Two years ago, Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN) — the veteran community's strongly preferred candidate to command a leadership post on the House Veterans Affairs Committee — was placed to the side by House Democratic leadership while competing for the House VA Cmte leadership job.
This move was made (at the beginning of the last Congress) for political and inner-caucus reasons and cleared the way for Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fl), a longer serving Congresswoman, known for her hyper partisan persona, and combative working relationship with Republicans on the committee.
Politics backfired. . . .
Fortunately, Mr. Walz is back at the top of the list to occupy the job he should have been selected for two years ago, and this time the Democrats can achieve redemption and get this right.
Walz is a veterans' veteran, having served 24 years in the Army National Guard he achieved the rank of Command Sergeant Major and milestone of being the highest ranking enlisted soldier to ever serve in Congress.
However, that fact is only the surface of his qualifications which include: leading a bipartisan coalition and getting a major veteran suicide prevention bill passed (Clay Hunt SAV Act) through a Republican Congress and signed by President Barack Obama that cemented his bi-partisan negotiating chops at a time when none of us thought partisan politics could be put aside--even for veterans.
He negotiated effectively to elevate many other legislative priorities and policy issues during his tenure on the VA committee as well, and attracts hope from those of us in the veteran community through his affable and accessible persona, and workhorse reputation. Congressman Tim Walz has been a proven leader for Veterans, and understand the unique needs of our community, he is one of us, and frankly we need him.
Challenging him in his race to become the House VA leader is Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA). Mr. Takano despite a very positive attitude and genuine interest in fixing the problems facing our community, lacks the experience, record, and toughness we need at this time. . . .
Good to see the House Democrats chose a veteran to serve veterans.
Photo: Congressman Tim Walz, giving someone hell over veterans' issues.
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Duehring lost, and returned to the Washington DC area. He served on the Bush-Cheney Transition Team, Department Defense Transition Team following the 2000 election, and was appointed as the Air Force's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs and Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs under the Bush Administration from 2001 through 2009.
Mr. Duehring is a 28-year Air Force veteran, having been commissioned in 1968 through Officer Training School. He is a decorated combat pilot, completing more than 800 missions during the Vietnam War as a forward air controller, including a tour as one of the Raven FACs in northern Laos. Mr. Duehring has flown more than a dozen types of aircraft, amassing more than 1,200 hours in the A-10 Thunderbolt II. He retired as a colonel in 1996. His final military assignment was U.S. Air Attaché to Indonesia.
Mr. Duehring has served on the Bush-Cheney Transition Team and the Department of Defense Transition Team. He was the Executive Director of the Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty, a non-profit educational and charitable foundation, and he was endorsed as the Republican candidate for the Minnesota 2nd Congressional District in 1998. Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Duehring served six years as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. He performed the duties of acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs in the absence of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, including an extended period during and following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. . . .
. . . While the war in Vietnam ebbed and flowed with alternating violence and boredom, there was a rumor of another war, somewhere else, where men flew long hours in propeller aircraft without markings into constant danger in a land where adventure reigned supreme, where common sense replaced the hated Rules of Engagement and where a man could finally test the limits of his abilities. These pilots were few in number and their call sign was Raven.
This is the wartime autobiography of one of the few pilots ever to fly under that now famous call sign. Craig Duehring lived and flew out of the guerilla headquarters at Long Tieng, Laos, in support of the iconic Hmong leader, Major General Vang Pao, for a longer tour of duty than any other Raven. During that time, he knew many of the most notable Ravens and participated in many tragic events of the day – including the famous “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”.
This is the story of how one young man left the farm country of southern Minnesota and embarked on a career as an Air Force pilot during the height of the Vietnam War. Equally as important as the combat he experienced is his personal triumph over repeated obstacles and near disasters to achieve his dream that will be a source of inspiration for young readers everywhere. . .
Photo: Craig W. Duehring during a Pentagon press briefing, Sept. 14, 2001. Via Wikimedia Commons. Image was released by the United States Department of Defense with the ID 010914-D-9880W-047.
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That the poem "In Flanders Field" wasn't written by an American hearkens back to the World War that prompted Veterans Day as a national holiday for the United States. The Academy of American Poets notes in its listing for Canadian poet John McCrae:
In April 1915, McCrae was stationed in the trenches near Ypres, Belgium, in an area known as Flanders, during the bloody Second Battle of Ypres. In the midst of the tragic warfare, McCrae’s friend, twenty-two-year-old Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was killed by artillery fire and buried in a makeshift grave. The following day, McCrae, after seeing the field of makeshift graves blooming with wild poppies, wrote his famous poem “In Flanders Field,” which would be the second to last poem he would ever write. It was published in England’s Punch magazine in December 1915 and was later included in the posthumous collection In Flanders Fields and Other Poems (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1919).
Soon after writing “In Flanders Field,” McCrae was transferred to a hospital in France, where he was named the chief of medical services. Saddened and disillusioned by the war, McCrae found respite in writing letters and poetry, and wrote his final poem, “The Anxious Dead.”
In the summer of 1917, McCrae’s health took a turn, and he began suffering from severe asthma attacks and bronchitis. McCrae died of pneumonia and meningitis on January 28, 1918.
“In Flanders Field” became popular almost immediately upon its publication. It was translated into other languages and used on billboards advertising Victory Loan Bonds in Canada. The poppy soon became known as the flower of remembrance for the men and women in Britain, France, the United States, and Canada who have died in service of their country. Today, McCrae’s poem continues to be an important part of Remembrance Day celebrations in Canada and Europe, as well as Memorial Day and Veterans Day celebrations in the United States.
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Public Affairs tells this story:
McCrae's poem had a huge impact on two women, Anna E. Guerin of France and Georgia native Moina Michael. Both worked hard to initiate the sale of artificial poppies to help orphans and others left destitute by the war. By 1920, when Guerin, with the help of the American Legion, established the first poppy sale in the U.S., the flower was well known in the allied countries — America, Britain, France, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — as the "Flower of Remembrance." Proceeds from that first sale went to the American and French Children's League.
Guerin had troubles with the distribution of the poppies in early 1922 and sought out Michael for help. Michael had started a smaller-scaled Poppy Day during a YMCA conference she was attending in New York and wanted to use the poppies as a symbol of remembrance of the war. Guerin, called the "Poppy Lady of France" in her homeland, and Michael, later dubbed "The Poppy Princess" by the Georgia legislature, went to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) for help.
The poppy was adopted as the official memorial flower of the VFW at its national convention in Seattle, Wash., in August 1922, following the first nationwide distribution of poppies ever conducted by any veterans organization.
In 1923, faced by a shortage of poppies from French manufacturers, the VFW relied on New York florists to make up the difference. This was a huge setback, however, and led to the idea by VFW officials to use unemployed and disabled veterans to produce the artificial flower. This concept was approved in late 1923 and the first poppy factory was built in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1924. This provided a practical means of assistance to veterans and also ensured a steady, reliable source of poppies. Veterans at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities and veterans homes help assemble the poppies, and each year the VFW distributes roughly 14 million worldwide.
It was around the same time the first poppy factory was built that the VFW registered the name "Buddy Poppy" with the U.S. Patent Office. The term "Buddy" was coined by the poppy makers as a tribute to their comrades who did not come home from the war or who were scarred and crippled for life.
The VFW celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Buddy Poppy as its official flower in 1997. While profits from its sales have helped countless veterans and their widows, widowers and orphans over the years, the poppy itself survives as a perpetual tribute to those who have given their lives for the nation's freedom.
It's Veterans Day--originally Armistice Day, as the VA history of the holiday notes. As a thank you to all veterans, Bluestem offers this reading of the poem, by Canadian poet and songwriter Leonard Cohen, who died yesterday.
Photo: Veterans, from Stars and Stripes.
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Point of fact: the park isn't a cemetery, but does include memorial paving stones with the names of area veterans on them. The Winona city police officers are to be complimented on their professionalism (maybe it was the hug one received from marchers earlier in the month).
Lost in the focus on the video and Pokeman Go players? The rest of the ordinance. Olson reports in the Daily News that a range of free speech and assembly activities would be restricted:
The ordinance would cover a wide array of activities, not all related to increased traffic from Pokémon players, and some which is already prohibited.
Obvious restrictions would include littering, disorderly conduct or driving through the park off of designated roads.
More closely related to concerns over the recent crowds that suddenly began gathering at all hours earlier this month when the game was released include prohibitions on hammocks and tents, sleeping and sunbathing, recreational activities and games (electronic or not), having pets in the area and playing music.
Some of the broader restrictions would include picketing and demonstrating, speeches or oration to assemblies, and displaying flags or placards.
The exception to many of these rules would be if they were part of a designated military memorial ceremony, or expressly authorized by the city.
The broad restrictions against free speech and assembly without prior permission by the city would likely have dampened the March For Hugs, one of the few non-veterans-related demonstrations of any kind at the park that a superficial online search revealed (rallies and protests in Winona seem to happen mostly in Windom Park or at public buildings like City Hall and the county courthouse).
Eleven-year-old Ezra Frame rode his scooter through Lake Park and down Huff Street Thursday evening with a sign that read “Less Killing More Love.”
“This has to stop,” Frame said.
He and his mom, Amy Ross, were part of a somewhat impromptu six-person Free Hug Peace March Thursday evening down Huff Street — which Frame affectionately named “Hug Street.”
The march was organized by Ross and her friend, Tesla Mitchell, in response to recent violence in the U.S. It’s the type of response, Ross said she believes the world needs.
“We’re sick of seeing all the killings and want to be more positive,” Ross said.
Mitchell admitted she had wanted to organize a peace march for some time, but when Ross approached her about one, she said she felt confident enough in promoting peace, that she believes the U.S. needs to achieve.
“If we can succeed, then the rest of the world can succeed in peace,” Mitchell said.
Though the march was small in numbers, every passerby left with a smile. And the march picked up at the end, concluding with a Winona police officer stopping for a hug — and the group crashing, with hugs, a crowd of people outside playing Pokemon Go. . . .
Hugging police officers without permission from the city council? That should send the country racing toward hell in a flaming handbasket.
Mass shootings. Protests. We've been going through a lot as a nation lately, so in response to all the violence and heartbreak a group of people put on a peaceful march in Winona, a march of hugs. These folks had one mission in mind - to brighten people's days.
This small group, not affiliated with any movement, got together Thursday and decided to try and bring change their way. They say they are tired of all the violence going around and they think that something as simple as a hug can make a world of difference to people.
Plenty of folks were excited to see them and see that there's still some good in the world and that's exactly what the huggers had in mind.
"We all want to feel love, we all want to feel acceptance and that's why our country is where it's at right now is because there isn't that love and acceptance and equality," Tesla Mitchell, one of the huggers, said. "We need to be putting that back into the world and so we have to do that, personally we have to do that, we have to be the change that we want to see."
They walked around the Veterans Memorial Park and down to a nearby Kwik Trip to see people. They even ran into a local law enforcement member who was more than happy to stop by and give them hugs.
That sweetness and cop-hugging might have to stop. However, the comments on Winona Daily News article about the proposal are for now running against the ordinance.
With their permission, hug your favorite veteran and each other, gentle readers, in Winona and wherever you may be.
Photo: Screenshot from KTTC's coverage of the March for Hugs (above); Winona Daily News' hug photograph.
Hat tip: Johanna Rupprecht on Facebook.
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Minnesota has bonded debt of over $8 billion on the books. It consumes $1.3 billion of taxpayer money each biennium (debt service). There is not a dime of spending in this borrow-and-spend proposal that we need. Not a dime. It's time to stop spending our kids' future, while trying to convince them that it's good for them.
That leaves us to wonder if Miller doesn't think the $3.2 million for flood mitigation in Montevideo in the governor's spreadsheet shouldn't be funded:
Or if Miller's praising the notion that "It's time to stop spending our kids' future" on bonding at all--for things like the proposed veterans' home in Montevideo. Miller didn't seem to share Draz's no borrowing values when he authored a bill last spring for bonding for veterans homes in Monte and Bemidji, so prepares he'll stop being such Draz fanboy on social media.
On the other hand, Draz's 2014 campaign finance report reveals that the veteran Mazeppa lawmaker contributed $4500 cash and $2,452 for a field worker for the Renville County RPM, so maybe it's just gratitude on Miller's part, however much he's forgetting promises to his constituents.
It seems that Miller might be as constant as the prairie wind in March--and as shifting. We'll keep an eye out on whether he changes his mind about the value of helping Montevideo out with its flooding.
Photo: Rep. Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, via Facebook. He wants bonding for projects or maybe not.
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A friend who is an elected official in a Greater Minnesota city forwarded an invite to this event in Scottsdale, Arizona, from December 2-4:
Join other local elected officials from across the country at the American City County Exchange (ACCE) for the 2nd ACCE Policy Summit in Scottsdale, AZ on December 2-4.
We want you to be a part of the positive change taking place in communities throughout the United States. At ACCE, you can work and share ideas with other problem-solvers from across the 50 states. Lawmakers are thinking of new, innovative policies that cut red tape, improve local business climates and create workforce-ready students. And it's all happening at ACCE. . . .
We hope you can join us in Scottsdale for the 2nd American City County Exchange Policy Summit December 2-4. You will meet local elected officials from across the country in a variety of workshops to educate and inform you about policy experiences in other communities. At ACCE, you can also help develop public policy that encourages best practices for both cities and counties.
The ACCE Policy Summit takes place in conjunction with the American Legislative Exchange Council States and Nation Policy Summit, which brings together state legislators across America.
ACCE is an affiliate of the American Legislative Exchange Council [ALEC], a 501(c)3 organization, that focuses on nonpartisan research, analysis and educational study to protect hardworking taxpayers. Right now, you can lock-in a low registration rate.
Regardless of your political perspective, we want your input. Come to Scottsdale, share ideas and learn best practices from other elected officials.
Bluestem recommends that readers keep an eye out on city and county board meetings to see if mayors, city council members and county commissioners are going to this conservative fest--and to monitor who is footing the bill for registration, travel, meals and hotel accommodations.
With Congress and the states gridlocked and dominated by special-interest spending, America’s cities have emerged as engines of policy innovation. From efforts to raise the minimum wage and secure paid sick days to bills banning fracking, some of the biggest progressive policy victories in the United States are happening at the local level.
So how has the American Legislative Exchange Council, a powerful lobby serving right-wing interests at the state level, responded to this resurgence of local democracy? With a systematic effort to destroy it. . . .
ALEC task force director Cara Sullivan recently explained to a room full of local officials that when it comes to citizen movements supporting job creation and higher wages, “perhaps the biggest threat comes from the local level.”
Thankfully, she added, ALEC has a solution: “ALEC has passed…state legislation that preempts the polities from within the state from raising the minimum wage higher than the state level.” In other words, if living-wage campaigns succeed at the city or county level, state legislators should intervene, repeal, and ban any such advances.
Sullivan’s comments were consistent with ALEC’s longstanding support for bills to block local control over issues that are important to everyday Americans. Even though ALEC has generally bashed all federal policy affecting the states, and its leaders have claimed that “people are better served by local leaders,” for decades its official policy has been to override local democracy when it threatens corporate interests. . . .
Fortunately, the bill passed early this year (it wasn't partisan), and we'd like to see local leaders hobnob with someone other than ALEC and Coburn. Sheesh.
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In his state of the state address last week, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said he did not support the four-day school week, saying..."The era of shortchanging our students’ educations is over."
While Miller's recent press release from which the implies that he's single-handedly working to resolve the MACCRAY school system's battle to stay open, the school board's own minutes suggest that he's merely picking up work on the timeline that the last state representative put into motion.
Reached by phone, former state representative Andrew Falk confirmed that he and state Senator Lyle Koenen had attended the meeting, and that they had helped set up the earlier meeting with Commissioner Casselius in June. Koenen is continuing work on the timeline with Miller.
This isn't the only place where Miller is seeking credit for the work of others or merely leaving out work some have done. In Friday's email legislative update (not yet posted online), Miller writes:
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of many in Chippewa County, the majority of local funding for a potential veterans home in Montevideo veterans home proposal has already been secured. . . .
In Montevideo’s case, the City and Chippewa County have pledged all but $6 million of the state contribution, and my bill would seek $6 million in bonding proceeds to finish the deal.
But if the committee that's mobilized support for the project is to be believed (and news reports available via Nexis and Google new support the assertion), Miller's forgetting support from other local counties and government units, as well as being silent about the years of work by DFL and Republican leaders in the legislature.
In Sad News To Report, an LTE in the Montevideo American News, the Veterans Committee writes:
Without the support of the City of Montevideo, the Montevideo MIDC, MCDC, EDA, Chippewa, Lac Qui Parle, Swift and Yellow Medicine County, Townships, local financial institutions, American Legion, VFW, and individuals we could have not raised five million for this project. We on behalf of our Veterans, thank you for this support.
The Montevideo Veterans home proposal does have some competition for state funding as well. In the House, HF 54 seeks funding for a veterans home in Bemidji. Both House bills have senate companion bills.
Photo: Representative Tim Miller. Via Facebook.
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Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, is gone, retired, and the bill is back.
According to a press release from Congressman Walz's office:
Today, Representatives Tim Walz (D-MN), Chairman of the VA CommitteeJeff Miller (R-FL), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced the reintroduction of the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (Clay Hunt SAV) Act, a bill supported by veterans and their advocates to help prevent veteran suicide and ensure our nations heroes get the care and support they need.
The legislation, named in honor of the late Iraq and Afghanistan War Veteran and suicide prevention advocateClay Hunt, unanimously passed the House of Representatives in the 113th Congress and had broad support in the Senate, but was blocked from becoming law by a lone Senator. Representatives Walz, Miller, and Duckworth first introduced their bipartisan legislation last summer after spending months working together to write final legislation with veterans and their advocates.
“Currently, 22 veterans die by suicide each and every day,” Rep. Walz, the highest ranking enlisted soldier to ever serve in Congress, said. “These folks aren’t just our former warriors either; they’re our mothers and fathers. They’re our grandfathers and grandmothers. They’re our brothers and sisters. They’re our neighbors and friends. While no piece of legislation will completely end this heartbreaking epidemic, we cannot stand idly by while more of our heroes struggle with the invisible wounds of war. We must take action, and I continue to believe that this bipartisan bill is a step in the right direction. We can and must work urgently to send this bill to the President’s desk without delay.”
“Despite record mental health staffing and budget levels at the Department of Veterans Affairs, an average of 18 to 22 veterans have been taking their own lives each day for more than a decade. Solutions to this horrific problem will only come from comprehensive, new ideas that improve the accessibility and effectiveness of mental health care available to our veterans. The Clay Hunt SAV Act will ensure VA’s mental health and suicide prevention efforts receive crucial independent, third party oversight while creating a greater accounting of available services and fostering an enhanced community approach to delivering veterans suicide prevention and mental health care treatment. I urge all my colleagues to once again join us in helping preserve the lives of our nation’s most at-risk returning heroes,” said Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
“As a nation, we have a commitment to our Veterans to make sure that they receive the care that they need, and that means reducing barriers to care however we can. When an average of 22 Veterans commit suicide every day, we are failing them,” Representative Duckworth said. “I am proud to join with Congressman Walz and Chairman Miller in introducing this legislation that is a crucial step in reducing Veteran suicide.”
“IAVA applauds Chairman Miller, and Representatives Walz and Duckworth for reintroducing the Clay Hunt SAV Act in the House today," said IAVA CEO and Founder Paul Rieckhoff. “After last year's overwhelming bipartisan support, we now urge the House to move quickly in passing this bill, which will help curb the veteran suicide rate. Twenty-two veterans die by suicide each day and our country can provide the tools to help reverse that number. No veteran should have to cut through bureaucratic red tape to access the mental health care they earned. As Congress begins a new year, veterans and their families are watching Washington closely to see who has our back.”
A 2012 study from the Department of Veterans Affairs estimated that 22 veterans are lost each day to suicide. That’s over 150 veteran suicides per week, over 600 per month, and over 8,000 per year. To put these staggering numbers in perspective, it is estimated that more veterans take their own lives each year than have been Killed in Action since 9/11. <p">The Clay Hunt SAV Act seeks to quell this growing epidemic by:
Increasing Access to Mental Health Care and Capacity at VA to Meet Demand
Requires the VA to create a one-stop, interactive website to serve as a centralized source of information regarding all VA mental health services for veterans.
Addresses the shortage of mental health care professionals by authorizing the VA to conduct a student loan repayment pilot program aimed at recruiting and retaining psychiatrists.
Improving the Quality of Care and Boosting Accountability at VA
Requires evaluations of all mental health care and suicide prevention practices and programs at the VA to find out what’s working and what’s not working and make recommendations to improve care.
Developing a Community Support System for Veterans
Establishes a peer support and community outreach pilot program to assist transitioning Servicemembers with accessing VA mental health care services.
Photo: Clay Hunt.
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Marine Cpl. Clay Hunt already was a survivor when he deployed to Afghanistan in 2008. An infantryman, he’d been wounded in the wrist by an enemy sniper in Iraq in 2007, just weeks after watching a fellow Marine sustain a mortal gunshot wound to the throat by another enemy marksman.
Hunt didn’t let his wounds in Iraq hold him back, though. He recovered, went to sniper school and then deployed with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, a unit from Twentynine Palms, Calif., that quietly deployed to Afghanistan in 2008, before the troop “surge,” and was spread across 10,000 square miles in Helmand and Farah provinces. Sixteen Marines and a Navy corpsman were killed in combat, and scores were wounded. They eventually were reinforced with more troops sent from the United States.
Hunt left the Marine Corps afterward. He struggled with depression, panic attacks and post-traumatic stress but threw himself into veterans advocacy and humanitarian work, even traveling to Haiti in 2009 with other Marine veterans to help after a devastating earthquake.
Then it was over. Hunt, 28, committed suicide in Houston in 2011. Family and friends said he had been battling the Department of Veterans Affairs to get his disability rating upgraded from 30 percent, as he struggled to find employment and his marriage unraveled. He locked himself in his apartment and turned a gun on himself.
The WaPo went on to report that the bipartisan Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for America Veterans Act had been introduced in the United States Senate and House. The House version, introduced in the House by MN01 Congressman Walz, passed on a voice vote on December 9. MSNBC's Steve Benen noted in House approves Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Act:
Given just how little actually happens in Congress, and how many good bills die for no apparent reason, it’s easy to get a little cynical about what’s possible in the area of federal legislation.
Once in a while, though, a good idea actually passes. Take this afternoon, for example.
The House on Tuesday passed legislation to help prevent suicides of people who served in the military.
Passed by voice vote, the bill would require a third party to conduct an annual evaluation of suicide prevention programs at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) and Defense Department.
The measure was sponsored by Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), and enjoyed the enthusiastic support of veterans’ groups including the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). There is no roll call to link to because support was broad enough that the bill passed by voice vote.
To be sure, this wasn’t the highest-profile legislation to be taken up this year, and there wasn’t much of a lobbying campaign against it, but when worthwhile bills, which will make a real difference in the lives of people who deserve our support, are able to advance in this Congress, it’s cause for some relief.
And the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Act is a worthwhile bill. . . .
Leaving the Senate the way he has served in it for 10 years, retiring Sen. Tom Coburn said “no” Monday night to a bill aimed at improving efforts to stop military veteran suicides.
Coburn, a family doctor, earnedthe nickname “Dr. No” for his habit of opposing even minor measures that would otherwise pass the Senate unanimously due to concern they would expand government or increase spending. He has often clashed with fellow Republicans, in part by holding up popular measures party leaders want to avoid fights over.
On Monday, Coburn defied senators in both parties, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and conventional Washington wisdom that says opposing minor bills with appealing goals for hard-to-explain reasons is always a political mistake.
Coburn objected to a motion to allow a vote on the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Act, which requires annual outside reviews of suicide prevention efforts run by the Defense and Veterans Affairs Departments.
Coburn felt the measure duplicated existing efforts while not holding the Veterans Administration accountable.
In a statement issued today, Walz and other sponsors have vowed to renew the push for passage next year when the new congress convenes:
Today, Representative Tim Walz (D-MN), author of the bipartisan Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (Clay Hunt SAV) Act and highest ranking enlisted soldier to ever serve in Congress, released the following statement after Senator Tom Coburn blocked the bill’s passage, despite it having overwhelming support from veterans, their advocates, Republicans, and Democrats.
“22 veterans per day take their own lives. That’s over 150 suicides per week, over 600 suicides per month, and over 8,000 suicides per year. There is no doubt this is a serious problem that must be addressed. That is why I, along with House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller (R-FL) and Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), introduced the Clay Hunt SAV Act. While not a cure all, this bipartisan bill is designed to help the VA provide better mental health care services and is overwhelmingly supported by Republicans and Democrats, Servicemembers and civilians. I’m greatly disappointed that even this, the most bipartisan of measures, fell victim to politicking.
“Make no mistake, the fight isn’t over. We will rally from this setback; I will reintroduce this important legislation immediately in the 114th Congress, and there is no doubt in my mind it will eventually become law. Unfortunately, we know for a number of veterans that wait will be too large a burden to bear. Each day we fail to address this problem, more veterans die. It’s incredibly disappointing that this commonsense legislation was stymied by the only Member of Congress in either the House or Senate who objects to the bill.
“I thank everyone who played a part in getting us this far: veterans, veterans service organizations, especially IAVA, my co-authors House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller (R-FL) and Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and, most importantly, Clay’s courageous parents, Susan and Richard Selke. The Selkes have taken a personal tragedy that many of us cannot even begin to imagine, persevered, and are working to make positive change. They truly represent the best of us.
“While today we may have lost the battle, be certain that we will win the war.”
Photo: Clay Hunt.
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[Tim] Miller said having legislators from the two different parties working on its behalf could help in the Legislature, since each is part of the majority party in their respective chambers.
Having both an experienced and newly elected office holder might help too, he said. Miller said he can be the “young, brash” legislator “who thinks he can get anything done and is dumb enough to ask the questions and push people around and Lyle will clean up the mess and take care of it,’’ he said, laughing.
Where to begin with this? Miller's self image as a "young" legislator suggests that the 48-year-old grandfather (who turns 49 on December 20) lacks more in self-awareness more than he possesses in youth.
Moreover, with competing proposals from other parts of the state--and some discussion of studying the use of scattered sites under private management--one wonders why expecting Koenen to be able to "clean up the mess" Miller promises to make in that lack of self-awareness can be thought to be any sort of a selling point on Miller's part.
Or that he'll do much other than unravel the work so many have done to move the project forward. We suppose that's "dumb enough."
Photo: Representative-elect Tim Miller, who's offering to push people around.
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There hasn't been a competitive Republican gubernatorial primary in decades, since the Carlson- Quist battle pitted the incumbent against a more conservative endorsed candidate in the 1990s.
But there was a statewide Republican primary for a federal office in 2012, when Kurt Bills pulled 51.12 percent of the 123,994 votes cast in the race.
While gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races are quite different creatures--and the winner of the 2012 Republican primary was largely seen as DOA in a contest with Amy Klobuchar, one of the most popular senators in the country--the results might be an indicator of voters in the Republican base who are willing to buck their party's endorsed choice.
Of the 123,994 votes cast in the 2012 Republican U.S. Senate primary, 56972 were cast in CD1, CD7 and CD8. That's nearly 45 percent of the primary ballots cast.
However, in 2010, about 40 percent of voters in the DFL gubernatorial primary lived in the First, Seventh, and Eighth Congressional Districts. These three rural districts contain about a third of the state's population, but boast high turnout in elections.
Here's what happened in 2012 for Kurt Bills's contested U.S. Senate primary.
STATEWIDE
Republican
Candidate
Totals
Pct
Graph
DAVID CARLSON
43852
35.37%
BOB CARNEY JR.
16759
13.52%
KURT BILLS
63383
51.12%
CD 1
It's worth noting that Republican voters in Minnesota's 2012 First Congressional District were charged with selecting a nominee from two candidates who had emerged without endorsement after one of the longest convention battles in recent state history.
One measure of the hapless nature of the Republican U.S. Senate bid is the drop-off from the congressional race, in which 23162 votes were cast in the Parry-Quist battle versus 20,487 in the district votes in the senate race. Nonetheless, nearly one-sixth of the votes in the statewide Republican race were cast by Southern Minnesotans.
While there's an endorsed candidate in the congressional race, Aaron Miller is being challenged by Jim Hagedorn, and so the willingness of First District Republicans to vote for primary usurpers may play a role here.
However, both Miller and Jeff Johnson's running mate Bill Kuisle are from the voter-rich Southeastern Minnesota part of the district, and the Quist wing of the party is supporting Miller. This may bode well for endorsed candidates. In Blue Earth County, yard signs are appearing together for Seifert and Hagedorn at some of the usual Republican spots; A Blue Earth (Faribault County) Hagedorn enjoys the support of prominent pork producers in the area.
Republican
Candidate
Totals
Pct
Graph
DAVID CARLSON
8743
42.68%
BOB CARNEY JR.
3027
14.78%
KURT BILLS
8717
42.55%
CD2:
Bills crushed it in the Second Congressional District, where Republican 17,085 votes were cast in the senate primary. Kline faced a minor challenge from the Gerson campaign, where 18631 votes were cast.
While the southern part of the district is rural, much of the district is south-of-the-river suburbs and exurbs. Seifert's running mate, Pam Myrha, represents Burnsville, which is in CD2.
Republican
Candidate
Totals
Pct
Graph
DAVID CARLSON
4842
28.34%
BOB CARNEY JR.
1853
10.85%
KURT BILLS
10390
60.81%
CD3:
Suburban Republican votes cast 18,773 votes in the U.S. Senate primary, whre Bills scored his third highest percentage of favor from conservatives. Still, there was some drop-off from the congressional race, where 20,704 votes were cast, lightly over 90 percent of which went to Paulsen.
Endorsed gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson (Plymouth), who has Paulsen's endorsement and challengers Kurt Zellers (Maple Grove) and Scott Honour (Orono) all live in the Third. Will personal loyalties or party discipline prevail for this pool of primary voters?
Republican
Candidate
Totals
Pct
Graph
DAVID CARLSON
5633
30.01%
BOB CARNEY JR.
2198
11.71%
KURT BILLS
10942
58.29%
CD4:
Betty McCollum's stomping ground in Ramsey County and the eastern metro illustrates the DFL dominance of the Twin Cities proper. While Kurt Bills won handily with his second highest percentage by congressional district, only 10992 voters cast their ballots in the statewide race. But at least that exceeded the 10,732 votes cast in the congressional primary between endorsed candidate Tony Hernandez and Ron Seiford.
Keith Ellison's Fifth Congressional District saw the most anemic Republican turnout of the U.S. Senate race;only 6,581 people cast votes in the contest. Congressional candidate Chris Fields, who ran unopposed, received 5,966 votes. While nearly 90,000 voters picked Romney in the November 2012 presidential election, it remains to be seen if the mildly restored fortunes of the RPM will help in the Berkeley of the Midwest.
Republican
Candidate
Totals
Pct
Graph
DAVID CARLSON
2103
31.96%
BOB CARNEY JR.
928
14.10%
KURT BILLS
3550
53.94%
CD6:
With the retirement of Michele Bachmann, there's a primary battle on in this red district (Romney received just over 56 percent or 205,652 votes cast) between endorsed candidate Tom Emmer and challenger Rhonda Sivarajah, an Anoka County Commissioner. In 2012, 16,265 votes were cast in the Republican senate contest (18,133 were cast in the CD primary, where Bachmann faced two token challengers).
Will the gubernatorial and congressional primaries spur the party machinery in the Sixth?
Republican
Candidate
Totals
Pct
Graph
DAVID CARLSON
5115
31.45%
BOB CARNEY JR.
2124
13.06%
KURT BILLS
9026
55.49%
CD7:
Neither congressional candidate faced a challenger in the Seventh in the 2012 primary, home to gubernatorial challenger Marty Seifert and Kurt Zellers' running Dean Simpson. Endorsed candidate Jeff Johnson was raised in Detriot Lakes.
Given the lack of a congressional primary, the 15,098 votes cast in the Republican U.S. Senate primary, which challenger Carlson won, is some indication of the independence of the GOP base in the district--or the atrophy of the congressional level Republican infrastructure after years of Collin Peterson.
With a competitive gubernatorial contest antcipated in November, we think the Republican base will be more fired up for the primary.
It's a smart strategy, since 18,713 Republicans voted in the 2012 Senate primary, a majority of whom favored candidates other than the endorsed candidate, and the sense of injured merit among voters in CD8 is without rival in the state.
Republican
Candidate
Totals
Pct
Graph
DAVID CARLSON
7761
41.47%
BOB CARNEY JR.
2909
15.55%
KURT BILLS
8043
42.98%
Once again, Bluestem will note that the Republican primary for U.S. Senate wasn't the Grand Old Party's finest hour, but it may indicate where the vote-every-election base is.
Photo: Kurt Bills, 2012 Minnesota Republican endorsed U.S. Senate candidate, via CBS Minnesota News.
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U.S. Sen. Al Franken and U.S. Reps. Tim Walz and Collin Peterson are among a growing number of Democratic lawmakers calling for Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign after an inspector general’s report that found “systemic” problems at VA medical facilities.
The interim investigative report released Wednesday found at least 1,700 veterans waiting for health care at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs medical facility were not included on the facility’s wait list, and patients there waited an average of 115 days for their first appointments.
The report also documents schemes used at VA facilities intended to conceal wait times and concluded that the problems are national in scope. . . .
Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan called for Shinseki’s resignation last week. Among the Republicans in the Minnesota delegation U.S. Reps. Michele Bachmann and John Kline also want him out.
Walz issued a statement:
Today, Representative Tim Walz (MN-01), Member of the U.S. House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the highest ranking enlisted soldier to ever serve in Congress, released the following statement after the VA Inspector General released an interim report substantiating serious concerns at the Phoenix VA medical facility.
“My number one goal as both a veteran and a Member of the VA Committee is to ensure our veterans get the support and care they have earned and deserve. The findings in the VA Inspector General’s interim report are inexcusable and unacceptable. The IG’s report makes it clear that some veterans have been let down in unfathomable ways and those responsible must be held accountable.
“Secretary Shinseki is one of the most honorable and loyal men I have ever met. He's dedicated his entire life to the betterment of our nation and caring for our brave men and women in uniform. It’s a shame that he and other veterans were let down by certain people working under him at the VA, but ultimately the buck stops with the Secretary. That is why today, I believe it would be best if Secretary Shinseki stepped down. We need to fix the systemic problems outlined in the IG report and restore veterans’ faith in the system.”
Photo: Minneapolis VA Medical Center.
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Jim Hagedorn, who ran unsuccessfully for GOP nomination in Minnesota's First District in 2010 and this year, questioned Walz during a press conference at the VA Outpatient Clinic. Hagedorn asked about the work of the House Committee on Veteran Affairs and more specifically the committee's chairman Jeff Miller, D-Florida. Walz, who also sits on the subcommittee on oversight and investigations, said he can't say enough good things about Miller and the rest of the Committee on Veterans Affairs.
We'll let readers decide the propriety of Hagedorn inserting himself into news conference at the Rochester VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic. The Veterans Administration frowns on campaigning at its facilties. The Walz tour of VA facilties on Wednesday was part of his service on the veterans committee.
We'll see if Hagedorn uses his cameo in his campaign now that he's jumped in. At the Mankato Free Press, Josh Moniz reports in Hagedorn re-entering 1st District race"
Blue Earth resident Jim Hagedorn will announce today his re-entry into the Republican race for Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District.
The decision puts him on a collision course with endorsed Republican candidate Aaron Miller of Byron in the August primary. Both candidates are seeking to become the official Republican candidate to challenge Democrat incumbent Rep. Tim Walz of Mankato in the November elections.
. . . He said he wants to focus the majority of his primary run on pressing the attack against Walz, similar to his pre-endorsement convention campaign. He said he believes working hard early in the year will pay off in the general election.
Was the VA appearance part of Hagedorn's "insurgent" style campaigning? If so, Hagedorn might ask Miller campaign adviser Brad Biers just how well campaiging at the Veterans Administration works. While serving as an adviser for 2008 Walz challenger Brian Davis, Biers tried crashing a meeting then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi held at the Minneapolis veterans hospital with veterans, county veteran service officers and other state officials concerned with veterans care.
If Bluestem recalls correctly, several VA staffers grew concerned with Biers lurking on the scene and called security. He wasn't removed from the building, as he is a veteran himself, but he wasn't allowed in the meeting. As we say, no campaigning on VA grounds.
Given Biers' learning experience years ago--and Miller's own understanding as a command sergeant major in the Army Reserves--we doubt Hagedorn will get much traction if he tries it.
Moreover, the irony of Hagedorn running a double insurgency campaign against Miller, who served in Iraq, and Walz, who supported the war in Afghanistan from a base in Italy, might give many Southern Minnesotans reason to pause, regardless of their political stripes.
Who's helping the Southern Minnesota insurgency? Moniz reports:
Hagedorn said he will retain all of his original staff for the primary race. He said the only new development will be heavier coordination with the Minneapolis-based consulting firm P2B Strategies. The firm, which is associated with political consultant Gregg Peppin, was utilized by Hagedorn prior to the endorsement convention.
Moniz reports that Miller's side, for its part, offers this list of supporters in rebuttal to Hagedorn's claims of disstisfaction among the Republican ranks:
Biers also provided a letter signed by 78 Republicans that support Miller, which will be sent to Stevenson on Monday. Notably, the letter included signatures from Republican state chair Keith Downey, Minnesota College Republican chair Angie Hasek and state lawmakers Rep. Greg Davis, Rep. Steve Drazkowski, Rep. Duane Quam and Rep. Mike Charron. It also included signatures from Tea Party Patriots coordinator Cindy Maves and the Republican county chairs for Olmsted, Rice, Dodge, Jackson, Winona, Fillmore and Houston counties. The remaining signatures were largely concentrated around Olmsted County, Winona Couny and Fillmore County.
This is a curious list, suggesting support largely in the population-heavy eastern part of the sprawling district, although Mankato and Worthington are missing.
As for Maves' signature, perhaps the Rochester Tea Party Patriots might put some distance between her endorsement and the group, which touts its self as non-partisan and has protested IRS scrutiny in its application for non-profit status. Bluestem hopes that the group continues to act in good faith and invite all conservatives to speak at its events.
Photo: A friend likes to call Jim Hagedorn Fossie Bear. We'll run with it.
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A proposal to provide specialty license plates for women veterans in Minnesota is slowly making its way through the legislative process. It has stalled in previous years, but advocates remain hopeful.
Specialty plates have been a subject of debate in the Minnesota Legislature over the years, and lawmakers generally have been resistant to adding many more incarnations.
But advocates for these license plates argue that the plates would go a long way toward removing the invisibility that many women veterans feel, even among the well-meaning.
“This is not a vanity plate, it’s a values plate,” said veterans advocate Trista Matascastillo, a former Marine and a former member of the Minnesota National Guard.
It’s not uncommon for women veterans to feel slighted, even as the number of women veterans continues to increase. In Minnesota, there are an estimated 29,000 women vets, about 8 percent of the state’s veteran population.
At a recent hearing, West Point grad and Army and National Guard veteran Jill Troutner made the case for the plates as something visual that can’t be mistaken as recognition of anyone’s service but their own.
“Everyone notices a veteran’s plate, everyone assumes that it belongs to a man,” she told legislators. “For me, this license plate is a statement of value, that Minnesota, my state, values my contribution, my sacrifices and my patriotism in a highly visible way that will eliminate the need to explain to others that I am a military veteran.”
Minnesota was one of the first states to propose the plates, and now nine other states have adopted similar plates. . . .
And what would those other states be? West Virginia created the first plate in 2005, with Kentucky issuing "a Woman Veteran' sticker, which could be placed over the county name at the bottom of the Kentucky plate."
The Minnesota House passed HF1916, 118-0 on April 28, 2014.
It's not exactly a "politically correct" thing--with uberconservative male governors like Perry and Walker signing the bills into law--although you'd think so from listening to the offense taken by Senators Carrie Ruud, Dan Hall and a few others before HF1916, the Senate version of the bill, was passed 54-9.
How bad was it? Staunch conservative Senator Warren Limmer had to step in to share stories of how women veterans should up for Veterans Day specials at restaurants, where staff keep thanking their non-veteran husbands for their service. Bluestem has seen and heard about these sort of things happening to Iraq War women veterans we know, so we understood where the women veterans who lobbied for the plates (and the veterans groups who supported them) were coming from.
The Uptake pulled the video of the debate for us. It's jaw-dropping at times.
Image: A Wisconsin woman veteran license plate.
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Additional evidence has emerged that away from the media's camera, Senator Rosen isn't so supportive of public opinion about medical cannabis.
In an April 9. 2014, "dear colleague" letter distributed over Rosen and Alexandria Republican Bill Ingebrigtsen's signature, the senators urge fellow lawmakers to "halt this initiative" to "legalize raw Marijuana in any form" since the effort is "a direct attack at our way of life in Minnesota."
Ingebrigtsen and Rosen also call cannabis "This devastatingly addictive drug, which we both have seen firsthand, rips families apart, devastates relationships and destroys communities."
While they admit, "There is proof the marijuana has medical benefits we can agree to that," the rural senators urge colleagues to wait a year and a half for the FDA to extract cannabidiol (CBD) from hemp, while leaving THC behind.
Ingebrigtsen and Rosen attached anti-marijuana crusader Kevin Sabet's 7 big myths about marijuana and legalization, which first appeared in the Christian Science Monitor. Curiously, only one of these seven myths actually deals with the medical use of marijuana (that smoking or eating marijuana is medicine); the others are arguments against a broader legalization.
Moreover, Sabet's credentials and claims face withering scrutiny for advocates for legalization Sunil Kumar Aggarwal, a a senior resident physician at a large academic medical center in New York City. He is the author of the review article "Cannabinergic Pain Medicine: A Concise Clinical Primer and Survey of Randomized Controlled Trial Results,", documents a number of flaws in Sabet's arguments in 5 Biggest Lies from Anti-Pot Propagandist Kevin Sabet.
Readers can check out Sabet's claim and the counterarguments at the links above.
It's unclear what the senators reference when they speak of the FDA being a year and a half away from extracting cannabidiol (CBD) from marijuana. Such extracts are now available and are undergoing tests, according to Governing magazine's Chris Kardish, who reports in Medical Marijuana Oil Catches On in States:
The legislation from each state is different in terms of exact regulations and the emphasis on further research, but the underlying focus is the same: relaxing marijuana prohibitions to allow children suffering from epilepsy to take a marijuana extract that contains extremely low amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the molecule that makes users high. The oil is derived from a strain of marijuana that’s high in cannabidiol, or CBD, a component of the plant that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved for study last year hoping to find whether there’s a concrete link between the extract and relief from Dravet syndrome, a rare and debilitating form of epilepsy.
Read more about the study here. Researchers will look at the drug, called Epidiolex; a total of 150 patients in six research centers will take the drug for a year.
The federal government has signed off on a long-delayed study looking at marijuana as a treatment for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, a development that drug researchers are hailing as a major shift in U.S. policy.
The Department of Health and Human Services' decision surprised marijuana advocates who have struggled for decades to secure federal approval for research into the drug's medical uses. . . .
While more than 1 million Americans currently take medical marijuana — usually for chronic pain — rigorous medical research into the drug's effects has been limited, in part due to federal restrictions.
Marijuana remains a Schedule I substance under the federal government's Controlled Substance Act. That means the drug is considered a high-risk for abuse with no accepted medical applications.
In the past NIDA has focused its research on the risks of drug abuse and addiction, turning away researchers interested in studying the potential benefits of illegal substances.
In a committee hearing last week, Rosen stressed that marijuana is a Schedule I drug, eching the logic of law enforcement and others who point to the negative research that such a classification promotes while restricting discovery of benefits from the plant.
Nice racket if you can sustain it.
Photo: Senator Julie Rosen during the hearing for the Dibble medical marijuana bill.
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Not only is Dean Urdahl (R-Grove City) being challenged by a guy with a grudge against the judicial system, as Bluestem noted in Dean Urdahl faces MNGOP challenger Kyle Greene, but conservative activist Ford Peterson has reported to Litchfield Police that he feels that his life was threatened by a cane and walker-using 88-year-old WWII and Korean War veteran at the Meeker County Republican Convention.
A source passed the following email to Bluestem:
[email address redacted]
02/22/14 5:44 PM
Mr. Ben Aho, Litchfield Police,
Cc Chairman Mike Housman
Cc Commissioner Dale Fenrich
Cc Commissioner Beth Oberg
Cc Commissioner Bryan Larson
Cc Commissioner Mike Huberty
February 22, 2014
Ben,
Consider this an official incident report. As we discussed on the phone this afternoon, at least prior to you needing to attend to a police call, my life was threatened this morning.
I was a delegate to the Meeker County GOP Convention held this morning at the Litchfield High School, representing Dassel Township. It started at 9AM. I arrived about 8:45AM and was met at the front door by Mr. Bruce Coddington [sic], who was seated with somebody I do not know. They were taking attendance and noting the delegates.
I feel compelled to report this to someone. If I end up with a bullet in my head, I’m pretty certain my family will be upset and a few county workers will be celebrating.[emphasis added] I am uncertain as to whether this should be submitted to Litchfield PD, or Meeker Sheriff Norlin. It happened in Litchfield so I must presume Litchfield PD has jurisdiction.
Mr. Coddington [sic] is, a would guess, in his 80s. His military training and service in WWII is legendary. For some unknown reason, he decided to openly threaten me this morning.
“I want you to know that we have ways of dealing with people like you. I have training on how to deal with people like you. I want you to know that us Marines have ways of dealing with people like you and have been trained. I want you to know that.”
I was stunned. This old codger going after me for absolutely no reason. I signed in, collected my lapel name badge and moved on. The fellow sitting at the table with Bruce must have heard the whole thing as he was within 2’ of me and right next to Bruce the whole time. When I first heard it, I would have guessed it to be some warped humor from an old duffer. But the look on his face and the tone to his voice was designed to deliver a direct threat for reasons I can only speculate. I can only speculate what Bruce intends to do or how to do it. He is a Freemason in Litchfield and they too have legendary ways and methods. [emphasis added]
Walking away from Bruce I was immediately, as in 5 paces away, confronted by Hugh Wagner, former Meeker County Commissioner (coincidentally another Freemason).[emphasis added] I greeted him by putting forward my hand and while he shook it he immediately blurts out, “You need to stop going after Clark Gustafson.” I asked him what he was talking about and Hugh started blathering about “Clark is really upset. You need to stop going after him. Just wait a couple years and he will retire.” I said “We don’t have two years to wait. He needs to be gone and if that means wearing an orange suit and stripped of his pension, then so be it. You tell Clark he needs to retire. He doesn’t know how to supervise his staff and couldn’t recognize his staff doing right-from-wrong if it bit him in the ass and he needs to be gone.”
I then asked Hugh if he had heard the rumor Clark was spreading that I was a devil worshipper. “Yes, I’ve heard something about that.” Was Hugh’s response. Then he pleaded with me again “You need to stop going after Clark. He’s really upset and will retire soon anyway. Leave him alone.”
I walked away and proceeded to attend to my responsibility as delegate to the Meeker Convention. I have done nothing to provoke the threats or even the plea the I am doing something to Clark. I have no complaint against Clark so it is unclear what Hugh was talking about. But I will facilitate complaints against Clark by those who do have complaints. So the rumor mill is likely directing vengeance against me for reasons it would be impossible for me to understand.
I am not asking to press charges. I want you to know that I am not a devil worshipper and was Baptized at Gethsemane Lutheran in Dassel. But I want this written up. I’m fairly certain Coddington has had training in how to kill people because his military service in WWII is legendary. I also want you to know that the most dangerous weapon I own is my ability to tell the truth. What I do know is that County Officers telling rumor and lies have a way of being spread for political purposes. And those lies have a way of falling into the hands of less than stable people. If this is a threat Clark is spreading to send a message to me, it’s working. I get the message that he doesn’t like the truth being exposed and it becomes proof positive that we need to clean house in Meeker County. I want the public threats against me to stop. I may be forced to consider legal options as to how to end the threats and slanderous behavior by public officials and would appreciate you following up on this report officially.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me anytime.
Ford Peterson
Dassel, MN
[phone number redacted]
Well then. It's a serious matter to accuse a man of wanting to murder you. Who is this culprit?
Bruce Cottington, the first subject of the complaint, is the former owner of a Supervalu grocery store, a pillar of the local VFW, recipient of an honorary Minnesota Future Farmer of America (FFA) Degree Award and a Minnesota FFA Hall of Fame award recipient. The Minnesota Milk Producers named its "Friend of Dairy" award the Bruce Cottington. A write-up by the MMP notes:
To production, agriculture youth, and rural America. Today, the festival continues with an exchange program twice a year between Litchfield, Minnesota and Hartford, Alabama – a sister city in the program eliminate the winter blues in February, he started the Peanut Butter and Milk Festival in 1972. The festival helped to promote milk and peanut butter sandwiches since they went so well together, besides highlighting food.
In 1979, he sold his grocery store and went to work for the American Dairy Association of Minnesota, now the Midwest Dairy Association, as a field man promoting the Real Seal and working with the Check-Off program sponsored by Minnesota Dairy Farmers. Upon his retirement from the Dairy Association, he continued to work with and manage the State Fair malt stand located in the Empire Commons Building resulting in almost 20 years of service.
After his retirement from the Dairy Association, he decided to un-retire and continue to do what he does best – promote Minnesota’s Dairy Industry. He began working for Minnesota Milk as the Membership Coordinator allowing him to travel around the state and share with dairy producers the ideals and beliefs of Minnesota Milk while promoting and strengthening the industry that he truly loves. He has since retired from Minnesota Milk, but finds time in his busy schedule to support the activities of the organization such as the Dairy Day at the Capitol.
Believing that his local creamery is a true asset the community and the future of the dairy industry, often times you will find him buzzing through the First District Outlet Store checking on things, or handing out small gift certificates for 1 pound blocks of butter or cheese encouraging people to patronize the outlet store and the local dairy farmers. Taking it one step further, he does a twice weekly radio show on KLFD Radio called “Cheese Ball Corners” promoting items at the local outlet store, enlightening listeners with corny trivia and humor, discussing community events and highlighting agriculture in Meeker County besides interviewing the local dairy princesses. . . .
At the age of 15, he enlisted in the Navy during World War 2 and also did a tour of duty in Korea. He served 8 years and earned 8 Battle Ribbons in the service of our country. On Memorial Day in 2004, he represented the Minnesota American Legion at the dedication the World War 2 Memorial in Washington D.C.
In 2005, Bruce was inducted into the Minnesota FFA Hall of Fame. He has received the WCCO Radio Good Neighbor Award. And, he was also honored as a Hometown Hero by the Hutchinson radio station for his dedication to the community as a member of the Kiwanis, Shrine Club, and VFW.
And finally, in 2002, the Senate of the State of Minnesota thanked him for his lifelong service to his community, state, and country by a formal resolution on the floor of the Senate in his honor.
A former resident of Meeker County, Bluestem' editor met Cottington early on, as everyone involved in community, civic, or political organizing in the central Minnesota community does. While we lean to the left, that didn't matter to Cottington, who believes in treating all people with respect and kindness. He was also one to say hello, wave in parades, and talk about the importance of the dairy industry for the Litchfield community (Litchfield is home to First District, an independent cheese-making co-operative0.
Cottington is a life-long Republican rooted in the farm and business communities in Greater Minnesota; one of his legacies to his beloved part is his son, Scott Cottington, a nationally respected Republican consultant who runs The Voyageur Company in Mendota Heights.
Bluestem called Cottington this weekend to ask about the veracity of the report. Cottington said that he and another Republican volunteer were registering delegates, that he signed in Ford Peterson, took his registration money, and that was that. He noted that the other volunteer backs up his story.
Moreover, Cottington feels that his service in the Marines was done to "defend this country and all American citizens." He also took issue with the conspiracy theory notion of the Free Masons as a force for evil, and we laughed about the demonization of a fraternal civic organization known in reality for charitable works.
The accusation seems pretty far-fetched, we agreed, but it was clear as we talked that the cordial and cheerful veteran and civic leader was distressed by the swipes taken at him after a lifetime of service to his country, community and fellow citizens.
His accuser has made his bones in Meeker County politics by making accusations--none of which have gone to law as far as Bluestem knows--against county commissioners, a sheriff and civil servants. Some of the charges are collected on his blog, Minnesota Patriots, although he does seem to have made many past posts unavailable to the public.
We think that's all part of the game-o, and the facts have a way of sorting themselves out in politics and government, but with this latest report, Peterson is attacking a private citizen who has lived an honorable and downright admirable life, with the fear for his life apparently generated by some of the most pop-tart of the conspiracy theories.
The substance of the report to the police dishonors not only combat veterans of the United States Marine Corps by painting them as lifelong killers, but members of fraternal organizations which aid hospitals, medical research, education, food shelves and domestic abuse shelters across the state. National Geographic magazine debunks some of the myth here, while Public Eye looks at origins of the silly notion that Masons are assassins.
In his defense, Peterson has contributed to his community's well-being by being a gadfly. His questioning of conflicting information contained in school levy documents mailed to Dassel-Cokato District residents led Representative Urdahl to look into the matter. The Litchfield Independent Review reported:
. . . But after conferring with State Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Acton Township, School District Superintendent Jeff Powers learned that the district should have phrased the ballot question to request $650 per student — not the $438 per student figure. If it had passed, the ballot question would have prevented the school district from levying as much as Powers says is needed to balance the district’s budget over the long term.
. . .Concerns about the ballot question surfaced after Dassel resident Ford Peterson and other district voters began to question what Peterson described as conflicting information contained within those documents mailed to voters. Feeling confused, Peterson said, he asked Urdahl to examine the ballot question’s legality.
Urdahl said he inquired with state officials and discovered the district did make a mistake in wording the ballot question.
On Oct. 31, Powers sent a letter to district voters explaining the mistake and outlining options for handling it. “I want people to understand what they’re voting on and then be able to make a choice, and right now I think that’s very hard to have happen,” Powers said on Monday.
Peterson said he helped Powers in crafting the Oct. 31 letter explaining the mistake. “We just put together to the best of our ability a disclosure,” Peterson said.
Powers said he had several conversations with Peterson about the levy’s legality. “We’ve had some very good visits,” Powers said.
Urdahl said Location Equity Aid is different from other types of aid received by school districts because it was created as part of tax legislation adopted during this year’s Legislature session. Because of its inclusion in a tax bill, the district needed to include the aid amount in the levy request.
“We have a complicated and convoluted system. It needs to be simplified,” Urdahl said. . . .
That sort of watchdog work is a good thing. Imagining that community-minded senior citizens living with disabilities are killers out of a Dan Brown or Nicholas Cage movie or whatever whackdoodle conspiracy about Masons and Marines? Not so much.
Photo: Bruce Cottington,still helping out in Litchfield, despite using a walker. Via Facebook.
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[Ride Staffkeeper Peter] Lengkeek says "Long ago, when we were exiled from hereby order of the government, there was mostly women and children left and they're the ones that survived that journey. Its because of the women is why we're here now."
The riders stopped in the Marshall area and the Marshall Independent reported in SMSU hosts Dakota Riders:
Southwest Minnesota State University hosted riders from the Dakota nations on the ninth annual journey of healing and reconciliation on Thursday night. After dinner there was a viewing of the 2008 documentary on the history of the ride.
In 2005, Jim Miller had a dream of 38 riders traveling across the plains beckoning him to join them. Researching the history of the Sioux War of 1862, he came to believe his vision was calling him on a sacred quest to ride from Lower Brule, South Dakota, 340 miles to Mankato, where on Dec. 26, 1862, 38 Dakota Sioux were hanged after the end of the war.
Two more Dakota who escaped to Canada were later returned to the U.S. and hanged. . . .
Here's a Youtube of the documentary. It's 78 minutes long, but worth watching.
Photo: The riders, via KEYC-TV.
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Buried in VA warns shutdown threatens vets, a Politico story by Juana Summers, there's this example of a clod from Kansas wasting people's time with partisan rhetoric:
At times, the hearing veered tense, particularly as Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) questioned Shinseki on whether he believed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid liked veterans or not.
“Do you think Sen. Reid doesn’t like our veterans or the VA in particular,” Huelskamp asked Shinseki, drawing a swift rebuke from Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.).
“That’s beneath this Congress and certainly beneath this committee to question a commitment to veterans,” Walz said.
Responding to Huelskamp’s question, Shinseki said Reid “very highly values veterans.”
“As to why we are unable – Congress is unable – to do its business, I will leave that to the members to discuss,” Shinseki said.
Later, Huelskamp apologized.
House Republicans have passed a number of piecemeal bills to fund different parts of the government, including Veterans Affairs. But Senate Democrats and President Barack Obama have rejected the strategy.
Shinseki also argued that the VA’s efforts to chip away at the backlog of disability claims pending for longer than 125 days could be hampered by the furloughs of civilian employees, particularly those at the Veterans Benefits Administration and the Office of Information Technology.
Here's the committee U stream archive; Huelskamp's remarks start at about 1:51:40 in, and Walz is right after (about 1:57 in).
But they're not the only ones given the fantods by plans to commemorate the late Venezuelan president. A source close to the legislative process tells Bluestem that the same objection is being raised about Minnesota House File 1631 and the senate companion bill, SF1509.
State representative Carlos Mariani (DFL-St. Paul) and state senator Patricia Torres Ray (DFL-Minneapolis) introduced the legislation to establish March 31 as Cesar Chavez legislative day,
Section 1. [3.9224] CESAR CHAVEZ LEGISLATIVE DAY.
(a) Every year, March 31 shall be known as Cesar Chavez Legislative Day
to celebrate the growing Latino community in Minnesota. Latinos make up the
fastest-growing demographic group in the state, with a current population of over 250,000 individuals throughout the state. Dedicating March 31 of each year as Cesar Chavez Legislative Day provides the citizens of Minnesota the opportunity to learn about and appreciate the Latino community and their contributions to our state.
As a community organizer, Chavez improved the lives and working conditions of
millions of Latinos nationwide. He dedicated his life to advocating for labor rights, political representation for racial and ethnic minorities, environmental justice, registering voters, and improving literacy for farm workers to enable them to become United States citizens.
After our source commented on the Bluestem editor's personal Facebook page link to Buzzfeed's 15 People Who Think Google Is Honoring Hugo Chávez, "Funny, we're having the same problem with HF 1631," we quipped that we'd found our April Fools Day post. She replied, "I only wish it were a joke! Need more truthiness in these parts."
Photo: That guy. A photo illustration
of the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS
Cesar Chavez (T-AKE 14). Chavez served in the Navy from 1944-1946 and
became a civil rights activist and a leader in the American labor
movement. Cesar Chavez will serve as a combat logistics force ship
delivering ammunition, food, fuel and other dry cargo to U.S. and allied
ships at sea. (U.S. Navy photo illustration by Mass Communication
Specialist Jay M. Chu/Released via Wikipedia Commons).
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Because DFL party rules forced the endorsing convention to be held after the date for candidates to withdraw their candidacy, all four names remain on tomorrow's ballot.
Two more letters in today's Free Press support Clark Johnson; a third urges support for Karl Johnson, as a backer decides that he's not taking Karl's word for it that he no longer wants the job. All three letters are from respected area citizens.
I am supporting Clark Johnson for the House of Representatives in
District 19A. Clark Johnson will stop the borrowing from public schools
to balance our state’s budget. He would partner with the majority
seeking reason and rational solutions to a decade’s worth of budget
deficits.
Clark Johnson is committed to a four-lane Highway 14 to New Ulm. Clark Johnson would work with the majority to find solutions.
Join me and support Clark Johnson for the House of Representatives in District 19A Jan. 29 and Feb. 12.
I will vote for my longtime neighbor, Clark Johnson, the DFL-endorsed
candidate for state legislator for District 19A, in the primary Tuesday
and again in the special election Feb. 12.
Clark Johnson’s ability to listen to and connect with people would aid
him greatly in working towards his top priority, a stable economy that
recognizes the importance of agriculture and small business in our area.
His would be an articulate, thoughtful and strong voice for outstate Minnesota. Vote twice for Clark Johnson.
After Terry Morrow resigned, I was very happy to see that Karl Johnson
decided to run as a Democrat for the now open District 19A seat.
As a farmer and a small business owner, Karl Johnson would be a refreshing change for this district in St. Paul.
I was disappointed that Karl Johnson didn’t get the party endorsement. I believe they really missed the boat on this one.
If you want someone who will work to relieve the taxes and
over-regulations on small business and local government and get this
state going in the right direction again, vote for Karl Johnson.
In addition to being a veteran, McLaughlin served on the Mankato City Council in the 1990s and the Blue Earth County board from 1999 through 2010.
Update: MN HD resident and Bluestem contributor Max Hailperin has commented:
It is perhaps worth noting that two of the letter writers live in 19A,
whereas the third does not appear to. (1129 N Broad St., like most of
Mankato, is in 19B.)
Fleming and Solo live in the district, while Mclaughlin does not. [end update]
The dueling letters do not appear to be hijinks on the part of Republican or Independence Party agitators. Solo's daughter Leah was instrumental in the election of Tim Walz in 2006 and has since become a bright light in the state DFL. McLaughlin's son Mike, an Iraq War veteran, was featured in a Walz television ad last year.
The dueling letters represent an honest split on the part of their authors, however much both Johnsons want voters to pick Clark Johnson in tomorrow's primary.
A scattered wintry mix, followed by dropping temperatures, is predicted for tomorrow's primary, so turnout is likely to be light. Stay tuned.
The special election, set for February 12, was triggered by the resignation of former state representative Terry Morrow to take a job in Chicago. Morrow had run without opposition in the 2012 election.
Photo: Clark Johnson supporters prevailed at the endorsing convention; will they prevail tomorrow?
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All of the statements, opinions, and views expressed on this site by Sally Jo Sorensen are solely her own, save when she attributes them to other sources.
The opinions, statements, and views of contributing writers are their own.
Sorensen, editor and proprietor of Bluestem Prairie, serves clients in the business and nonprofit sectors. While progressive in outlook, she does not caucus with any political party.
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