Dear True,
I grew up in the Kentucky mountains of Appalachia. So I know from White Trash. They don't want no "Boy" to be president and so they cut off their own faces to vote against him. Obama is the only candidate who cares about the working poor. Hillary? Ha! She is the working rich. She and Hubby sent zillions of good jobs overseas with their trade agreements.
But the White Trash of Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia hear from the pulpit how to vote and it ain't for the only guy who cares about them.
A terrifying parallel exists between Appalachia and Northeastern Minnesota. Both are victims of big coal, big mining. In Kentucky the beautiful mountains of my childhood are being cut off at the top to get more coal. The debris of the dynamiting and destruction are plunged into the watershed; toxic chemicals are re-named as the bland label "fill." So it well may be here in Minnesota if Polymet goes ahead with a new copper mine that leaches into the St. Louis county watershed and ultimately creates a new dead zone where life just doesn't go on.
Ya, the White Trash of the South and the dumb shits of the Northeast either don't know or don't give a shit that their lands and waters are being destroyed by big money interest to whom both Clinton and McCain are beholden. BUT, here at least we like Obama. Down there they won't ever, ever vote for a "Boy."
A "Sub-deb" from Kentucky (meaning I was White but not Trash)
PS If it is True that 56 percent of Minnesotans approve of "Pawlenty for the Rich" who was in large part responsible for the Minneapolis bridge collapse and our tanking economy, well I guess you get the government you deserve.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
White trash go for Hillary
Friday, May 16, 2008
Ugly America
Dear True,
I’m thinking about the Ugly Americans, about what evil they have done to the world so far in the first decade of the 21st century. Let me count the ways:
First there was what we might call 9/11 revenge: to avenge the deaths of 4,000 Americans on that tragic day we have killed hundreds of thousands of innocent citizens in other nations, mostly Iraq and Afghanistan. We have left millions homeless, we have destroyed their infrastructure and centuries of culture, we have committed rape and murder by our hired mercenaries like Blackwater, we have caused 4,000 soldiers to die and untold others ruined lives, suicides, post traumatic stress unlike any war in living memory and we have failed to provide jobs or health care or training to these fractured souls when they come home. Have we taken enough revenge yet? Can we finally say, yes, we now understand why “they” hate us so much?
Second, the markets of the whole world are reeling from the bad mortgage loans given out by greedy profiteers, yes, here in the US of A. The dollar has tanked for similar reasons and the trillions of dollars of federal debt are owed by and large to other countries like Japan and China.
Next, look at our record on torture of prisoners, warrantless spying on everybody, destruction of a free press by the big media giants, dirty tricks politicking to win at any cost, the Bush-Cheney-Rove cabal’s devastation of our own constitution which so wisely provided separation of powers, the dismantling of all the good and great social nets that brought widespread security and prosperity after the Depression…. This list is endless. Look at the millions of people here and billions elsewhere who can’t meet their basic survival needs for food, clothing and shelter thanks to our ruinous economic policies and the rampant greed of big oil. Look at how everything costs so much because it has to be delivered via oil-based energy, at how diverting grain production to ethanol has caused starvation.
Worst of all, don’t look too hard at how fast the Arctic permafrost is melting and releasing poisonous methane into the air we breathe, or at the dizzying speed of carbon emissions already spiraled beyond sustainable levels (i.e. that 350 ppm). Don’t look because you will recoil in terror, because there is probably no turning back from global disaster even if we stopped all coal-fired plants NOW and we won’t. No it’s bidness as usual in the good old US of A, the greed and hubris capitol of the world. It’s ME, NOW, SPEND, PILLAGE and PLUNDER. It’s cut down the mountaintops and create dead zones where no life survives just to mine a little more treasure trove out of Mother Earth, an astonishing and horrific metaphor for all we have done, all we have become.
Anonymous
Thursday, May 15, 2008
A chance to stand against torture
To Minnesota supporters of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture Sincerely, Declaration of Principles for a Presidential Executive Order On Prisoner Treatment, Torture and Cruelty (This statement is embargoed until released on June 26, 2008) Though we come from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life, we agree that the use of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment against prisoners is immoral, unwise, and un-American. In our effort to secure ourselves, we have resorted to tactics which do not work, which endanger US personnel abroad, which discourage political, military, and intelligence cooperation from our allies, and which ultimately do not enhance our security. Our President must lead our nation back to our core principles. We must be better than our enemies, and our treatment of prisoners captured in the battle against terrorism must reflect our character and values as Americans. Therefore, we believe the President of the United States should issue an Executive Order that provides as follows: The "Golden Rule." We will not authorize or use any methods of interrogation that we would not find acceptable if used against Americans, be they civilians or soldiers. One national standard. We will have one national standard for all US personnel and agencies for the interrogation and treatment of prisoners. Currently, the best expression of that standard is the US Army Field Manual, which will be used until any other interrogation technique has been approved based on the Golden Rule principle. The rule of law. We will acknowledge all prisoners to our courts or the International Red Cross. We will in no circumstance hold persons in secret prisons or engage in disappearances. In all cases, prisoners will have the opportunity to prove their innocence in ways that fully conform to American principles of fairness. Duty to protect. We acknowledge our historical commitment to end the use of torture and cruelty in the world. The US will not transfer any person to countries that use torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. Checks and balances. Congress and the courts play an invaluable role in protecting the values and institutions of our nation and must have and will have access to the information they need to be fully informed about our detention and interrogation policies. Clarity and accountability. All US personnel-whether soldiers or intelligence staff-deserve the certainty that they are implementing policy that complies fully with the law. Henceforth all US officials who authorize, implement, or fail in their duty to prevent the use of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners will be held accountable, regardless of rank or position. This initiative is coordinated by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, Evangelicals for Human Rights, and the Center for Victims of Torture. |
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Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Let them eat Triscuits
Dear readers,
Who will speak for those of us devastated by rampant inflation of food, gas, heat and electricity? Hmm, looks like it is up to little old me...
What is the deal here in Cook County? While the busy-ness elected officials continue to seek new sales taxes-a regressive burden on the poor-look out! Prices are rising at alarming rates.
Maybe not so surprising, since the world we know is also disintegrating (carbon emissions, melting Arctic permafrost releasing methane that humans can't breathe...)
Back to the point: True tries to eat right while respecting sustainable agriculture. For True, this does not mean buying organic fruits and vegetables! Ya ya it is the right thing to do BUT...
True is broke. So far not reduced to seeking macaroni from the food shelf, but no way being able to afford organic produce. Is that a sin?
There's a disconnect here. The rich can afford to buy organic, but I can't. I still owe big bucks for my winter fuel bills. My well water line doesn't work.
And yet I get guilt-tripped by the organic PC club?
Hello, folks. I used to have Triscuits and (Wisconsin, no hormones) cheese for dinner. Ya? When you are old and creaky maybe this will look good to you too.
Somehow I manage to buy fairly healthy food for myself and my beloved companion animals.
But, I won't be buying any more Triscuits, my former fave, 100 percent whole wheat with no trans fats.
Last week the price of a box was $3.19 for 9.5 ounces (a reach, by the pound this would buy some very fancy cheese at the coop); this week it is $4.00....
Like lots of poor folks, I can still get fat on the cheap stuff: white bread, pasta, potatoes, and corn chips. Nobody in Cook County need go without Kraft Dinner! Yum yum, everybody loves comfort food...
But what to do to make a difference in this world where people in Burma starve without even empty calories? True can't afford to make a difference!
New mining industry leaves Arrowhead wetlands vulnerable
New mining industry leaves Arrowhead wetlands vulnerable
By Elanne Palcich
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
In the late 1800s, the U.S. government claimed the land of Minnesota, and pushed the indigenous people onto reservations. The huge pine forests of northern Minnesota were cut, red earth was discovered, and immigrants from a variety of struggling northern and southern European nations moved in to become workers for the mining companies.
While the Iron Range continues to be mined, following bands of taconite rock, the Arrowhead region of Minnesota escaped the mining process. Some of the northern counties were in large part wetlands, while others remained forestland. The Arrowhead region became known for its lakes and for the quality of outdoor recreational opportunities — the vacation land of the north, where campers "hear the lapping waters, hear the whispering of the pine trees."
These northern wetlands escaped the destruction that occurred as the rest of the state turned urban or agricultural.
Scientists know that wetlands have evolved over the past 10,000 years, since the recession of the last glaciers. We also know now that wetlands sequester carbon — and that destroying wetlands releases carbon that has been stored over centuries. There is evidence that global climate change is literally being fueled by the burning of fossil fuels and the accompanying release of CO2 into the air.
A new threat in the Arrowhead
Minnesota's wetlands may hold the key to moderating climate change on a local level, except for one thing: the threat of an entirely new mining industry poised to begin in the Arrowhead.
The industrialization of the burgeoning populations of China and India is driving demand and prices for copper, nickel, platinum, and gold — precious metals bonded within sulfide ores throughout the Duluth Complex, the underlying rock formation of the Arrowhead Region.
These precious metals are very low grade — 0.4 percent copper, 0.1 percent nickel and 0.01 ounces per ton of platinum, palladium, and gold. But the current price is enough to bring a half-dozen Canadian companies into the Arrowhead, exploring in an unregulated fashion and pulling every political string for funding and support.
The international balance of economic power is changing. Just three generations after the take-over of native lands by extractive industries, Canadian companies are seeking to turn the remaining Arrowhead Region into a colonial outpost for China and India. For basically a handful of jobs, we are turning over our land and our culture so that Canadian companies and their shareholders can earn fantastic sums on precious metals while our workers will receive $40,000-a-year nonunion wages (translate into no pension and no health care) based on the price of copper. And when the price of copper drops, or the precious-metals market collapses, or the price of diesel fuel makes mining uneconomical, the Canadian companies will pull up stakes and leave northern Minnesota with an acid-mine drainage problem requiring perpetual treatment — almost forever.
No way to replace lost wetlands
The Arrowhead region of northern Minnesota is our Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It's our Brazilian rainforest. It is the equivalent of the remaining special places left on each continent, in each country. When we lose our wetlands, there is no way to replace them. There is no way to reconstruct a process that took thousands of years to form. There is no way to recapture the carbon released when wetlands are destroyed. There is no way to rebuild the wildlife habitat and plant communities that will be eliminated.
At the same time, this new mining industry would spew hundreds of thousands of tons of CO2 into the air, further contributing to global warming.
Consider, too, that the Arrowhead is just the first piece of the metallic sulfide pie. While exploration is progressing in the Birch Lake area, along the Kawishiwi River, Partridge River, and the St. Louis River, companies are also exploring along the Rainy, Pigeon, Root, Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, the Mille Lacs area, in the Big Sandy Watershed (Aitkin County), and in Carlton County.
Bill would set a precedent
In the meantime, U.S. 8th District Rep. James Oberstar has introduced a bill in Congress (H.R. 4292, the Superior National Forest Land Adjustment Act of 2007) that would fast track a land sale between the U.S. Forest Service and Polymet, Inc., in anticipation of the permitting of Polymet's proposed metallic sulfide mine near Hoyt Lakes. While this bill singles out Polymet for special treatment, it would also set a precedent for the selling of public lands to private mining companies nationwide, or wherever the Forest Service does not own the mineral rights. Much of the mineral estate in Superior National Forest and the Boundary Waters is owned by mining interests, not the Forest Service. What implications might this have for the future?
What exactly are those of us living here thinking? Are we in denial regarding the ecological degradation that is taking place on a global scale and how this is going to affect our future? Are we naive enough to believe propaganda about clean mining technology that is being pushed upon us by mining-company spokesmen who are set to receive huge bonuses once the sulfide industry gets up and running?
Or are we going to believe in our own ability to create an alternative future that allows us to finally acknowledge the true heritage of the Arrowhead Region — that of living in harmony with the land?
Elanne Palcich, a retired elementary school teacher, lives in Chisholm, Minn.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The media is the message
True here.
Well, we at True claim to confront the big issues nobody else will take on...So, the media.
You might think that we in Cook County aren't affected by the machinations of the Bushies to buy and control the press...
And, in that you might be correct. Nonetheless, we are hampered in our press coverage by the FACT of the existence of two papers. Neither one has the resources to cover all of the news. Neither one has the courage to express opinions about the decisions being made that will determine our future. Such as, what would be the impact of closing our pool and making it part of a new county facility? Commissioner Fenwick appears to be the one in favor of this proposal. But who reports on this critical news?
Recently the Cook County News Herald hired a new editor, not a local, to replace Jay Anderson. Since then, the News Herald reporting has detioriated sadly. Meetings are missed, especially on the West End. Issues are not addressed, such as the impairment of the Poplar River and the septic system impairements in Cook County including Clean Water Legacy Grants in mitigation.
Is there any virtue in having two papers, which have to divide advertising revenue and need to cover the same stories?
NO, what we need is one high quality local paper and that is what we don't have. It's sorta like Obama and Hillary.
Meanwhile, if you want to get the real news, tune into WTIP and/or check out the website: Http://wtip.com
If y'all would like to weigh in on the merits of the two papers, feel free to publish your comments here OR perhaps more important, send directly to the papers.
The traffic tickets charged to Maranda Weber
True recognizes the enormous community concern over the death of Dr. Ken Peterson last fall. In our posts we have expressed the opinion that charging Ms. Weber with the equivalent of a speeding ticket does not satisfy the grief and puzzlement experienced by our residents.
So we are truly astonished by the claims of Ms. Weber and her attorneys that she cannot receive a fair trial or hearing in Cook County.
Ask any citizen on the street: they will tell you that she has already had a fair hearing with the grand jury.
Many others have received similar misdemeanor tickets for far lesser offences that don't involve the death of a human being.
These traffic tickets have been consistently upheld by Judge Sandvik. True can speak to this, having been "convicted" himself of a similar offense some years ago and subjected to a lecture by the judge despite the fact that there was no harm done.
Why is Ms. Weber resisting even this mild slap on the wrist? Actions need to have consequences. Justice and reparation satisfy deep needs of human society.
