error of law and lacked substantial evidence on important issues.” An EIS is a much more comprehensive form of environmental review than the short Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) which has been completed on the mine.
“The County Board majority really got ahead of itself in permitting this mine without ordering an EIS,” said Margaret Walsh, a Winona resident and one of the appellants. “For more than two years, people have been raising concerns about the Nisbit mine, including air and water quality, traffic safety and road impacts. We’re concerned about the mine’s effects on community health and the quality of life for residents living near the frac sand mine and along its haul route to the processing facility in Winona. We’re hopeful that the Court of Appeals will reverse the Board’s decisions.”
The Nisbit mine has recently begun operations and, according to local media reports, will supply sand to the dairy industry. However, the permit granted by the County Board in June allows the mine to sell frac sand, used by the oil and gas industry for hydraulic fracturing, at a rate of up to 140 semi-truck loads per day. According to the mine’s EAW, these trucks will pass along a 20-mile route that goes through Utica, and then through Lewiston and Stockton on U.S. Hwy. 14 before dumping the sand at the Hemker/Bronk processing facility across from Saint Mary’s University on Old Goodview Road in Winona.
The Nisbit mine is one of at least seven frac sand mines proposed in an approximately five-mile by two-mile area in Winona County and neighboring Fillmore County. Citizens and state agencies, including the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, have repeatedly called for the cumulative impacts of this mining activity and the associated frac sand processing and transportation to be examined before any permitting decisions are made.
The appellants have retained land use attorney Jim Peters of Glenwood, Minn., to represent them. A decision from the Court of Appeals is expected by April 2014. More than 30 local residents have provided the financial support needed for these legal actions.
State administrators have supported the prerogative of Minnesota counties to ban frac sand mining in certain areas, Houston County Commissioners were told on Oct. 22.
Chairman Justin Zmyewski stated that he met with Will Seuffert, executive director of the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB) last week to discuss frac sand mining issues, and found support for local control. . . .
"Instead of having a blanket set of guidelines for the whole state, there may be an independent set dealing with each area, each region. The director came down and met with a few people and made kind of a tour of Southeast Minnesota."
"One of the points I was trying to get across is that our region is very different from the rest of the state. We have different geology..." "Are there certain areas that should be off limits? We've had people over in the Wabasha-Lake Pepin area that have said, 'This needs to be off limits,' so we asked about the possibility of...those kinds of restrictions. Is it still on the table that certain areas need to be banned due to geology or due to economic impact?" . . .
[Drazkowski] asked, "Why is it that we cannot focus on the needs of the people who take care of the people who are the most vulnerable among us?"
Drazkowski did not specifically say he would support The 5% Campaign, but did say he would set a high priority on funding for programs that care for the state's most vulnerable.
In an interview, House Health and Human Services Policy Chairwoman Tina Liebling said it is important to remember that the GOP-led House passed legislation in 2011 cutting funding for these programs by 1.67 percent. Democrats prevented those cuts from taking effect and increased funding by an additional 1 percent. Meanwhile, nursing homes received a 5 percent pay increase. She said she supports efforts to find additional dollars for these providers in the upcoming legislative session.
"They are right. We don't pay enough to do what we need to do for people in long-term care, and it really was unfair that we providing a 5 percent increase to nursing homes and must less to long-term care."
Good for Carlson for going the extra distance and interviewing Liebling.
Video still: Steve Drazkowski in the famous meeting with care provider staff in 2011 where he recommended saving costs by installing baby-monitor-like devices to replace staffers in the wake of Republican sponsored budget cuts. Video here.
If you enjoyed reading this post, consider giving a donation via mail (P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or paypal:
In the open seat created by the retirement of Sixth District Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, a letter writer suggests that newly-declared DFL candidate Jim Read will be running against the House's bad reputation itself.
. . . Read has been teaching our young folks at St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedict on how government works for 25 years. We need this kind of expertise to restore some creditability to the Congress that currently has a reputation slightly better than a skunk in church. . ..
While 31 percent of Americans approve of the way Democrats in Congress are doing their job, just 18 percent approve of how Republicans are doing theirs. Disapproval of Republicans in Congress has risen five percentage points since before the shutdown, to 78 percent. Democrats' "negatives" climbed three points, to 65 percent.
The recent budget negotiations have made 64 percent of Americans pessimistic about Congress' ability to deal with future issues affecting the country; only 11 percent are optimistic. . . .
That's pretty much skunk in church territory.
Photo: The Congressional shunk caucus.
If you enjoyed reading this post, consider giving a donation via mail (P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or paypal:
Once upon a time in 2011, Republicans controlled both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature, and state representative Steve Drazkowski was all about budget cuts.
Rep. Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, told our AFSCME brothers and sisters who care for vulnerable clients that they can be replaced by baby monitors overnight. (1:04 in the video.) You know, because patients sleep quietly all night, so there's no need for care providers. Right nurses?
Minnesota State Representative Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) told AFSCME Council 5 members who care for vulnerable clients that they can be replaced by baby monitors. The budget bill he supports would slash 20,968 jobs in health and human services.
TheUpTake spoke today with Rep. Drazkowski, who defended his words by emphasizing the need for “doing things more innovatively within all areas of government.” By “baby monitors” Drazkowski was referring to an innovative new tool being used by the Winona, Minn.-based support provider Home and Community Options, which uses videos, sensors and intercom systems to remotely monitor certain low-risk clients while they sleep at night, in order to cut back on operating costs. “I used the analogy of a baby monitor to help (AFSCME) understand how this technology would work,” said Drazkowski. “Obviously, they worked as hard as they could to take it out of context.”
Denny Theede, executive director of Home and Community Options, prefers the term “remote monitoring applications” to baby monitors. He says that they can be used in lieu of night staff in a residential home that provides 24-hour care. Theede described to TheUpTake how a movement sensor going off in the home, a fire alarm or an intruder would alert dispatchers, who would immediately send “boots by the bed” workers to the home within 10 minutes. Meanwhile, the dispatcher could communicate with clients through the intercom, and monitor them via video (to protect privacy, videos are not available in bedrooms and bathrooms). “Think of it in terms of smart homes,” Theede analogized. “People know the temperature of their home while they’re on vacation.”
Theede estimates that remote monitoring applications are saving about $20,000 per year in one home where four men live — 12.5 percent of that home’s annual operating costs. But of 18 homes that Home and Community Options runs in Winona County, he says the application would work only in two homes. Theede declined to estimate the savings in care homes statewide — or the numbers of jobs it may cost.
In other words, this isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Remote monitoring applications would work only “where there is cognitive ability and life-safety balance to provide quality of care,” said Theede. When the 10-minute dispatch time could prove the difference between life and death — such as for an autistic person who wakes up and continuously bangs their head against the wall — remote monitoring applications are not an option.
Drazkowski seems to have changed his mind since the Republicans lost control of the legislature, and now he's all for increased funding for care providers, according to tweets by from a forum tonight in Rochester.
Post Bulletin political reporter Heather Carlson tweeted:
Covering #rochmn forum where people with disabilities & advocates are asking for 5% funding increase for providers.
Let's hope Representative Drazkowski maintains his renewed commitment to those who care for the most vulnerable--rather than cutting staff. Bluestem will read Carlson's report with interest.
Video still: Steve Drazkowski meeting with in 2011.
If you enjoyed reading this post, consider giving a donation via mail (P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or paypal:
Come Join us for our Kick Off of another month full of Information & Activism!
Micheal Cutler will tell us more about his experiences and his viewpoint on Illegal Immigration.
"Current policies and statements by the administration, in my view, encourage aspiring illegal aliens around the world to head for the United States. In effect the starter's gun has been fired for these folks, the finish line to this race is the border of the United States." [end update]
If the Cutler event is still on (there's no mention of it on the SWMTP's Facebook page), the talk will mark the beginning of a busy week for the far suburban group. Blaze radio personality Doc Thompson will bring his Countdown to Midterm Election Tour to Chanhassen on November 7 and 8.
Cutler Is A Regular Contributor To The White Nationalist Social Contract Journal. Cutler is a regular contributor to The Social Contract -- the white nationalist quarterly journal established by notorious nativist John Tanton. A search of Cutler's name at the Social Contract Press shows that he has written at least six articles for the journal since 2009. His most recent article for the Winter 2013 issue is based on his notion that the victims of illegal immigration are American citizens and legal immigrants. He also blames undocumented immigrants for prostitution in immigrants' communities. [Social Contract Press, accessed 7/18/13]
Rocky Mountain News: The Social Contract Press Publishes White Supremacist Authors. The Social Contract Press publishes pieces "by authors who express white nationalist or separatist views," and its editor Wayne Lutton "has also been on the advisory board of the publication of the Council of Conservative Citizens," a white-supremacist group. [Rocky Mountain News, 7/15/06]
The Council of Conservative Citizens' statement of principles states: "We also oppose all efforts to mix the races of mankind, to promote non-white races over the European-American people through so-called "affirmative action" and similar measures, to destroy or denigrate the European-American heritage, including the heritage of the Southern people, and to force the integration of the races." [Council of Conservative Citizens, accessed 7/19/13]
Cutler Is A Former Fellow For The Nativist Center For Immigration Studies. Cutler served as a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) for at least five years. The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled the group a nativist organization. [Center for Immigration Studies, accessed 7/17/13, Southern Poverty Law Center, February 2009]
CIS Is Part Of Tanton's Network Of Anti-Immigrant, Nativist Organizations. The group was founded by notorious nativist John Tanton, an anti-immigrant activist with ties to the Federation For American Immigration Reform (FAIR), an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated a hate group. . . .
Cutler Is A Senior Fellow For The Anti-Immigrant Californians For Population Stabilization. Cutler is a senior fellow for the anti-immigrant Californians For Population Stabilization (CAPS) and regularly posts to the organization's blog. He is also referred to as a "senior writing fellow" in the organization's 2012 annual report summary, released in Spring 2013. The report praises him for increasing CAPS' national profile, stating: "With the particular assistance of Joe Guzzardi and Michael W. Cutler, TV, radio, print and Internet exposure continued increasing, with coverage in more than 200 blogs." [Californians For Population Stabilization, 2012 Annual Report Summary, Spring 2013; accessed 7/18/12]
Center For New Community: CAPS Is "The Anti-Immigrant Hate-Group Masquerading As An Environmentalist Organization." In a post exposing CAPS as an "anti-immigrant hate-group masquerading as an environmentalist organization," the Center for New Community noted that the group receives funding from the white supremacist Pioneer Fund. SPLC lists the Pioneer Fund as a "hate group" and says the fund "has bankrolled many of the leading Anglo-American race scientists of the last several decades." [Center for New Community, 6/29/12; Media Matters, 9/8/11]
Cutler Has Appeared On A Radio Show Linked With The "White Nationalism Codifying" John Birch Society. According to the Center for New Community, Cutler has appeared on the Second Opinion radio show hosted by Donald R. Griffin. Griffin is a member of what CNC called the "white nationalism codifying, conspiracy-convinced John Birch Society" . . .
To learn more about Cutler's views, read the entire post. Cutler has also been a guest on "The Ruthie Report," hosted by Minnesotans Seeking Immigration Report (MinnSIR) and Minnesota Minuteman leader, Ruthie Hendrycks. Hendrycks was Sue Jeffers' running mate in her 2006 Republican primary challenge to Governor Pawlenty.
Business community favors immigration reform
A flurry of reports are falling across Minnesota and national media about the determination of business groups to defund the Tea Party and Republicans who rode into office on it. Typically of this coverage? Today's report by Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik, Some business groups signaling they've had enough of tea party.
That coverage focuses on the federal shutdown and quarrels about the debt ceiling, but there's also a split between the business community and the SW Metro Tea Party's anti-immigrant stances. On October 5, the Strib's Joy Powell reported in Diverse crowd, 2,000 strong, seeks immigration reform:
. . .Bill Blazer of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce said reforms could ease worker shortages for many diverse Minnesota companies as baby boomers retire at a rising pace. . . .
Earlier, in September, former U.S. Senator Norm Coleman, who now heads the pro-Republican Minnesota Action Network, sent two back-to-back weekly messages touting comprehensive immigration reform. In Minnesota Jobs, Coleman wrote:
Earlier this spring the American Action Network released a report that showed that an overhaul of immigration laws could boost gross domestic product growth by a percentage point each year over the next decade and produce tax revenue that would reduce federal deficits by a combined $2.5 trillion.
More recently, the American Action Network released a report showing the job gains that could be realized, district-by-district, state-by-state by achieving immigration reform.
In Minnesota it is estimated that almost 42,000 new jobs would be created if immigration reform were implemented.
To put that in perspective, since July, for the year, a total of about 56,000 private sector jobs were added in Minnesota.
Coleman favors increased border security and mandatory E-verify use by all United State employers, as he states in the column. The next week, Coleman wrote in Immigration Reform:
Achieving immigration reform is going to be very tough. Those who oppose immigration reform believe there needs to be a reset by which those who are here illegally simply need to leave and re-apply to become American citizens.
That thinking is as unrealistic as those who suggest we give those here illegally blanket amnesty. . . .
The rant begins around 1:59 as Thompson introduces Operation RINO Hunt, a self-described "desperate" measure to "punish":
Any Republican who supports these wrong ideas--maybe it will spread beyond the idea of immigration--but certainly now as part of this immigration bill, that any Republican that supports this bill, ANY immigration bill that has any even remote hint with of amnesty, that they will be targeted for a loss in their next election. And I wll do everything I can within my power to see them kicked out of office.
Coleman's middle way would likely be deemed a "hint of amnesty," since he's willing to work out some cautious path to citizenship.
Placebaiting? Urban recruitment vs exurbian anti-immigrant and anti-Somali talk
However a person might judge the effectiveness of these well-intentioned efforts, they're a far cry from the decidedly ugly anti-Somali handouts circulated at tea parties in central and southern Minnesota by Minneapolis' ACT! for America chapter leader Debra Anderson. Anderson also used the Central Minnesota Tea Party blog to promote opposition to a mosque and community center proposed in St. Cloud. The SW Metro Tea party has heard the stories of "legal" immigrants, yet invites in talent like Cutler.
While no elected official is closely associated with the Southern Minnesota Tea Party, the same cannot be said of the SW Metro Tea Party and the Central Minnesota chapter. Pugh founded the SW Metro Tea Party and continues as an organizer for it (she is one of three welcoming visitors to the group's website), while Jim Newberger is also involved with the Central Minnesota Tea Party. Pugh has made a name for herself as a scourge of Muslims, and prior to being elected, noted "ILLEGAL ALIENS - (the CO$T!)/AMNESTY! - Outrageous!" as one of her three greatest concern on her Patriot Action Network profile from 2011.
Bluestem cannot help but notice that the conservative anti-Somali and anti-immgrant activities are taking place in exurban and outstate areas, while the bulk of the outreach to immigrant communities in occuring in the metro (headquartering Cafe Con Leche Republicans in Lyon County is an exception).
This sort of place-baiting is a foolish game to be playing with New Americans, who have high rates of social media adoption. The old strategy of playing metro against Greater Minnesota may not work if news of immigrant bashing in Little Falls, Chanhassen and St.Cloud circulates on Lake and Robert Street.
Photos: Screenshot of the November 4 Mike Cutler event on the SW Metro Tea Party page (above); This isn't the first Tea Party meeting where Cutler has spoken; this one's from 2012 via Lewis Heaton Books (below).
If you enjoyed reading this post, consider giving a donation via mail (P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or paypal:
A bill that would limit the ability of towns and counties to regulate industrial sand mining has support from mining companies and some labor unions.
Backers of the change, like Scott Manley of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, say the mining companies need the change to protect themselves from the patchwork of local ordinances that have been passed in western Wisconsin to regulate frac sand mining. . . .
Labor unions like the bill because they say it will protect an industry that is creating jobs for their members. Terry McGowan heads Local 139 of the Operating Engineers Union.
These are jobs that offer family-supporting pay and benefits,” says McGowan. “These are good jobs that, thanks to the increase in demand for industrial sand in the past few years, has given many of our members who were out of a work a job.”
Opponents like Rick Stadelman of the Wisconsin Towns Association say if the bill passes it will encourage other industries to ask for protection from local ordinances as well.
“There will be a bunch of other industries that don't want to work with local governments that will be running to you,” says Stadelman. “It will be the flood gates, as they always say, for industries.”
Advocates for the fast-growing sand industry clashed with a host of groups Thursday over a bill that would limit the ability of local governments to regulate sand mines.
Citing changes brought by a recent state Supreme Court ruling, the industry during a daylong legislative hearing said local governments are putting too many conditions on operators of mines — powers that often should be left to state regulators.
But a key Republican senator, Dale Schultz of Richland Center, said he couldn't support the bill and called for a nonpartisan study committee to conduct more research.
Schultz appeared to put up the latest speed bump for a bill that surfaced only last week and appeared to have momentum to bolster companies operating more than 100 industrial sand mines in western Wisconsin.
Sand from the mines has played a pivotal role in a resurgence of United States oil production by helping to extract hard-to-reach reserves.
Schultz issued a statement saying he feared the sand mining bill would remove local control over natural resources by turning it over to regulators in Madison. . . .
Senate President Mike Ellis (R-Neenah) also said this week he was concerned the measure would amount to "stripping local government from having a say" in overseeing sand mines. He said he couldn't support the bill unless it is amended. . . .
Mankato hosted one of three public comment meetings today to look at environmental and safety standards for the industry.
The Minnesota Legislature ordered the Environmental Quality Board to come up with a basic outline for what regulations of frac sand mining should look like. . . .
Most of the 50 people in attendance were either government workers or people in the frac sand industry, though a few remnants from the Jordan Sands opposition came as well.
Concerns range from the end result of the product, oil fracking, to environmental issues like air and water contamination, as well as health effects on people nearby.
Caroline Harrington says, "We're putting the cart before the horse. They're already starting the operations, but nobody has come forth with statistics that say how much silicon dust causes silicosis over what amount of time. That's what nobody seems to want to tell us." . . .
Jake MacAulay, the former Sons of Liberty radio personality and board member known professionally as "Jake McMillian," has moved to Maryland with his family and works for the Institute on the Constitution, according to comments on an October 17 Facebook photo his wife, Heather MacAulay posted to her personal wall.
As "Jake McMillian MacAulay," and a "graduate of the Institute on the Constitution," MacAulay taught his first course beginning no later than July 26, 2011, according to the Internet Wayback Machine.
Many gun rights advocates seek strict enforcement of existing laws related to crimes committed with firearms. However, Abramski v. United States tests whether buying a gun for another legal owner should be considered a straw purchase. Bluestem doesn't agree with the wording of the title of the Right Wing Watch article, but the research on Peroutka and Pratt's white nationalist ties are fair readings of their actions.
Heather and Jake MacAulay are also listed as members of the ministry's board in the document. It will be interesting to see the next public revelation of the board's membership.
Images: Heather and Jake MacAulay living the good life in Maryland (above); screenshot of the discussion of the Facebook photo post (below). Both images via Facebook.
If you enjoyed reading this post, consider giving a donation via mail (P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or paypal:
For the third time (at least), Annandale toxic metal preacher Bradlee Dean has trotted out a screed centered around Representative Keith Ellison's faith and leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives LGBT Caucus.
Like so much of Dean's recent schtick, the sensational claim that Ellison's support of equality for LGBT citizens is part of a "stealth jihad" to impose sharia law in the United States is recycled. Bluestem suspects the stale fodder reflects staff reductions down to a skeleton crew at the combined Sons of Liberty Radio/You Can Run ministry.
One might think that would have come straight out of the mouth of a radical homosexual, rather than a radical Muslim.
Or maybe not!
Friends, you are dealing with a form of totalitarianism. They love to pull your hair, smack your face and then cry the victim. . . .
If we didn't know better, Bluestem would suspect that Stephanie and Bradlee Dean have found a new pillow book to replace the Song of Solomon. Dean also borrows from a recent Tea Party speaker in Little Falls and Mankato to suggest that Keith Ellison is Up To No Good:
. . .Act For America’s Brigitte Gabriel said during an interview in a video called “Stealth Jihadie” that “Muslims can lie and the lie is permissible as long as the lie basically prepares the way for Islam to be either victorious or to win an argument against an enemy.”
Gabriel goes on to say that during Keith Ellison’s victory party, Allah Akbar (“God is greatest” – “Allah is greater”) were the words that were shouted. Those who perpetrated the downing of the twin towers in New York City on 9/11 said these same words. . . .
If Representative Ellison isn't using his religion to be hating on the cute boys in the same way that Dean interprets Christianity, then the Minneapolis Democrat must be a secret terrorist. Well, that's different.
Or maybe not. Dean has long tried to pull Ellison's hair and slap his face, or something.
Some of the text near the end of the column is lifted from an earlier Dean blog rant, Keith Ellison takes a shot at Bradlee Dean Revised, posted in October 2011.The post doesn't mention Ellison's leadership role in the House LGBT caucus.
Bradlee Dean, who has entertained the notion that President Obama is secretly gay, thinks that the president is practicing “discrimination towards heterosexuals” and “advocates Shariah law.”
“[L]ook at who President Barrack Hussein Obama and this current administration have appointed to key positions in government–over 225 homosexuals,” Dean writes in a WorldNetDaily column published yesterday. “Talk about discrimination towards heterosexuals.”...
In fact, he thinks that Rep. Keith Ellison is lying about his support for LGBT equality as part of taqiyya, or the concealment of religious beliefs due to the threat of violence, in order to undermine Christianity and elevate political Islam. Of course, Dean even manages to link Ellison to 9/11.
A Christian minister in Minnesota said on his radio program that the nation's first Muslim member of Congress was soliciting the support of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community to implement Sharia law. Follow his logic with us, wouldn't you?
Bradlee Dean of the religious ministry You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International said on his radio program that Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) is only supporting LGBT rights as part of a strategy to bring Sharia law to the United States, the Minnesota Independent reported.
"I said time and time again that there is a correlation between the Muslims and the homosexual agenda, and we have a couple of fools in the state of Minnesota that are putting a rope around their neck and they just don't realize it," Dean said on a radio. "Here, let me give it to you this way: Keith Ellison is a Muslim."
Dean reasoned that Ellison's support of protections for the LGBT community (like the Matthew Shepard Act) and for same-sex marriage is part of a plot to overthrow the Constitution and put Sharia law in its place. . . .
Right Wing Watch posted the audio of the 2010 broadcast (removed over copyright claims) and a full transcript in Bachmann-Supported Group Claims Rep. Ellison Using Gays To Impose Sharia on US. The 2010 Right Wing Watch report is based on an Andy Birkey article published at the defunct Minnesota Independent site; archives are no longer online.
On a recent episode of his radio show, Bradlee Dean called Keith Ellison's office to ask the tough questions. Like, you know, how Ellison reconciles his role as vice chair of the House's LGBT Equality Caucus with the "fact" that Muslims seek to execute homosexuals.
Dean looking out for gays? Excuse me while my head explodes. . . .
Read the transcript at the City Pages and listen to the audio Ken Avidor captured. Dean doesn't get into exposing the "stealth jihad," just exploring his own obsessions with Ellison. Your ears may ache a bit, but you'll likely survive with your head intact?
Will Dean's ministry still be around for the 2014 rollout of the same old 2010 rant? We'll let you know.
Photo: Bradlee Dean, or, those who have learned the lessons of trolling the media are doomed to repeat themselves.
If you enjoyed reading this post, consider giving a donation via mail (P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or paypal:
A young Democratic friend called Bluestem's attention this morning to the fact that Minnesota state senator Dave Senjem is running.
5K races.
This isn't exactly news, we learned when we googled it, but it's certainly an inspiration. The Post Bulletin's Jeff Pieters had reported in September's After Deadline blog post, Senjem happy to just finish this race:
First as a member of the Rochester City Council and later the Minnesota Legislature, Dave Senjem has run plenty of times … for election.
But Friday was the first time the 70-year-old state senator had completed a 5-kilometer road race, the fifth annual Minnesota State Capitol Run@Work Day. Finishing the race, at the Capitol Mall in St. Paul, capped a remarkable nine-month turnaround for Senjem, who's lost 70 pounds through daily exercise and thoughtful eating choices.
Senjem committed to improving his physical condition in January while moving his office from the State Capitol to the State Office Building, after Republicans lost majority in the Senate.
Senjem told Pieters that he had lost 80 pounds and was down to 260 pounds.
Since that report, the Rochester senator has tweeted a couple of items about his running and diet:
Getting ready for tomorrow afternoon's Mayo Heritage Days 5K run. My second in two weeks. Hoooray!
Bluestem's editor thinks that lutefisk in and of itself is an incentive to starvation, but there's no arguing taste (or that jingoistic disdain for lutefisk she acquired from her Danish grandfather).
It's impressive to learn of Senjem's commitment to physical fitness and hope more folks follow his lead.
Slimming down and running races seems to be a thing in the Fighting First. Congressman Walz has shed pound as well and competes in 10K and half-marathons. Last weekend his Congressional twitter account shared this news:
Great time & great crowd at Mankato marathon today! I ran the half. Congrats to all runners! pic.twitter.com/Vv1zcfK2wO
While a standard trope on the left about the Tea Party movement is that it is the Koch-funded John Birch Society 2.0, as a student of Minnesota's Tea Party chapters, Bluestem finds this less than useful.
And not just because calling anything 2.0 is so 1999.
In Minnesota, the John Birch Society is alive and well and serving up videos and powerpoint presentations at Tea Party gatherings across the state.
The Wright County patriots meet at 5:30 to watch the video and discuss the segment they've just watched. There's even a set of handouts, most of which include worksheets. Bluestem's favorite handout is Exposing the Enemies of Freedom which first asks these three questions:
1.) List three traits of a conspiracy: 1.) _________________________________________________ 2.) _________________________________________________ 3.) _________________________________________________
2.) The Illuminati is: A.) A myth B.) An alien race of reptilian shape-shifters C.) A group founded in the late 1700s, seeking world government
3.) List at least 3 objectives of the Illuminati: 1.)___________________________________________________ 2.)___________________________________________________ 3.) ___________________________________________________
Back in 2009, the New York Times checked out the scene at the JBS Headquarters in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, and reported back in Holding Firm Against Plots by Evildoers.
Wright County Tea Party Not Alone: JBS in other chapters
The Wright County chapter isn't alone in offering John Birch Society material. Bluestem has written before about the JBS content on the Central Minnesota Tea Party, as well as the JBS presentations at the SW Metro Tea Party.
The SW Metro Tea Party's video page includes the October 8 2012 presentation The Power of 500 with Mark Griffin from the John Birch Society, with a link to the group's website, and JBS member Rolland(Rollie) Neve spoke after Allen Quist in a May 20, 2013 presentation on Agenda 21.
These three chapters do--operating in Carver and Wright Counties and St.Cloud--Little Falls area--are among the more robust chapters in the state.
Worried about the Illumaniti? You're not alone. A Republican operative hoping to rebrand Minnesota's Tea Parties for the 2014 elections as simply folks getting together to work for liberty, limited government and so not social issues? Good luck with that.
Jim Hagedorn is seeking the Republican endorsement to run against four-term Congressman Tim Walz in Minnesota's First Congressional District.
Wednesday, his Hagedorn for Congress Facebook page posted a remarkable photo and caption:
After meeting in Belle Plaine with a mystery supporter (who is a brilliant campaign strategist and close friend), we headed to Mankato to campaign and meet with area business leaders. We had an excellent discussion with Mike Kennedy, who explained how excessive Federal regulation harms small business and limits employment opportunity for workers. Pictured with Mike and me is the famous Flo, who is signaling her support for my position to repeal Obamacare and replace it with free-market reforms.
Dude. Just stop.
Flo is played by actress and comedian Stephanie Courtney, who has contributed $7950 to Democratic candidates and committees since 2008.
Since then, Courtney's been cast as Flo, she's been able to contribute more to politicians with whom she agrees. That would be President Obama as he sought a second term, the Democrative Congressional Campaign Committee (for which Congressman Walz manages the Frontline Program for members in highly competitive seats) and Emily's List.
It's unlikely that Courtney would give Hagedorn, son of former ultra-conservative representative Tom Hagedorn, the time of day, much less thumbs-up for his position on repealing Obamacare. After all, she contributed $5000 to the President's 2012 re-electionbid.
That's Courtney. What about the fictitious Flo? Probably not, since the former CEO and current board chair of the company she represents in over 50 ads, Peter Lewis has earned a place at snopes.com (true) for the money he's given to progressive causes. Conservatives hate him.
One doubts a cardboard cutout of Flo would support Hagedorn--or anyone. Whomever the "mystery" supporter in Belle Plaine is, it isn't Flo, Stephanie Courtney or Peter Lewis.
Screenshot: The cardboard cutout of Flo and Hagedorn, via Facebook.
If you enjoyed reading this post, consider giving a donation via mail (P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or paypal:
Although the 2012 Presidential election makes Minnesota's Third and Seventh Congressional Districts appear to be competitive, neither Erik Paulsen nor Collin Peterson has attracted an opponent, merely flack from opposition congressional committees and, in the case of Paulsen, protests from both the left and the right.
The First, too, draws Republican opponents to Tim Walz, though his margins in re-election bids since 2006 have ranged from ginormous to barely comfortable. This year, there are three clowns in the car (Mike Benson, Jim Hagedorn, Aaron Miller) with rumors of more to come. In Minnesota's Second, DFLer Mike Obermueller is trying again, as is John Kline's primary opponent David Gerson.
Bluestem took a superficial look tonight at each candidate's Facebook and Twitter accounts, which reveal a strong social media base for Walz, who had used social media effectively beginning in 2006, a lesser gap between Obermueller, Gerson and Kline in the Second, breakaway number for Tom Emmer in the Sixth, and a tight Facebook race in the Eighth, with Nolan doing much better on Twitter.
A couple of caveats: Mike Benson's twitter account serves general utility for both a Republican state rep and a congressional campaign account, while Pederson's hasn't a tweet since 2011. Jim Read just jumped in. The social media accounts for Walz, Kline and Nolan are campaign-related, rather than social media accounts connected to their official duties.
Here's a chart of the standings tonight, give or take an extra like or follow since we gathered the data:
Photo: Tim Walz showing off a favorite app on his iPhone at Netroots MN, 2009. Walz's campaign was an early adopter of Facebook and other social media, in part because so many former students worked on the former high school teacher's election and re-election efforts. Photo by Laura Askelin, via flickr.
If you enjoyed reading this post, consider giving a donation via mail (P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or paypal:
There's a buzzlet happening over the straw poll at this weekend's Republican Party of Minnesota straw poll, with a Marty Seifert for governor write-in effort launched by Beltrami County Republican chair and Tea Party activist Ken Cobb.
I’d be leery of wanting to be the winner because they never go on to be the nominee,” said Marty Seifert. Seifert, who won the 2009 gubernatorial straw poll and lost the 2010 endorsement for governor to Tom Emmer, is considering running for governor in 2014 and will be at the GOP’s gathering on Saturday.
Former state Rep. Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, said he is thinking about running for governor, but will not decide before Saturday’s straw poll at the Minnesota State Central Committee meeting.
A group led by Beltrami County Republican Chairman Ken Cobb is promoting Seifert as a straw poll write-in candidate. Seifert told Forum News Service on Tuesday that he is not part of the effort.
“I appreciate people’s interest and passion trying to get me involved,” Seifert said, but he has devoted much of his time in the last year to his job that includes building a cancer center in Marshall. Groundbreaking on that project is Monday.
There's another theme rising among Republicans before Saturday's meeting that might cause Seifert to keep some distance between himself and Cobb, a Seifert supporter since 2009. The Strib's Morning Hot Dish email newsletter reported:
Chris Fields, secretary of the Minnesota Republican Party, said he plans to deliver some tough talk to his fellow Republicans on Saturday when he addresses the party’s State Central Committee. “I don’t think we can afford to let the Republican Party die on Obamacare,” he said, previewing his speech. “We cannot be the anti-Obamacare party. That’s not us. We cannot be the anti-gay party. That is not us,” said Fields, who ran against U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison in the heavily DFL Fifth Congressional District last year. “Fighting for the population so that everyone can enjoy all of their rights in this great land called America…that’s what we have to be again, and I think that somehow got lost along the way," he said.
Cobb represents all of that, and an inconvenient fact from 2009, although you'd think from a recent tweet that he so doesn't like the Tea Party:
I see both sides of the GOP defund Obamacare debate. But I'm tired of all the vitriol coming from Tea Party wing towards fellow Republicans.
Whereas Tea Party chapters across Minnesota were structured to be organizationally independent from the Republican Party, Cobb's Beltrami County GOP BPOU and the Bemidji Tea Party were one and the same, according to newspaper reports and archived records of the BTP's website accessible via the WayBack Machine.
That's one Republican BPOU that probably should consider being a bit low key about objecting to the IRS looking into whether Tea Party organizations were Republican Party front groups.
Moreover, a glance at newspaper copy and Youtubes on the group's channel reveals thatthe Bemidji Tea Party (and thus the Beltrami County Republican Party) are both anti-Obamacare and anti-gay. Indeed, while current Tea Party Alliance organizers try to public brand the Tea Party as being so not into taking positions on social issues, the Bemidji Republican Tea Party chapter embodies all of these things from which Fields hopes the state party can flee.
Newly elected Beltrami County Republican Chairman Ken Cobb speaks optimism, but also wants to see America restored to the greatness it held under Ronald Reagan.
"There are many in our party, I'm afraid, who have given up hope," he said Saturday morning. "We're sliding into socialism -- we've lost -- the country's doomed -- we're sinking into moral and societal decay."
Not exactly talk of markets, liberties and limited government.
And Cobb's Tea Party and the BPOU were one and the same. It's not as if Cobb and the Beltrami County Republicans made a secret of the connection; the disclaimer "Paid for by the Beltrami County Republicans" appeared at the bottom of all pages on the Beltrami Tea Party's website, as archives in the Wayback Machine document.
. . . The Beltrami County Republicans-organized event will have participants lining up along Paul Bunyan Drive between the Mississippi River Bridge and Fifth Street to waive protest signs and display the U.S. flag for commuters heading home. . . .
On April 16, 2009, the Morris Sun reported in Bemidji joins national Tax Day Tea Party that Cobb had selected Bemidji's iconic Paul Bunyan statue as a rallying point:
The statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe serving as a backdrop, more than 350 people rallied Wednesday for lower taxes and less government. . . .
On a platform in front of the famous Lake Bemidji statues, Ken Cobb said they were an icon for northern Minnesota -- a mythical icon.
"Paul Bunyan never existed, but at the same time, Paul Bunyan stands for everything that makes this country great," said Cobb, chairman of the Beltrami County Republican Party and a Tea Party organizer.
"Paul Bunyan stands for something called rugged individualism," Cobb said. "And that means it's not up to the government to pay our way. The pioneers didn't go down to their local welfare office to figure out how to forge a way out of the wilderness." . . .
We tremble at the contents of Mr. Cobb's thoughts about the Bunyan-themed MNSure PSA campaign. But that's another story.
. . Saturday's rally at 7 p.m. on the Beltrami County Courthouse lawn features former Minnesota House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, who next week will announce his 2010 bid as a Republican candidate for governor. . . .
. . . The Beltrami County Republicans are sponsoring the Bemidji event, which joins a similar event Saturday at the State Capitol, held by the Tea Party Patriots of the Twin Cities. . . .
. . . On the one hand are the hard-line activists who attend these things, versus the more mainstream politicians who want to win elections and are looking for their votes -- and are running into all manner of conflicts as a result, or finding themselves taking on some rather interesting policy stances along the way. . . .
In Bemidji, Minnesota, a headline speaker for their "Freedom Over Socialism" rally was state Rep. Mary Seifert, one of the leading Republican candidates for Governor, who warned of government taking away everyone's personal freedom: "Now suddenly we tell you that you have to wear your seat belts or someone is [going] to come racing down the road and fine you." Another speaker, former state legislative candidate John Carlson, spoke favorably of the Articles of Confederation. . . .
While Carlson loved the founding fathers for the Articles, he did have a sad that the Constitution established a stronger federal government, a move by the founders that sent us down the road to scary things. Carlson served one entertaining two-year short term in the Minnesota Senate.
As for Seifert's complaint about seat belt enforcement, it appears that once free and proud Minnesotans have bowed to tyranny,as the Strib's Paul Walsh reported on October 15, 2013 in Minnesota seat-belt use inching closer to 100% compliance:
Drivers and passengers in Minnesota are inching closer to never failing to buckle up, according to data released Tuesday by state safety officials.
Results from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) Office of Traffic Safety annual observational seat-belt use survey — conducted in June — show a record 94.8 percent rate of compliance. This marks a 15-plus percent increase since 2003 and is up from 93.6 percent in 2012.
State officials attribute the continued increase to awareness and enforcement of the state’s primary seat-belt law, which took effect in June 2009. . . .
In 1986, the year Minnesota first passed a seat-belt law, compliance was 20 percent. Deaths of people who didn’t buckle up that year totaled 280, compared to 116 from last year. . . .
The Beltrami County Republicans and Bemidji State University College Republicans will hold Freedom Fest: Bemidji Tea Party III from 4:30-6:30 p.m., with a Freedom Rally to begin at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday in the BSU John Glas Fieldhouse parking lot. . . .
. . ."With the threat of Obama Care before us, the stakes could not be higher for freedom in America," said Beltrami County Republicans Chairman Kenneth Cobb. "But we will not be silent and we will not back down! We love freedom and we are willing to raise our voice for liberty. Join us in standing up with the surge of millions across our land in support of our country and Constitution and against surging federal power, runaway spending, staggering national debt, the dismantling of our free enterprise system and the rising socialist state."
Oh noes!
2010 and 2011: The Beltrami County Republican Bemidji Tea Party gets social against a "socilist country"
In 2010, the Beltrami County Republican Bemidji Tea Party staged another Tax Day rally, according the April 14, 2010 report by Brad Swenson, Bemidji Tea Party planned for Tax Day:
While national tea party groups have engaged the traditional Republican Party as not being conservative enough, the Bemidji Tea Party is sponsored by the Beltrami County Republican Party.
“Recent federal takeovers have you concerned? Worried about losing the freedoms we cherish? Wondering what future we will leave to our children?” says the party-sponsored Bemidji Tea Party Web site, with a link found at www.beltramigop.com.
The Bemidji Tea Party, sponsored by the Beltrami County Republicans, held a 90-minute forum at Beltrami Electric in which 12 tea party questions were posed by Ken Cobb, the Beltrami GOP chairman. Each topic was allowed 12 minutes, and each speaker 90 seconds. . . .
Among other questions, the tea partiers were asked if the Tea Party Movement should be organized nationally -- no, keep it at a grass-roots level -- and should the tea party take on cultural and moral issues -- six speakers said yes and two said no.
"That's where we lose a lot of our morals, right there in colleges with the professors," said one man who didn't identify himself, referring to sex education lectures at the college level.
Most agreed that moral values need to be taught by parents, and reinforced by schools. One man suggested that the reason for the Tea Party Movement and a constitutional government be taught in the schools.
"If we don't start today teaching our children right from wrong, good, strong biblical principles, our country's going to hell in a handbag," Molitor said.
Judy Killian said she plans to learn the curriculum and read the textbooks of her grandchildren's elementary classes. "I'm going to know what these teachers are teaching my grandkids, and I will speak up."
"Somehow, we've got to reach the young people about how serious everything is," said one man. "They won't watch (Glenn) Beck; they won't listen to Rush (Limbaugh). And they won't listen to us ..."
Kids these days.
The group's 2011 Tax Day rally attracted only 70, but it was quite the tea party. The Pioneer reported in Bemidji Tea Party: Group rallies for the republic that Cobb claimed that newly-elected members of congress plot to break their oath of office:
Cobb concluded the speeches with a strong denunciation of the president, Congress and the Supreme Court.
He said as soon as a member of Congress takes the oath of office to uphold the Constitution, he returns to his office "to plot with his staff how quickly he can break the oath. They are the enemies they are supposed to be defending us against.
Bluestem has our doubts about that one, whether it's either of Minnesota's latest United States representatives, Chip Cravaack, elected in 2010 or Rick Nolan, who replaced Cravaack in 2012.
Kenneth N. Cobb, chairman of Beltrami County Republicans, will moderate the open discussion. Current political topics will be covered, including the upcoming election.
This forum is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
Ken Cobb, the Chairman of Beltrami County Republicans, believed that the Marriage Amendment had a good chance to pass and that passing it was, “common sense.”
But Minnesotans cast enough votes to defeat this amendment to the constitution.
Both local Republicans serving in the legislature, state senator John Carlson and representative Dave Hancock, lost their elections.
His speech Saturday to about 100 at the 2013 convention of Republicans from the 7th Congressional District ended with Whittle playing commander-in-chief at a mock press conference; members of the audience played the press corps. The act of political theater, and the address that preceded it, were filled with a simple yet powerful mantra: less government means more freedom.
. . . An annual gathering of Republicans from the district, the event was newly minted with a tea party slant for 2013, according to Chervestad.
“This is the first year I can remember that it’s had a focus on the tea party,” she said.
Whittle played to a room of like-minded individuals, concerned with the purchase of a massive amount of ammunition by the Department of Homeland Security, the effects of the Affordable Care Act on religious institutions, what was mentioned as a creeping influence of the United Nations and what was viewed as a media and pop culture skewed to favor liberalism.
The event was a fundraiser for the Northern Minnesota Tea Party Patriots.
Ken Cobb Video Rants
Ken Cobb may criticize Tea Party members ripping other Republicans now, but he's also guilty of that. Cobb ripped Republicans and "socialist" Democrats on July 4, 2009:
Part Two is our favorite, as it begins with the urban legend of how to boil a frog, in a warning against the "socialist horde" cooking him up into "slavery."
Now that we think of it, Bluestem believes that the Republican Party of Minnesota should totally take this dude's advice on everything. Pay absolutely no attention to the tough talk of the state party Secretary, review old Ken Cobb Youtubes and master the style, free yourself of your seatbelts as you drive to the SCC meeting on Saturday, and please, Draft Marty Seifert for Governor.
Images: Screenshot of Wayback Machine 302 redirect from www.bemidjiteaparty.com to www.beltramigop.com (above); 2009 colonial garbed Tea Party protesters, via Bemidji Pioneer (middle); 2010 Tax Day protesters(below).
If you enjoyed reading this post, consider giving a donation via mail (P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or paypal:
The Wednesday event drew a few notable political figures, including former GOP Sen. Al DeKruif, St. Peter mayor candidate Joel Brinker, St. Peter City Council candidate Roger Parras and Minnesota House 24B Libertarian candidate Deb Salonek.
A poignant counterpoint of the party's challenges ahead occurred during a debate between Brinker, who wants to consider himself a Libertarian mayor if elected, and DeKruif, who was in office during the Republican control of the Minnesota Legislature in 2012.
DeKruif said he has Libertarian leanings, but he takes issue with the party targeting Republicans that share their ideals and accusing them of not being committed enough in their votes. He said he also seriously worries that voting for a third party only helps the opposing party. He said he blames Tom Emmer’s gubernatorial loss in 2010 entirely on Independent candidate Tom Horner siphoning off votes.
Oh, Al. You never fail delight us. We have to wonder just what those Libertarian leanings are, as we don't believe you demonstrated them much in the two sweet years you served in the Republican majority in the Minnesota Senate.
The LP provided a laundry list of its principles to Moniz; marriage equality, reproductive rights, legalization of drugs and prostitution, as well as a limited roll for the military, are those that distinguish the Libertarian Party from the Republican.
That event took place on August 10, 2013 at the Goodhue County Fair. The producer and Froehlich will have to annotate that sleepy Youtube, since it's not the first Flash Mob in Outstate Minnesota.
Update: Dale Moerke, a knowledgeable source in Luverne, suggested on Facebook that Senator Bill Weber (R-Luverne) can break the news to the Goodhue County Republicans, as he appears in the 2012 Luverne Winterfest Flash Mob video, organized by a local Lutheran church. [end update]
Heck, it's not even the first flash mob at a county fair. Bluestem suspects this crowd has never really mastered search engines.
2012 Douglas County Dancing Corn Flash Mob
We're not sure when the first flash mob took place at one of the fairs in Minnesota's 80 outstate county's but this lively number performed by the Douglas County Corn and Soybean Growers and friends performed at the 2012 Douglas County Fair in Alexandria not only predates the Republican flash mob by nearly a year, but it was well covered by the local and ag media.
Driving through Douglas County in the late summer and early fall is like cruising through a John Deere calendar. Why then does farming take a back seat to the manufacturing industry, which is also prevalent in the area?
It is in part because of that oversight that Katie Satterlie, a self-described farmer's daughter, organized the Douglas County Corn and Soybean Growers "flash mob" that many people were surprisingly entertained by at the 2012 Douglas County Fair.
Dancers gathered at 3 p.m. on Saturday, August 18 and busted synchronized moves to the Peterson brothers' "I'm Farming and I Grow It" song from their video that went viral on YouTube.
"A lot of people think farms are corporate farms," Satterlie said. "We wanted to let people know it's also a family business in our area."
The song is a version of LMFAO's "I'm sexy and I know it" and the brothers' video has almost 7 million views to date. The Peterson brothers live on a farm in Kansas.
The Douglas County Corn and Soybean Growers video has received more than 1,500 hits. Another version combining all five angles that were captured on video is planned to be launched on YouTube.
Bluestem's made happy anytime we see giant dancing ears of corn, which simply doesn't happen enough in this world of tears.
Paul Bunyan Flash Mob 2010
But the 2012 Douglas County Flash Mob wasn't the first in greater Minnesota. Bluestem has found a number of others. There's this July 2010 post, The KBXE Paul Bunyan Flash Mob, which scoops MNSure's PSA theme by three years:
It was a beautiful day in downtown Bemidji. The sun was shining and people were enjoying Art in Park when a Paul Bunyan walked by. What? A Paul Bunyan? There's another! And three more! They're everywhere, what's going on here?
It was Northern Minnesota's first ever flash mob, courtesy of 90.5 KBXE. On Sunday, July 18th 2010, a group of over 50 people gathered at Diamond Point Park in Bemidji for pizza and planning. Then the group set off for the Lake Bemidji Waterfront, dressed in red and black flannel shirts, blue jeans (rolled up of course), a painted mustache and a dark knit cap. The group slowly trickled through Art in the Park, turning a lot of heads and getting even more smiles. The Mobbers then drifted to the Paul and Babe statue, where they froze one at a time. What started as a couple of frozen Paul Bunyan's grew into dozens and people stopped to watch and take pictures while passing cars honked their horns.
Freezing Paul Bunyans? A stroke of genius:
That's not the only flash mob from Bemidji to predated the Goodhue County event. Idle No More staged at more political flash mob in December 2012:
Luverne: 2012 Winterfest Flash Mob
Maybe Alexandria and Bemidji are too big for the Goodhue County Republicans to count as "Outstate Minnesota." No matter. The Worthington Globe reported in Flash mob surprises Winterfest crowd:
Shoppers were shopping or resting their feet, visiting with friends and sampling treats when, what to their wondering ears would they hear? A half-dozen singers spreading holiday cheer!
But wait, there's more singers coming -- a hundred or more -- men and women alike. They're decking the halls in harmonious delight.
It had been done other places, but never at Winterfest; and, based on reaction, it was simply the best.
Planning for the flash mob -- people who come randomly out of a crowd, form a group and entertain through song or dance -- began about a year ago with the hope of pulling off the secret plan Saturday morning at the Luverne Elementary School commons.
The place was bustling with shoppers visiting the more than 100 craft booths, children taking part in Santa's Workshop fun, and vendors selling everything from jewelry and gifts to Christmas cookies and holiday decor.
Barb Antoine, choir director at Luverne's First Presbyterian Church, coordinated the music and assisted the Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce in organizing what may have been southwest Minnesota's largest flash mob event ever. . . .
Note how the 2012 gathering isn't billed as the "first" flash mob in southwest Minnesota, only the largest. Luverne is home to under 5,000 people. It's a small town.
Hancock teachers Amy Brown and Char Rustad attended a wellness workshop where they talked about movement and the importance of it to academic achievement. "A Flashmob was brought up and we decided to try it. With the help of our administration, staff, the PE teacher and kids K-12 we did it!! The after affects today are so cool. Very positive influence floating through the school. Great fun was had by all and we’re getting lots of compliments and high fives. The kids are still pretty excited about it" said Rustad.
Bluestem isn't quite sure if this one counts, but they sure are having fun:
Goodhue County Republican Flash Mob 2013
Now that you've seen those earlier moments of flash mob mayhem in Outstate Minnesota, check out the GOP's August 2013 Lee Greenwood Flash Mob:
Does any reader know of a YouTube-verified flash mob that took place a town of 15,000 or under in Outstate Minnesota before July 2010? Bluestem would like to know.
Photo: The July 2010 Paul Bunyan flash mob. via 90.5 KBXE Notes.
If you enjoyed reading this post, consider giving a donation via mail (P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or paypal:
This post is republished by permission of the author; Part 1 and Part 2 originally appeared on Big Stone Bounty, a blog about "Local Food, Community, & Local Democracy in the Big Stone Lake Region of Minnesota."
This week’s Ortonville Independent
features a front page above-the-fold article declaring “Agreement
Reached on Big Stone Quarry Project,” in which Strata’s Business
Development Manager, Bill LaFond, is quoted as being “very pleased to
have resolved any past differences with the Township,” and that they
“look forward to continuing to build a positive relationship with them
and their citizens for years to come.”
I’m going not very far out on a limb here to suggest that the glaring
omission of any comment from Ortonville Township’s board or residents
makes this an obvious Strata-crafted piece of PR spin, and that the
orderly annexation deal they’ve struck is not a route the township took
happily or willingly.
In case you’re coming newly to this subject, or are in need of a
refresher, the following two-part blog post details much of that Strata
quarry project process up to the present time, and provides significant
commentary and documentation of what it actually looked like on the
ground in Big Stone County.
It also belies the assertion that a “positive relationship” between
Strata Corporation and Ortonville Township is likely or even possible.
As a community organizer and resident of Big Stone County, I have
followed this process closely, attending nearly every meeting and public
hearing dealing with the Strata quarry project on both county and city
levels (and many on the township level), as well as state-level hearings
on legislation designed to curb some of the abuses of authority that
plagued the process here (and are likely to show up elsewhere in the
state if legislation is not passed).
The proposed Strata aggregate quarry project in Ortonville Township,
along the headwaters of the Minnesota River, first came to light in a
January 5, 2012 public meeting of the Big Stone County Planning and
Zoning Commission, headed up by then-chair (and Ortonville EDA Director)
Vicki Oakes.
Township residents had heard rumors of a potential new quarry project
for some months, but were consistently assured by county employees that
it would “never happen.” Landowners adjacent to the proposed quarry
project site were never contacted by Strata Corporation, although Strata
spokesmen assured them during hearings that while, “no one wants a
quarry in their backyard,” the corporation would prove to be a “good
neighbor.”
Those early hearings took place in
Clinton–about ten miles north of the township in question, and despite
majority opposition to the project from crowds that at times held 100
citizens (Big Stone County’s population is a little over 5000 people),
and vocal concerns about property values, health and safety issues, and
environmental impacts, the project was recommended to the Big Stone
County Commission without requiring an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS).
The decision to require only a Strata-prepared Environmental
Assessment Worksheet (EAW) was made before the public was aware of the
project, and the Planning and Zoning Commission steadfastly refused to
consider altering that requirement even under heavy pressure from
residents.
Instead, representatives from Strata were invited to make lengthy
presentations (complete with video of blasting rock and dust clouds) at
the beginning of meetings, essentially attempting to “sell” the project
to an incredulous public, and pushing the time for public comment late
into the evening hours on school and work nights.
At one point, protesters from the county and the region marched down
Clinton’s Main Street holding signs protesting the probable destruction
of granite outcrops that give Big Stone County its name. Of course,
because we are in Big Stone County, the protesters politely left their
signs outside the Memorial Building when the hearing began.
Sensing
the direction of these hearings and heeding the concerns of their
residents, frustrated with the number of undesirable projects their tiny
township had been saddled with over the years, the Ortonville Township
Board of Supervisors passed an interim ordinance in early February. The
ordinance blocked further development in the township as the board
studied the issue and considered developing their own land use plan and
planning and zoning commission.
The ability of townships (and other small municipalities) to pass an
interim ordinance and exercise what’s know as “local control” is a
fundamental piece of Minnesota’s democracy, and it can protect citizens
from large scale and potentially harmful development, often by people
who don’t actually live there.
That same spring, Clark Mastel, a second generation rancher on the
land being considered for the quarry, made headlines by speaking out
about the project, and about his initial meeting with Strata’s Bill
LaFond, who first visited the outcrops area masquerading as a guy
looking for grass for his cattle (and not, as was later revealed, rock
for his crushers).
An upright, good-looking cowboy getting so much press didn’t sit too
well with Strata, and so they drafted a letter for Mastel’s landlord to
have him sign, wherein Clark would apologize for being a bur under the
saddle of Strata and the township and pull a 180 on his sentiments about
how well his cows and Strata’s blast-and-crush operation would get
along.
Instead, Mastel walked out with the letter and shared it with allies,
and it soon made headlines around the region. You can read the letter
and listen to public hearing testimony from Mastel captured by Bluestem Prairie’s Sally Jo Sorensen here on the Big Stone Bolder blog.
Meanwhile, Ortonville Township Supervisors invited each of the Big
Stone County Commissioners to meet with them and discuss township and
resident concerns, the interim ordinance, and to ask commissioners to
refrain from voting (or to vote no) on Strata’s Conditional Use Permit,
since the county no longer held jurisdictional authority. I was present
at all of those meetings save that with Joseph Berning, who represents
the district in which Ortonville Township lies.
(Later that fall, according to sources involved in tallying election
results, Berning won re-election to the Big Stone County Commission by
default because so many of those who wrote in his challenger’s name
forgot to blacken the oval next to it. Berning has since been named
chair by his fellow commissioners.)
One particularly poignant moment from those township-commissioner
meetings came when Township Supervisor Al Webster read to Commissioner
Brent Olson from one of Olson’s own books–a passage wherein Olson
praised townships as the only truly legitimate and representative form
of government. Webster then asked Olson if he truly believed what he’d
written; a question that Olson did not satisfactorily answer until his
vote on the project’s Conditional Use Permit.
Another interesting piece of information related in this series of
meetings by then-Commission Chair Walter Wulff was that the county
receives a substantial yearly bonus from their insurance company for
“not getting sued.” There was concern amongst the commissioners that
Strata would pursue legal action should the commission vote against the
recommendations of the Planning and Zoning Board, causing the county to
lose that money.
Despite clear opposition to the quarry project from the township and a
sizable portion of the county as a whole, Big Stone County
Commissioners voted unanimously to approve Strata’s Conditional Use
Permit at their May 1, 2012 meeting. However, due to the township’s
interim ordinance (which suspended the county’s jurisdictional
authority), the project still couldn’t move forward.
Re-entering the scene, former County Planning and Zoning Chair and
Ortonville EDA Director Vicki Oakes began working with proposed quarry
site landowner Gayle Hedge, along with Strata and the City of Ortonville
to devise a new plan to push the project through.
Oakes also waged a campaign of righteousness and ridicule against
quarry opponents, Ortonville Township supervisors, citizens, and those
“outsiders” who helped them on her blog, Quarry Talk.
The blog has since been removed from the web, but her August 5, 2012
post entitled, “New Township Zoning–The Future!” is quoted and discussed
here.
Hedge subdivided among family members the 500-or-so acre proposed
quarry site, which abutted the city boundary, into 6 separate very
interestingly-shaped parcels, each with a small portion abutting the
city, and each of the new owners petitioned the city for annexation.
Annexations by ordinance of 120 acres per owner per year of property
that abuts the city boundary are allowed by the state of Minnesota.
Anything more than that requires the city to negotiate with the township
in whose borders the land falls. Due to the clearly-expressed
sentiments of township residents, bringing the township to the
negotiating table didn’t seem a likely way to make the project happen,
hence the subdivision.
And, while an interim ordinance can protect a township from
development pushed by the county, it cannot protect them from a
land-grab by an adjoining city. Once land is annexed into the city, it
is no longer within the township’s jurisdiction, even if
township-controlled land still surrounds the annexed parcel(s) almost
entirely.
The city had recently amended their zoning rules to immediately place
annexed land into the same land use category as the land it abuts–an
obvious attempt to circumvent a later public hearing addressing a change
of zoning on annexed parcels specifically for the Strata project.
After all, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to do zoning-by-abutment
if, for instance, you’re annexing land abutting an industrial area that
is destined for a golf course or housing development, or if you’re
annexing land that abuts two different zoning districts. But, clearly
the goal here wasn’t to make sense, it was to pave the smoothest way for
Strata’s quarry project to move forward.
The rules at that October 15, 2012 City Planning & Zoning
Commission hearing were as follows: 1) We’re here to discuss the rule
change, and 2) We’re not here to discuss the quarry project. Those
asking why the rule was being changed were referred to Rule #2. More discussion of that hearing is available here, but needless to say, the rule change passed easily.
On October 25th, the Ortonville Township Board of Supervisors hosted
their own listening session and public information meeting at the New
Life Baptist Church in Ortonville. The meeting was designed for members
of the public to learn more about the proposed project, to ask
questions, and to have better understanding of the process, as well as
the township’s stance.
The meeting was attended by those on both sides of the issue as well
as those who didn’t have a “side,” though at one point then-mayoral
candidate Steve Berkner hijacked the mike and attempted to make himself
palatable to all city voters in the room by describing to what lengths
the city would go to prove that the project was safe and how it would
not affect property values of the nearby residents (not many lengths, it
turned out).
Then came the November 5th, 2012 public hearing on the city’s
proposed annexation of the subdivided parcel–the date of which neatly
coincided with the date provided in Strata’s step-by-step guide to the
annexation by ordinance process, provided to then-Mayor David Dinnel and
the Ortonville City Council at Vicki Oakes’ request–documents available
here.
The public input process at this hearing was severely curtailed by
city planning and zoning commissioners, who must’ve thought the “see no
quarry, hear no quarry, speak no quarry” rule at the October 15th zoning
rules change hearing made fast-track approval of Strata’s project a lot
less stressful. YouTube video of that hearing, and of the public’s
verbal gymnastics to avoid saying “quarry” in their testimony, is
available here.
Shortly thereafter, the Ortonville City Council had their first and
second readings of the annexation ordinances, and passed them all after
the second reading. Everything was zipping right along according to
Strata’s timeline when the township filed its objections to the
annexations by ordinance (ABOs) with the State Municipal Boundaries
Adjustment Unit (MBAU).
At that point, the MBAU looked at the situation more closely, and
found that Gayle Hedge was still a beneficial owner of all of the
parcels (having retained rights to profit from sales of aggregate on all
parcels) and 5 out of 6 of the ABOs were rejected by an administrative
law judge. The city and petitioners appealed that ruling, and it ended
up in district court.
In the spring of this year, District 12A State Representative Andrew Falk introduced HF 1425,
which would address this troubling loophole in state annexation law by
imposing a moratorium of five years before subdivided parcels could be
annexed by ordinance.
The bill did not interfere with the ability of local governments to
use orderly annexation (the preferred method, since all parties have a
voice at the table), but it was tabled in the House Government
Operations Committee on May 2nd due to its arrival late in the session
and strong opposition from the League of MN Cities and Coalition of
Greater MN Cities, who basically claimed that the bill would create some
sort of development Holocaust in the state.
I was at that hearing (and at a follow-up in St. Cloud earlier this
week), and found it somewhat amusing to hear representatives from those
organizations on the one hand acting very chastened about the whole
situation in Ortonville and agreeing that it was a no-good-very-bad way
to go about things, and promising to help figure out how to keep it from
happening again, while on the other hand fighting like heck to make
sure that their member cities would indeed have the opportunity to do it
again now that this exciting new loophole had been discovered for
annexing large tracts of land from townships without townships having
any say in the matter.
Indeed, one might question the commitment of Coalition of Greater MN
Cities to chastising wayward Ortonville and their spirit-of-law
circumventing ways when, later this summer, they celebrated Ortonville
Mayor Steve Berkner’s participation in the attempt to kill Falk’s bill
with an Excellence in Service Award.
I
find the quote about Berkner’s advocacy having stopped the bill from
moving forward misleading at best: in fact, it was the process Berkner
took part in as a council member, and then presided over as mayor that
prompted this legislation in the first place, and it was the timing of
the bill (late in the session) that prompted the most concern from
legislators. You can hear the committee proceedings for yourself here–scroll down to Thursday, May 2nd.
(The bill isn’t dead, by the way. The Government Operations Committee
is still waiting to hear more substantively from the above-mentioned
organizations, who are charged with negotiating with the MN Association
of Townships to come up with some kind of consensus on how to close this
loophole and/or address what were termed by committee members as
abuses–yes, that’s right, abuses of the annexation process like that perpetrated in Ortonville.)
So, with the annexation decision of five out of the six parcels still
in court (actually the parties have recently asked the judge not to
rule) and potential state legislation that could remedy Ortonville
Township’s plight, why would the township board do a deal for orderly
annexation now?
Well, you have to go back to that 120 acres per owner per year law.
You see, the City has already successfully annexed one parcel for
Strata’s project–and that parcel is the core of the quarry footprint.
Next year, the city can simply annex another one or two of the parcels
(so long as they don’t go over the 120 acres rule–since Hedge is still
deemed to be a beneficial owner of all of the parcels). In another year,
another one or two parcels, and pretty soon the city and Strata have
got it all anyhow.
And what does the township get in this scenario? Not a blessed thing.
On the other hand, orderly annexation, as you’ll recall, requires
that all parties come to the table. And that gives the township the
opportunity to get something instead of nothing.
And what of the legislation? These things move slowly, and as much as
township residents might hope some remedy can be made, they are also
cognizant of the oft-repeated mantra of those committee hearings:
“Nothing can be done to help the situation in Ortonville now. The best
we can do is to avoid similar abuses in the future.”
So, the choice for Ortonville Township is a losing one either way.
They could have fought to the bitter end, which would more than likely
have been bitter indeed, with nothing to show for their years of work
and expense, or they could do a deal and get something. In organizing,
we call that a strategic loss. It sucks; it ain’t what we wanted, but it
ain’t nothing.
That is not to say there is no more role for citizen input, protest,
and potentially even legal challenges from adjacent landowners, but the
township board has fended this thing off as well and as long as they
could. I’ve certainly seen their dedication in this nearly two years’
fight, and the idea that this is a happy resolution of all those past
differences with Strata and Bill LaFond rings about as false as it
comes.
There’s plenty more to this story, both in the documentation and
in the stories from county residents who fought this fight. I want to
give special thanks to Sally Jo Sorenson at Bluestem Prairie (and Big Stone Bolder)–many of the documents, stories, and testimony would never have been publicly available without her work.
Disclosure: Bluestem Prairie's publisher and editor Sally Jo Sorensen worked on contract providing social media services for Clean Up The River Environment's (CURE) Strata campaign from April through May 2012. Bluestem had gotten interested in the dispute during February and had posted about it prior to receiving the contract. Sorensen is currently working with the Stand For Food project. CURE is the fiscal partner for the broad coalition.
Photos: An early public hearing on the proposed Strata aggregate quarry project, at Clinton’s Memorial Building (above); signs outside a public hearing (middle); Screenshot of the Ortonville Independent (below).
If you enjoyed reading this post, consider giving a donation via snail mail (P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or paypal:
Despite claims to the contrary coming from the right, Minnesota's tea party chapters aren't simply focused on conservative staple issues like free markets and limited government. They're also playing host to groups that oppose an anti-bullying bill because it would protect LBGT youth.
Minnesota’s Tea Partiers, with their philosophy of free markets and limited government, are mainly Republicans, like Rogers. Although he said there are parts of the state GOP platform the Tea Party doesn’t like, “I think the three strongest policies we support together are the right to work, voter identification and protection of human life.” Duesenberg disagrees a little with Rogers, saying that the Tea Party avoids social issues like abortion and gay marriage.
A review of recent Facebook postings and events reveals that the North Metro Tea Party and the SW Metro Tea Party have hosted featured speakers trying to rally the troops against passage of the senate companion bill to HF826, an anti-bullying bill sponsored by Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis) that passed the Minnesota House on May 6, 2013. Senator Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) is the chief sponsor of the bill in the upper chamber.
North Metro Tea Party: Barb Anderson & the MN Child Protection League
The North Metro Tea Party's Facebook page noted on October 10:
Great group of speakers tonight, starting with Barb Anderson and Michelle Benson and a surprise visit from Jeff Johnson! Ted Lillie & Phil Krinkie are on deck!
Benson is a Republican state senator, Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson is a Republican running for governor, Krinkie a Republican running for the open seat in the Sixth Congressional District, and Lillie is a Republican running a chain of newspapers and the Taxpayers League now that former TPL honcho Krinkie is seek office.
The name Barb Anderson might not ring a bell--though a tweet by Jack Rogers from October 10 might jar some memories:
Tonight - The North Metro TEA Party brings to the stage: Barb Anderson - the Bullying Bill Senator Michelle... http://t.co/ku03upJ8IC
The Southern Poverty Law Center recently released its annual "Hate Map" which identifies over 1,000 groups all over the U.S. that it considers to be hate groups.
Debuting this year is the Champlain-based group Parents Action League, which testified at many Anoka-Hennepin school board meetings against repeal of the neutrality policy. They also strongly advocated that students in the district be referred to ex-gay therapy resources.
"They say terrible things like gays are more promiscuous than straights," says Heidi Beirich, director of the Intelligence Project. "They also work closely with other anti-gay hate groups."
The Southern Poverty Law Center recently got a ground-breaking settlement against the Anoka-Hennepin school district after alleging that the district's policies created a hostile environment for gay students that lead to discrimination and bullying. Members of the Parents Action League had a strong hand in creating some of those policies, most prominently Barb Anderson. She was a part of the 1995 committee that drafted the original curriculum policy that dictated that homosexuality not be taught as a "normal, valid lifestyle." That policy morphed into the Sexual Orientation Curriculum Policy, which said that teachers must remain neutral on the topic of homosexuality, and became the focal point of the lawsuit.
However, Beirich says that the hate group label comes primarily from material found on PAL's website. For example, from in a list of demands to the district, the website reads, "students who become involved with outside homosexual organizations face greater threats to their health/longevity/quality of life due to the libertine philosophy of such groups," and that the district should "provide webinars/seminars for all staff on overcoming sexual disorders."
People for the American Way's website created a keyword just for Anderson, and entries there note that she is a researcher for the Minnesota Family Council. PFAW's Right Wing Watch has also kept an eye on her.
The Parents Action League even has its own Wikpedia entry. There's this about PAL's origins:
The Minnesota Family Council is the statewide sponsor of the Parents Action League (PAL).[13] PAL member Barb Anderson, a former district Spanish teacher and a longtime researcher for the Minnesota Family Council,[14][15] fought "gay influence" in local schools for two decades.[1] When the Anoka-Hennepin district's sex-ed curriculum was due for re-evaluation in 1994, Anderson and four like-minded parents joined the review committee. They argued against teaching gay tolerance in school, suggesting that it would "promote homosexuality", and that discussing it openly might actually "turn straight kids gay".[1]
At the end of the committee's seven-month-long sex-ed review, Anderson and her colleagues wrote to the Anoka-Hennepin school board, concluding, "The majority of parents do not wish to have there [sic] children taught that the gay lifestyle is a normal acceptable alternative."[1] The school board voted to adopt the measure by a four-to-two majority, using language from the committee's memo to create a district-wide policy. The policy prohibited homosexuality to be taught as a "normal, valid lifestyle", within the health curriculum. The policy was unofficially known as the "No Homo Promo". Teachers said it had a chilling effect and they became concerned about mentioning gays in any context. Gradually discussion of homosexuality disappeared from classes.[1][16]
CBS Minnesota reports that Rev. Brad Brandon asked residents at at least three recent rallies: “How many of you are familiar with what happened in World War II under Adolf Hitler?”
As video footage of one rally attests, Brandon then went on to compare Hitler's anti-Semitic actions to what he believes is happening to Christians who oppose marriage equality now. “What I’m simply saying is that Adolf Hitler took away two fundamental rights from a group of people in order to suppress them," he says in the clip, evidently part of a 40-minute Power Point presentation intended to sway voters to support the marriage amendment. "Those two fundamental rights are the same rights that are being taken away from the Christian community."
According to MyFox 9, Brandon continued the analogy even further, noting: "[Hitler] removed their voices in the public square and removed their control of their own businesses. So, he stopped Jewish people from speaking out in public and he silenced them."
Brandon is the church outreach director for Minnesota for Marriage, the campaign supporting the amendment. If approved by voters in November, Minnesota's existing ban on gay marriage will be placed in the state constitution. . . .
The MNCLP's anti-anti-bullying bill video
On Thursday, the North Metro Tea Party shared a Youtube from the Mn Child Protection League's page, along with the headnote:
This is a video produced by the MN Child Protection League about the proposed Anti-Bullying Bill. Powerful.
The video explores the agenda for promoting "sexual diversity" that's supposedly hidden in the bill:
What is the MN Child Protection League?
There's no listing for the MN Child Protection League in the Minnesota Secretary of State's database of business and nonprofits, nor is the group a charity registered with the Charities Division at the Minnesota Attorney General's Office. The group's website "About Us" doesn't disclose any personnel or board members--or whether there's a board at all.
Although the entity doesn't disclose much about itself, it does seem linked to some familiar names. Walter Hudson will be speaking about the bill at the Stealing Our School Conference on Thursday, October 24. MNCPL is co-sponsoring the event with another transparnecy-closeted group, America 101, which is obsessed with the standard wingnut-Bircher brew of Agenda 21 and whatever.
This letter is to alert you to a very dangerous piece of legislation on target to pass into law as soon as the Minnesota legislature convenes in February 2014. The legislation, spearheaded by Governor Dayton and the Democrat, will affect all of Minnesota’s children. We are sending you this call to action because you have the voice and power to stop a very tragic piece of legislation from becoming law.
First, let me explain who we are. We are the Minnesota Child Protection League (MnCPL), a recently formed grassroots group whose current project is stopping Governor Dayton’s dangerous, invasive, and falsely promoted “anti-bullying” legislation (HF826), the “Safe and Supportive MN School’s Act”. . .
There's the standard fear of little Suzie getting popped with a bullying charge for saying something naughty when teacher starts reading "Heather Has Two Mommies" to the class (entire message here) and the standard objections are aired.
Toward the close of the document, there's this:
MnCPL is blowing the whistle to let the public know: Get This On Your Radar! MnCPL has already taken the first steps to getting a grassroots movement off the ground. Among other things, we’ve created a website full of resources and we can't wait until next week to send you our new video! We've begun meeting with legislators; drafted alternative, effective legislation; identified our lobbying targets; formulated a coalition of people and groups who will work together to stop HF826; created a petition; begun speaking; and conducted radio interviews. MnCPL is building the strong foundation for the work that needs to be done.
HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO…!
TAKE ACTION!We will soon need many people calling their legislators, writing letters to the editor, posting on blogs, and using social media to get this word out. Please join us in this critical battle to protect our schools, parents, and our vulnerable children from bullying by the state. Please visit our website to become informed, sign up for our email updates, share our information and alerts, widely distribute our movie, schedule a presentation in your area, “like” us on Facebook, “share” our FB information, sign our online petition, share our petition, and join us on twitter (@CPLmn). In other words, become an activist for the children!
CONTRIBUTE FINANCIALLY! MnCPL has tax deductible 501c3 non-profit status. To get this word out across the state, will you consider, right now, making a tax-deductible contribution to this effort?No one at MnCPL is paid. We are all volunteers, and we urgently need your financial support!
Thankyou for making our work possible. We are working to protect every child, not just some. Please remember to make your tax-deductible contribution out to MnCPL. Please do it today!
United in action,Renee T. Doyle,Member, Board of Directors MINNESOTA CHILD PROTECTION LEAGUE
As we write this, 67 twitter accounts are following @cplmn. As for the non-profit status, it's likely that this project is sponsored by an established organization; we'll do more searching is the IRS charities database.
Corrupting the Minds of Children with Sexualized Curriculum and Bullying
When Mon, October 28, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Where Crossroads Covenant Church, Activity Building (map)
Description Barbara Anderson and Renee Doyle will be speaking to us about the sex education that is being taught in our public schools. Please no minors at the workshops. This workshop is FREE but donations will be accepted to the non-profit organization The MN Child Protection League.More information will be coming. Here is a summary and the nights agenda. This workshop is a must for all adults who are concerned about the moral decline in our culture and its impact on our children. Come find out why home school and private school children are not exempted. Workshop 1 6:30 - 7:30 Barb Anderson (Parents Action League) "From Two Genders to LGBTQQIA" Workshop 2 7:30 - 8:30 Renee Doyle (MN Child Protection League) "The Bogus Bill to Stop Bullying- Legislating What Children Think" 6:30 - 7:10 Barb Anderson (Parents Action League) 7:10 - 7:25 Q &A 7:25 - 7:35 break 7:35 - 8:15 Renee Doyle (MN Child Protection League) 8:15 - 8:30 Q & A
Whatever the MN Child Protection League is, it's working closely with figures who are speaking about the anti-bullying bill at tea party gatherings. And given the anti-gay agenda of the Parents Action League, it's disingenuous for the movement's leaders to say that Minnesota's Tea Party's aren't engaged with social issues.
The apparent loss of sidekick Jake "McMillian" MacAulay hasn't slowed Bradlee Dean's production of enlightening videos.
The Sons of Liberty/You Can Run skeleton crew of two remaining ministry employees will have to work overtime to promote Dean's new fare, Mask off! The mind of the enemy, within!, that condemns Alinsky as Satanic but shares the rules for radicals nonetheless, Is it Worth it?, in which the Apostle of Annandale tells sports fans that they've traded away their freedom for the love of sports.
Indifferent to all professional sports save wrestling, Bluestem had heard that seat licenses and season tickets at the new Vikes stadium would be expensive, but hadn't realized that an eternal damnation surcharge had been included in the legislation.
Bluestem thinks that implementation of the Alinsky method explains a lot about recent politics. Via Wikipedia,we learn that the Wall Street Journal Elizabeth Williamson discussed the Alinsky Card being played by the Tea Party:
Adam Brandon, a spokesman for the conservative non-profit organization Freedom Works, one of several groups involved in organizing Tea Party protests, says the group gives Alinsky's Rules for Radicals to its top leadership members. A shortened guide called Rules for Patriots is distributed to its entire network. In a January 2012 story that appeared in The Wall Street Journal, citing the organization's tactic of sending activists to town-hall meetings, Brandon explained, "his [Alinsky's] tactics when it comes to grass-roots organizing are incredibly effective." Former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey also gives copies of Alinsky's book Rules for Radicals to Tea Party leaders.
What causes the Tea Party to act the way it does? Could it be Satan?
And Is it Worth it? in which Dean derides football players as men in tights, NASCAR as cars going around circles 500 times and being gay as a crime against nature. Church Super Bowl parties also earn his scorn:
We suspected the Vikes didn't have a prayer and Bradlee Dean has so set us straight. But even the vigilant Dean is hoodwinked by those Lucifer-following Tea Party Alinsky disciples marching in his second video.
The shutdown of the federal government ended after two weeks of pouter pigeon -like display. One indication of who won might be the New Ulm Journal editorial, House GOP may need a new mascot:
. . .The deal was expected to pass the Senate, and there are hopes it will pass the House despite the expected opposition from the conservative flank of the Republican Caucus.
Which brings us to the idea that perhaps House Republicans need to modify the party's traditional GOP Elephant mascot. It may be time to model it on the "Pushmi-Pullyu" (pronounced "push me, pull you") from the Dr. Dolittle stories. This animal was a cross between a gazelle and a unicorn with a head on both ends. When it tried to walk, both ends tried to head in opposite directions, and it got nowhere.
It seems an appropriate symbol for the current state of the House Republicans.
Kudos to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) for showing it is possible for the two parties to get together and accomplish something for the good of the country.
Photo: In the brave new world of American poltics, a donkey checks out a Pushmi-pullyu. Via the BBC. Yes, we missed the panda cam.
If you enjoyed reading this post, consider giving a donation via mail (P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 563260) or paypal:
Recent Comments