By RON BROCHU
Hells Angels were cast as the good guys while cops and media were broadly disparaged during a Tuesday community meeting in Carlton.
“Harassment by law enforcement” ruined an opportunity for local firms to capitalize on the weeklong Hells Angels visit, said meeting organizer Tim Rogentine, who rented his bar to the motorcycle club during the last week of July. Making matters worse, advance news stories spread fear throughout the community, further squelching business, he added.
“Our community was wronged – that’s what I feel. We want to make sure this doesn’t happen in the future,” he told about 30 people who attended the session.
Rogentine was among the first business owners to complain about the heavy police presence, which included helicopter flights, patrols by several visiting sheriff’s departments, assistance from the Minnesota State Patrol, ATF agents and other federal officers. Even before the Angels’ visit began, squads were parked at the entrance to his establishment, The Lost Isle, and patrols were stopping club members for every minor traffic violation, Rogentine said July 28.
Although his intention Tuesday was to receive comment from other business owners, few attended. Most participants were bikers. Like Rogentine, they said police overreacted, contending they not only targeted Hells Angels, but also stopped unaffiliated motorcycle enthusiasts, often without probable cause.
“As far as I’m concerned, the police didn’t protect me – they scared me,” said resident Michael Lavoie. “The Highway Patrol was completely out of hand.”
Many people have expressed similar disbelief during the two weeks since Hells Angels departed the Northland. Proctor Speedway fans complained the presence of a few Angels July 31 prompted authorities to repeatedly circle the track with a helicopter. Lavoie said excessive patrols scared people from a weekly VFW raffle in Carlton.
“The cops left a stigma on this community. I don’t think a one of us will ever trust them again,” Lavoie said.
Some blamed Sheriff Kelly Lake, saying her deputies have a reputation for harassing bikers. One said he’s been tailgated several times by Carlton County squads.
“It ain’t only the Hells Angels they give shit to – it’s everybody. I’ve never heard of such bullshit in all my life,” he said.
“Carlton County has its own rules,” lamented another resident.
Waitress Mary Ableiter criticized Lake for comments she made in a TV interview.
The sheriff suggested overtime paid to strengthen police presence would infuse cash into the community. Ableiter contended cops scared customers away and barely spent a nickel.
“None of law enforcement came in to give me business or tips,” she said. “Local customers stayed away because patrol cars went in and out all night long” at the truck stop where she’s employed.
Rogentine criticized a federal unit called “the bar crew” that dressed in bullet-proof ninja-type bests and sometimes carried rifles. One such unit was spotted near Curly’s Bar in Duluth’s Lincoln Park.
“If the Hells Angels went into a bar, four of them would follow and stand against the wall,” he said. One area bar owner asked members of the unit for identification.
“I don’t have to show you shit,” the officer replied, according to Rogentine.
“Business was affected. Our civil rights were broke for no apparent reason,” he said.
Wisconsin biker Andrew Mathiassen agreed the problem extended beyond local deputies.
“It’s ATF and the feds. The probable cause was absent. People were being pulled over just because they were bikers. Every time I turned around, there was a cop behind me,” he said. “If we don’t write our Congressmen, next time they’ll target someone else, like snowmobilers. “
Meanwhile, Mathiassen said the media inaccurately reported one story. He said the Angel accused of stealing a motorcycle was innocent. Paperwork for the sale simply hadn’t yet been processed, he said.
Nobody from the law enforcement attended Tuesday’s meeting, although Rogentine said he did not invite them.
Although dissent was limited, one man said people are naïve if they believe Hells Angels is simply a motorcycle club, arguing that members are “very capable of doing harm.”
Rogentine admitted little can be done to reverse the economic damage he believes authorities inflicted. Lavoie, however, suggested residents voice their concerns to the Carlton County Board.
“County commissioners are the ones who have control of this county and all of the foolishness that goes on here with the Sheriff’s Department,” he said. But with just 30 people at the session – few of them from the business community – it’s hard to know whether they represent a community consensus.
This story also appeared in the Aug. 14, 2009 Reader Weekly
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Paranoia grips
Hells Angels gathering
By RON BROCHU
Squads dotted Highway 210 like flies on a turd Tuesday night in Carlton, mustering a full show of law enforcement to meet a real or imagined threat posed by the national gathering of Hells Angels.
Suddenly, the sky was filled with red and blue lights as several cars gathered at the entrance to the Lost Isle, the Carlton bar and grill where bike traffic was becoming heavy. From a distance, it was evident cops and Angels were engaged in a tense discussion. Members of the motorcycle club slowly walked closer to investigate, followed by non-members who were visiting the tavern out of habit and/or curiosity.
The scene was a classic face-off, explained one Angel, who added that law enforcement in Carlton was heavier than the group typically encounters at its national gatherings.
“It’s a waste of time and money,” he said of the massive show of force.
But it’s exactly what local authorities had planned, according to local cources with ties to police. All along, the goal was to make northern Minnesota very unattractive to Hells Angels, hoping they’d never return. Officers were forced to cancel vacations in order to maximize their numbers. Bottom line: Stop bikers whenever possible, check identifications, registrations -- anything that might discourage their return.
“It’s just driving money away from the area,” a local biker, unaffiliated with Hells Angels, lamented inside the tavern. “It sucks.”
By any analysis, the bar scene was strictly tame, if not downright lame. Despite live music, few people danced. Most Angels hovered close to the bar, joking with others who obviously were long-time friends. Unlike most bar scenes after 10 p.m., nobody was falling-down drunk or lacing every sentence with “F” bombs.
Despite the hassle outside, members of the worldwide motorcycle club declined to express disdain -- at least not for the permanent record. The club never comments to reporters, said a Minnesota member known as J.R., and Tuesday night would be no exception.
“But feel free to stay and enjoy the time you spend with us,” he added.
The same decision was passed down when The Reader sought an interview Monday night.
“Maybe somebody else will talk to you, but I won’t,” a young
Angel said at the bar, quickly walking away. A larger crowd in the parking lot
stood in unison behind a makeshift spokesman.
“We’d rather keep this private,” he said politely.
Media shizzle
Tough editors, of course, fire reporters who leave a news scene without demanding cooperation, whether it intrudes upon busy cops, grieving relatives, bleeding crime victims or, in this case, a private gathering. Newsroom bosses not only want the story, but they demand expert color commentary from professors, authors, sociologists – virtually anybody having a thousand-dollar job title.
But to what end? In droves, readers are dumping newspapers coast to coast despite 72-point headlines that beg “READ ME!” One angry subscriber once brought the issue home during a local complaint session that was impossible to forget.
“You call it a 72-point head? I call it ‘Murder Font,’ ” he barked at a group of editors who were trying to downplay his concerns. “You put the ‘Murder Font’ on a cover story that wasn’t worthy of page 12,” he said while being ignored.
In recent weeks, local media have slapped Hells Angels with the “Murder Font.” Even as a few bikers quietly gathered Monday night in Carlton, local stations reported that Superior and Douglas County cops had coached business owners on how to deal with the two-wheeled visitors.
“Call 9-1-1,” said an official-looking letter as it was panned by the camera.
That, of course, is good advice whenever there’s danger. But what constitutes danger? Is doing business with a motorcycle club more dangerous than walking behind the YMCA – a downtown murder site that some news organizations wrongly confused with Central Hillside?
Danger? What danger?
Despite official warnings, the idea of meeting the Hell’s Angels was a popular notion as this week began. People having a variety of backgrounds expressed little fear about driving to Carlton to have a beer with the group. Perhaps that’s because the warnings weren’t accompanied by evidence convincing anyone of real danger. Few took much stock in historical references to a fatal stabbing at the famous Altamont Speedway, where the Rolling Stones hired Hells Angels to provide concert security.
That event occurred in 1968. That’s NINETEEN SIXTY EIGHT, as in 41 years ago. Many current Angels weren’t even born then, and Mick Jagger didn’t need Viagara. References to a 2002 scuffle between Angels and rival group in Laughlin, Nev., also failed as a deterrent, even though two murders occurred (both of the victims were Hells Angels).
Looking at the big picture, how many murders have been perpetrated in the Duluth area since ‘02, most between people who knew each other well? People aren’t stupid. The world is a violent place, and it’s constantly getting worse. Violent crime drama is relentlessly blasted across TV screens day and night. It’s no wonder that people show little fear of living on the edge.
That desire, let’s not forget, is being fed well by the news media. Hells Angels never sent out a news release announcing their visit. They never invited reporters or anyone outside of the club to their gathering. The entire frenzy was created by the law enforcement community and editors who felt the need to ring an alarm.
Catch 22
Cops, unfortunately, are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. If no crime is linked to the bikers, people will say police overreacted. If the opposite happens, people will say they left the public ill-prepared. And if a rival club invades the gathering, such as Wisconsin’s “Outlaws,” people will complain police substantially underreacted.
Editors, however, may just be milking another overfed cow - grasping for low-hanging fruit far outside the Garden of Eden. By next week, we’ll learn if they rang a bell that didn’t need to get rung. For without the press pimping a story that lacks any real hook, few people would even know Hells Angels came within 1,000 miles of Carlton.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Like Michael Jackson,
Americans losing the battle
By RON BROCHU
We’re a sorry society. In the height of a major recession, as America inches closer to ruin each day and people lose their homes and savings, our shining achievement is to glorify a celebrity who died from an overdose of prescription dope.
Yeah – dope. Michael Jackson apparently died from legal medicine that’s no different than the prescription amphetamines (“White Cross”) or sedatives (“Reds”) that killed thousands of indescript teens in the ‘60s and 70s. He was a junkie whose doctors are no more innocent than street pushers.
Let’s concede up front that Jackson was tremendously talented. No argument that he excelled at his craft. His music and choregraphy inspired millions. Yet he was a mixed bag. Jackson said openly that sleeping with young boys was admirable adult behavior. How would any of us react if we learned our children were sleeping in the same bed with an adult hockey coach, cleric or Scout leader?
Jackson isn’t the first celeb to get away with behavior that would send the rest of us behind bars. The American justice system, despite claims to the contrary, favors the rich – those who can afford top lawyers. An average screw head from Central Hillside or North End will end up with an assembly line public defender that gets paid the same stipend win or lose and has little incentive to carry any case beyond bargaining with an overworked prosecutor.
The double standard, however, matters little to star-struck Americans, who by the millions begged to attend Jackson’s memorial service. Those same individuals don’t cross the street to demand government accountability or attend a military funeral. If life were fair, they’d be judged by their priorities. Instead, they’re judged by their collection of CDs, ATVs, snowmobiles and other meaningless junk.
Doomed generation
There’s enough blame to go around, but the tail-end baby boomers – those of us who graduated from high school in the late 60s and early 70s – fueled Jackson’s career and sired today’s self-indulgent young adults. As teens, we preached high ethics and demanded change, but soon became Rolex revolutionaries, forsaking our ideals to chase the easy money – just like our materialistic parents.
All said, we created a sad state of affairs for America, including the Twin Ports:
• On the financial front, our strongest institutions are for sale to the highest bidders – often ones from China, Europe or India – because we’ve lost our financial sensibilities. Profits that should have been reinvested into new rail lines, factories and technology have instead been handed to institutional investors whose only allegiance is to the almighty dollar – not the United States. As they redirect our lifeblood into tax-free foreign safe havens, it’s possible America could be overtaken in a bloodless coup as overseas investors gradually purchase our banks, manufacturers, even our government debt. The evidence is just up Highway 53, where foreign corporations are taking over Iron Range mines and funding future developments. Does anyone believe these absentee owners will care about our area in any responsive or charitable way?
• Big government reeks like an armpit rag and exhibits no signs of meaningful life. Congress reflects the whims and wishes of corporate, government, union and religious lobbyists. All who enter soon become millionaires brainwashed by the Beltway mentality. Meanwhile state governments – witness Wisconsin and Minnesota – are little more than partisan bickering halls where Republicans and Democrats take turns forcing failed economic strategies on weary taxpayers.
• Cities like Duluth have fallen hard. Our decades-long dependence on state and federal money made us complacent when mayors like Gary Doty played tough with inquisitive reporters while giving free reign to union reps and mediocre managers. Now, we’re paying for our apathy, driving down broken streets, dumping overflow sewage into our drinking water and paying outlandish taxes.
Where's the beef?
Mayor Don Ness, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and President Barack Obama are among a select group of politicians who are making tough decisions, yet they need help. But from where?
There was a time when strong leaders emerged from the business community. Where are they today – on the city, state or national level? For instance, who is the most civic-minded, active business leader in Duluth? In Minnesota? Nationwide? Why are you drawing a blank?
Locally, organized labor clearly has more standouts than business. Alan Netland, Craig Olson and Ken Loeffler-Kemp are far more recognizable than anyone in the business sector. And their activism has paid off for union members – whether taxpayers can afford their victories or not.
Such is the outcome when citizens ignore civic responsibilities, focusing more on garish entertainers than real world problems. The same can be said for the news media, which spends more time investigating which drug offed Jackson than which banks are getting lavish taxpayer handouts, more time promoting hockey rinks than investigating Doty’s municipally paid health insurance.
It’s almost inconceivable. Fifty years ago, nobody could have predicted the popularity attainable by a celebrity who institutionalized the on-stage genital grope. Nor would they have seen General Motors die for lack of innovation, or Chrysler for producing crappy engines.
Have we been sold out, sold ourselves out or both?
It really doesn’t matter; nobody seems to care – not so long as the unemployment checks continue. Unfortunately, however, the stimulus package is likely to fail. Economic and moral recovery can’t be purchased like some kind of Stairway to Heaven. Times have changed. They’ve changed for the worse.
This story was originally published in the July 15 Reader Weekly.
We’re a sorry society. In the height of a major recession, as America inches closer to ruin each day and people lose their homes and savings, our shining achievement is to glorify a celebrity who died from an overdose of prescription dope.
Yeah – dope. Michael Jackson apparently died from legal medicine that’s no different than the prescription amphetamines (“White Cross”) or sedatives (“Reds”) that killed thousands of indescript teens in the ‘60s and 70s. He was a junkie whose doctors are no more innocent than street pushers.
Let’s concede up front that Jackson was tremendously talented. No argument that he excelled at his craft. His music and choregraphy inspired millions. Yet he was a mixed bag. Jackson said openly that sleeping with young boys was admirable adult behavior. How would any of us react if we learned our children were sleeping in the same bed with an adult hockey coach, cleric or Scout leader?
Jackson isn’t the first celeb to get away with behavior that would send the rest of us behind bars. The American justice system, despite claims to the contrary, favors the rich – those who can afford top lawyers. An average screw head from Central Hillside or North End will end up with an assembly line public defender that gets paid the same stipend win or lose and has little incentive to carry any case beyond bargaining with an overworked prosecutor.
The double standard, however, matters little to star-struck Americans, who by the millions begged to attend Jackson’s memorial service. Those same individuals don’t cross the street to demand government accountability or attend a military funeral. If life were fair, they’d be judged by their priorities. Instead, they’re judged by their collection of CDs, ATVs, snowmobiles and other meaningless junk.
Doomed generation
There’s enough blame to go around, but the tail-end baby boomers – those of us who graduated from high school in the late 60s and early 70s – fueled Jackson’s career and sired today’s self-indulgent young adults. As teens, we preached high ethics and demanded change, but soon became Rolex revolutionaries, forsaking our ideals to chase the easy money – just like our materialistic parents.
All said, we created a sad state of affairs for America, including the Twin Ports:
• On the financial front, our strongest institutions are for sale to the highest bidders – often ones from China, Europe or India – because we’ve lost our financial sensibilities. Profits that should have been reinvested into new rail lines, factories and technology have instead been handed to institutional investors whose only allegiance is to the almighty dollar – not the United States. As they redirect our lifeblood into tax-free foreign safe havens, it’s possible America could be overtaken in a bloodless coup as overseas investors gradually purchase our banks, manufacturers, even our government debt. The evidence is just up Highway 53, where foreign corporations are taking over Iron Range mines and funding future developments. Does anyone believe these absentee owners will care about our area in any responsive or charitable way?
• Big government reeks like an armpit rag and exhibits no signs of meaningful life. Congress reflects the whims and wishes of corporate, government, union and religious lobbyists. All who enter soon become millionaires brainwashed by the Beltway mentality. Meanwhile state governments – witness Wisconsin and Minnesota – are little more than partisan bickering halls where Republicans and Democrats take turns forcing failed economic strategies on weary taxpayers.
• Cities like Duluth have fallen hard. Our decades-long dependence on state and federal money made us complacent when mayors like Gary Doty played tough with inquisitive reporters while giving free reign to union reps and mediocre managers. Now, we’re paying for our apathy, driving down broken streets, dumping overflow sewage into our drinking water and paying outlandish taxes.
Where's the beef?
Mayor Don Ness, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and President Barack Obama are among a select group of politicians who are making tough decisions, yet they need help. But from where?
There was a time when strong leaders emerged from the business community. Where are they today – on the city, state or national level? For instance, who is the most civic-minded, active business leader in Duluth? In Minnesota? Nationwide? Why are you drawing a blank?
Locally, organized labor clearly has more standouts than business. Alan Netland, Craig Olson and Ken Loeffler-Kemp are far more recognizable than anyone in the business sector. And their activism has paid off for union members – whether taxpayers can afford their victories or not.
Such is the outcome when citizens ignore civic responsibilities, focusing more on garish entertainers than real world problems. The same can be said for the news media, which spends more time investigating which drug offed Jackson than which banks are getting lavish taxpayer handouts, more time promoting hockey rinks than investigating Doty’s municipally paid health insurance.
It’s almost inconceivable. Fifty years ago, nobody could have predicted the popularity attainable by a celebrity who institutionalized the on-stage genital grope. Nor would they have seen General Motors die for lack of innovation, or Chrysler for producing crappy engines.
Have we been sold out, sold ourselves out or both?
It really doesn’t matter; nobody seems to care – not so long as the unemployment checks continue. Unfortunately, however, the stimulus package is likely to fail. Economic and moral recovery can’t be purchased like some kind of Stairway to Heaven. Times have changed. They’ve changed for the worse.
This story was originally published in the July 15 Reader Weekly.
Dear Mr. Fantasy,
bring back our youth
By RON BROCHU
Thermometers redlined as Clapton fans flooded the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds on a sweltering 1973 Saturday afternoon. We arrived two hours late, despite a numbing southward blast down Highway 61. Fortunately, the concert was running hours late; tickets to enter the expansive outdoor field still remained available even to those who frantically fumbled with Quad Cities maps in search of the hallowed stadium.
The gruesome Davenport trip had been hastily planned after hearing a promo on Beaker Street, the famous alternative rock show broadcast nightly on clear channel KAAY. Our ride, a ’66 Mustang, wasn’t fitted to roar down the sleepy Mississippi. The pony wasn’t equipped with air conditioning, moon roof, reclining seats or tilt wheel – just a lean 289 that screamed like a ferret on speedballs. It was the quick, unrefined ticket for young Americans who wanted cheap thrills without buffed cowhide, chilled cup holders and wrap-around safety bubbles.
The aging beast had seen its best days but still offered enough juice for a couple teen freaks aimlessly searching for the American dream. In fact, guilt pangs emerged when we parked her in a farm field way outside the concert grounds, carefully avoiding lumps of hay that might ignite under sizzling header mufflers. Yet the desire to secure Clapton tickets trumped all else as we rushed the gate in ripped jeans and surplus Army shirts. The $9 cost seemed expensive, but British legends didn’t often pass through the bloody Midwest.
When tickets eventually sold out, the mood turned ugly. Angry kids climbed the fence and were met by paid guests swinging broken fifths of Annie Green Springs and Mad Dog 20/20. Such was the talk -- perhaps true, perhaps false – that quickly spread through the crowd, which was packed shoulder-to-shoulder in this far-away field.
Musically, it was a strange time. Paul McCartney had just formed Wings, and Clapton’s latest release was 461 Ocean Boulevard. Rock was morphing into pop, and pot-heads disliked it almost as much as disco.
When Clapton finally took the stage, he was accompanied by Yvonne Elliman – a far cry from earlier legends including Jack Bruce, Duane Allman and Steve Winwood. Preferably, he would have performed hits from the Cream era, but he disappointed the gaggle of stoners. Yet the concert was unforgettable, if only because it featured Slowhand.
Old geeks and wrinkle freaks
Those dusty memories surfaced last week before Clapton and Winwood took stage in St. Paul. It wasn’t dubbed a reunion concert, but the pair previously collaborated as Blind Faith, an unforgettable one-album supergroup that also included Cream drummer Ginger Baker and talented bassist Rick Grech.
Unlike the Davenport gig, where the outdoor venue overflowed with life, Xcel Center had a country club aura, with overstuffed, hair-challenged throwbacks carefully navigating steep stairways in their $50 polos and $80 chinos.
The pairing of Clapton and Winwood proved exciting, but didn’t thrust 50- and 60-somethings into mosh pits. Quoting Winwood’s Rock and Roll Stew, youth and zeal were “Gone, Gone, Gone.” Like the aging performers, we had become senior citizens or, in hippy lingo, wrinkle freaks.
The dream is dead
During their interpretation of Voodoo Chile, the British pair clearly demonstrated the difference between true musicians and Top 10 artists, although some fans didn’t seem to connect with the underground Hendrix piece. It presents more raw emotion than typically flows from the speakers of their Infinity and Lexus SUVs.
The concert was fabulous, exceeding expectations, but the spectacle of 10,000 aging rockers feebly trying to be hip was, quoting a Cream hit, quite the Bring Down. It demonstrated that the entire rock generation lost its direction and sold out to the highest bidder.
Music that one promted an generation to seek a higher plane became simply entertainment. Clapton and Winwood are alive and well, but the child is gone; the dream is dead.
This story was first published in the June 26 Reader Weekly.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Let’s MoveOn beyond
faceless hucksters
By RON BROCHU
Put the squeeze on Rep. Jim Oberstar, the e-mail says; pressure him to strengthen the energy bill. Why?
“Because Big Oil and Coal have teamed up with conservatives in both parties, and they've been successful in weakening the bill,” said the message, which was selectively e-mailed to his constituents by MoveOn.Org, a political action group that considers 4 million Americans to be members.
“Can you sign this petition to Representative James Oberstar today? Eighty thousand MoveOn members have already signed. We need to double the number of signatures by Wednesday — that means we need 25 more signatures in Duluth. MoveOn members will personally deliver this petition to many congressional offices the next day. Click here to add your name,” said the author, Anna Galland, which may or may not be her real name, if indeed she is a real person.
With the presidential election now part of history, MoveOn sends similar e-mails addressing virtually every issue bound for Congress. Hardly a day passes when the group isn’t urging faceless recipients to hit some hot button, adding their name to an impassioned plea that will be hand delivered throughout the Congressional Office Building.
But MoveOn e-mails more than just a plea for political support. The group’s hot button sends recipients to a pop-up window that unveils its real message: “Thanks for signing. Now can you donate to help save Obama’s plan from Big Oil and Coal?”
Give us your money
That was MoveOn’s message throughout the presidential campaign. Donate by Tuesday and we can out-gun the Conservative Bastards! We can change America! And even before Tuesday arrived, MoveOn was pimping another money plea – because screwing the Filthy Republicans was getting more expensive every day.
One can only guess about these things, but MoveOn seemed to find my personal mailbox soon after I clicked a hot button to receive a free Obama campaign button.
Not sure where the offer originated, but the crappy little button didn’t arrive until long after election day. But it didn’t take nearly that long for MoveOn to adopt me like a long-lost brother – a long-lost brother who was anxious to send his hard-earned money to a liberal fundraising machine that would flood my mailbox with constant propaganda. To hear them tell it, President Barack Obama cannot succeed without an ongoing cash tsunami – not in an era when Big Oil, Big Banks and Big Business in General manipulate every Republican.
Quite a scenario, but it must be true. After all, MoveOn has 4 million members. Or does it? Can’t help but wonder how many of its “members” just thought they were getting an Obama campaign button.
Be that as it may, it spotlights how money and special interests have twisted the American political process. We elect a president. We elect senators. We elect representatives. Theoretically, they represent their constituents. They read our letters. They respond to our needs.
But MoveOn and its conservative counterparts take the process a step further. They want to be an unelected middle man. Bad enough we have to pay elected officials; now, we have to pay intermediaries to represent our interests to the very people who should already be well versed in our needs.
It’s a great scam if you can pull it off. Political action groups, no doubt, employ thousands of parasites who otherwise would be lunching off their parents or peddling religion.
A weird scene
So imagine this – you are Jim Oberstar, sitting in your office one fine morning reading La Monde and eating French toast. Suddenly, an emissary from MoveOn.org walks in with a petition that says:
“We need a stronger energy bill to fulfill Obama's vision of a clean energy economy. Congress should strengthen the clean energy standards and restore Obama's authority to crack down on dirty coal plants."
In the first place, they would never get beyond your handlers, but that’s another story. So we’ll have to pretend. What would Minnesota’s senior Congressman be thinking:
A) To hell with Minnesota Power. I won’t be duped by Big Coal, Big Energy and Big Business or
B) To hell with MoveOn.org. They don’t sign anyone’s paycheck in northern Minnesota, and they don’t have to seek reelection every two years.
And that’s that, so let’s MoveOn to another topic.
When the music's over
Bad enough that Duluth has lousy weather – it also has lousy radio.
What’s the deal when every rock station plays and replays the same 50 songs by Bob Seeger, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, CSN and Alice in Chains? Over and over and over.
Sometimes, they don’t even play the whole song. Chunks are hacked out with the precision of Josef Mengele. Funnier yet is the lame attempt to disguise obvious bad language. Take a listen to “Man in a box” as Layne Staley sings “Shove my nose in schlipxtc.”
Huh?
TV networks at least offer a disclaimer when they hack a piece of art by squeezing it into a square screen or remove offensive material. On radio, they just let some pencil-necked geek hack at the art on a software screen, neutering it like an overworked veterinarian.
This article first appeared in the June 12, 2009 Reader Weekly.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Forum’s new strategy:
slash, burn & panic?
By RON BROCHU
The forced exit of Superior Telegram publisher Leslee LeRoux has enhanced speculation that the community newspaper is destined to be absorbed by the Duluth News Tribune (DNT), despite official denials.
LeRoux, a Superior native, had no inkling of her fate when she strolled into the Telegram's downtown office May 21. Ad sales for the twice-weekly broadsheet exceeded budget, allowing the upcoming Friday edition to be larger than usual 24 pages in addition to a 20-page TV tab. Despite industry trends, advertisers were showing faith in the 118-year-old publication, which until last year was published daily, excluding Sundays.
LeRoux's only peeve was an afternoon meeting with Duluth News Tribune Executive Editor Rob Karwath. He had dropped the appointment into her calendar without explanation and declined to reschedule even though his timing would interrupt the Telegram's layout. In most cases, however, that would only suggest DNT arrogance again had reared its head. News Tribune execs care little about inconveniencing colleagues at affiliated publications, all of which they consider inferior.
Only later did LeRoux discover why Karwath wouldn't modify his plans. He intended to permanently erase her name from the masthead. Karwath told LeRoux that Forum Communications, owner of both the Telegram and DNT, no longer employs publishers a corporate cost-cutting move. He asked LeRoux to pack her belongings and vacate her office without saying goodbye to co-workers a policy usually employed by large companies that fear the outgoing employee will stage a scene or sabotage their computers.
"They treated her like an embezzler," said Wisconsin Public Radio reporter Mike Simonson, who has known LeRoux for two decades. "She did not deserve that at all. She should have been given two weeks notice to say goodbye to her staff and her readers. She would have been classy about it."
As LeRoux exited the building with her makeshift cardboard luggage, employees stared in disbelief. For the second time in two weeks, a top-level exec was leaving. Just days earlier, Forum had moved advertising director Randy Johnson to the Duluth News Tribune office, where he was given a new assignment managing the automobile advertising sales effort. Telegram employees were yet to digest that decision when their publisher was eliminated.
In a DNT story, Karwath said "We certainly have every intention to keep the Telegram strong in print and online." Some didn't find his comment very convincing, especially those who witnessed the staff drop from about 40 a year ago to less than 20 today. Said one disheartened staffer: "It's just a matter of time before they get rid of each of us."
The ugly side of bliss
On Fox 21 News, Karwath reports for the DNT as the affable news partner, the soft-spoken boyish editor who reads stories generated by underlings who shun TV. But inside the organization, he's become the Hand of Caesar, doling out disciplinary actions and cutting jobs inside and outside of the newsroom.
Earlier this month, he descended upon the Lake County News-Chronicle in Two Harbors to sack long-time editor Forrest Johnson. Simple math would say Johnson's demise left the newspaper with just 3.5 positions. But in reality, the loss was much greater. Like all small-town newspaper editors, Johnson clocked far more than 40 hours each week.
In protest, 65 people gathered outside the News-Chronicle to support Johnson, who had been with the newspaper for nearly 20 years. But he wasn't universally popular. Some in the local business community felt Johnson was too negative about a waterfront housing plan proposed by developer Sam Cave, and they took their concerns all the way to Forum board chair Bill Marcil. The controversy seemed to die down, but once under the corporate microscope, Johnson was unable to escape.
Forum has not revealed the reason for his release, and Johnson has not been available for comment. But Karwath clearly felt the action was insignificant. Unlike the News Tribune's three front page stories about Lew Latto¹s radio plight, Johnson¹s turn of fortune generated no buzz in the Duluth paper, although the Lake County weekly ran a photo of the protest.
Last September, Karwath also was the messenger who axed DNT managing editor Andrea Novel Buck, a 19-year DNT employee. Facing orders to chop about $300,000 from his newsroom budget, Karwath and other DNT execs decided Buck was among editors who were expendable. Most of them were women. Once the managing editor was axed, opinion page editor Robin Washington was promoted to the newly created position of news director a highly unusual title in the print world.
Clearly, however, cuts by the Fargo-based publisher extend beyond the Northland and may even suggest a degree of panic has gripped the organization. In recent months, Forum has eliminated veteran employees at numerous properties, including:
· Mike Burke, who was general manager at the New Richmond News. He had 28 years of experience
· Michael Kuehn, general manager at the Red Wing Republican Eagle, eight years
· Brady Bautch, Internet Publisher of Forum's RiverTown Newspaper Group in southwest Wisconsin, eight years
· Robin Kruse, Pierce County Herald advertising sales rep for 26 years
· Sandy Burdine, Hastings Star Gazette sales clerk for 28 years
· Melissa Kinneman, classified sales rep at the RiverTown Newspaper
Group
· Jo Erickson, advertising assistant and receptionist, Red Wing Republican Eagle
Why would any organization boot so much experience out the door? Some believe it's not Forum's decision at all. Instead, they suspect some shots are being called by the consortium of banks that borrowed Forum enough money to buy the Duluth and Grand Forks newspaper groups at a price said to exceed $100 million.
Times are changing
When Forum purchased the DNT, Telegram, News-Chronicle and Cloquet Pine Journal, Marcil assured employees that his family-owned company has never shuttered an acquired newspaper. That¹s no longer the case. On May 7, Forum closed the Stillwater Courier and one of its rare startup properties, the Lake Elmo Leader. Employees received two days' notice, according to a story published in the competing Stillwater Gazette.
Lake Elmo suffered a slow, painful death. In 2006, the paper closed its Lake
Elmo office and operated from the Courier's Stillwater office. Then in April 2008, Forum cut its only Lake Elmo reporter and stretched its Stillwater Courier staff to cover both communities.
In closing the two newspapers, Forum eliminated Yvonne Klinnert, who was editor of the Stillwater Courier and Lake Elmo Leader; Mark Brower, a Stillwater Courier/Lake Elmo Leader reporter, and Andy Blenkenship, reporter/photographer at the two publications.
Cuts continued last week, when Forum closed its North Dakota capitol bureau and released Scott Wente from the staff of its Minnesota capitol bureau.
Not important?
By eliminating veteran employees, Forum also is losing institutional memory and community relationships that most newspapers strive to develop.
"It's a great loss to the community to the newspaper," Simonson noted.
That loss is particularly difficult for the Telegram, where the newsroom and advertising sales staff have seen several cuts. When LeRoux took over approximately nine months ago, most considered her a breath of fresh air. Ken Browall, her predecessor, spent much of his time analyzing spreadsheets and union contracts. Unlike most publishers, he seldom ventured into the community, and during his tenure, Browall began to spend more time at the DNT than at the Telegram, even though he claimed to dislike the DNT's culture, particularly in the newsroom.
LeRoux, however, was an extrovert who loved Superior and enjoyed community relations.
Her Telegram tenure began in 1983 as a reporter. After a stint reporting in Galveston, Texas, she returned home and became Telegram editor, then was transferred by Murphy McGinnis Media to expand the Duluth Budgeteer, raising distribution to twice-weekly. During that time, she hired Rick Lubbers, who went on to become DNT sports editor, and Kyle Eller, now editor of The Northern Cross, published by the Duluth Catholic Diocese. Eventually, she was given editorial oversight for all Murphy McGinnis properties.
After an ownership change, Forum hired her in a marketing capacity at Living North Magazine. Then she advanced to become Telegram publisher. In addition to her PR role, LeRoux also worked side-by-side with newsroom staffers, coaching writers and assisting with pagination.
"Her loss will not only be felt by the newspaper and the city of Superior, but by the talented, emerging reporters throughout the region," said freelance writer Joan Farnam, a former colleague at the Budgeteer. "By firing her, they've clearly shown that they are not interested in owning a newspaper that communicates well and is a lively 'forum' for the community. Instead, their focus seems to be their profit margin, which is undoubtedly shrinking because of decisions like these."
In his own story about LeRoux, Simonson also used the term "firing." Karwath objected and sought a correction, saying the term unfairly besmirched his former colleague. Pointing to the way LeRoux was ushered out the door, Simonson refused, then asked Karwath why he employed the tactic. The DNT newsroom exec took a corporate stance, refusing to answer.
While Forum's growing list of terminations is reducing corporate costs, it's also flooding the market with a wide array of talented journalists and sales people. At least three Northland organizations currently are discussing plans to launch an internet alternative to the News Tribune, similar to the MinnPost.com venture launched by former Twin Cities mainstream journalists. So far, however, none of the local efforts have gone into publication. And even tenured start-ups like MinnPost are yet to turn a profit.
Ron Brochu formerly was Telegram executive editor.
This article first appeared in the May 29, 2009 Reader Weekly.
The forced exit of Superior Telegram publisher Leslee LeRoux has enhanced speculation that the community newspaper is destined to be absorbed by the Duluth News Tribune (DNT), despite official denials.
LeRoux, a Superior native, had no inkling of her fate when she strolled into the Telegram's downtown office May 21. Ad sales for the twice-weekly broadsheet exceeded budget, allowing the upcoming Friday edition to be larger than usual 24 pages in addition to a 20-page TV tab. Despite industry trends, advertisers were showing faith in the 118-year-old publication, which until last year was published daily, excluding Sundays.
LeRoux's only peeve was an afternoon meeting with Duluth News Tribune Executive Editor Rob Karwath. He had dropped the appointment into her calendar without explanation and declined to reschedule even though his timing would interrupt the Telegram's layout. In most cases, however, that would only suggest DNT arrogance again had reared its head. News Tribune execs care little about inconveniencing colleagues at affiliated publications, all of which they consider inferior.
Only later did LeRoux discover why Karwath wouldn't modify his plans. He intended to permanently erase her name from the masthead. Karwath told LeRoux that Forum Communications, owner of both the Telegram and DNT, no longer employs publishers a corporate cost-cutting move. He asked LeRoux to pack her belongings and vacate her office without saying goodbye to co-workers a policy usually employed by large companies that fear the outgoing employee will stage a scene or sabotage their computers.
"They treated her like an embezzler," said Wisconsin Public Radio reporter Mike Simonson, who has known LeRoux for two decades. "She did not deserve that at all. She should have been given two weeks notice to say goodbye to her staff and her readers. She would have been classy about it."
As LeRoux exited the building with her makeshift cardboard luggage, employees stared in disbelief. For the second time in two weeks, a top-level exec was leaving. Just days earlier, Forum had moved advertising director Randy Johnson to the Duluth News Tribune office, where he was given a new assignment managing the automobile advertising sales effort. Telegram employees were yet to digest that decision when their publisher was eliminated.
In a DNT story, Karwath said "We certainly have every intention to keep the Telegram strong in print and online." Some didn't find his comment very convincing, especially those who witnessed the staff drop from about 40 a year ago to less than 20 today. Said one disheartened staffer: "It's just a matter of time before they get rid of each of us."
The ugly side of bliss
On Fox 21 News, Karwath reports for the DNT as the affable news partner, the soft-spoken boyish editor who reads stories generated by underlings who shun TV. But inside the organization, he's become the Hand of Caesar, doling out disciplinary actions and cutting jobs inside and outside of the newsroom.
Earlier this month, he descended upon the Lake County News-Chronicle in Two Harbors to sack long-time editor Forrest Johnson. Simple math would say Johnson's demise left the newspaper with just 3.5 positions. But in reality, the loss was much greater. Like all small-town newspaper editors, Johnson clocked far more than 40 hours each week.
In protest, 65 people gathered outside the News-Chronicle to support Johnson, who had been with the newspaper for nearly 20 years. But he wasn't universally popular. Some in the local business community felt Johnson was too negative about a waterfront housing plan proposed by developer Sam Cave, and they took their concerns all the way to Forum board chair Bill Marcil. The controversy seemed to die down, but once under the corporate microscope, Johnson was unable to escape.
Forum has not revealed the reason for his release, and Johnson has not been available for comment. But Karwath clearly felt the action was insignificant. Unlike the News Tribune's three front page stories about Lew Latto¹s radio plight, Johnson¹s turn of fortune generated no buzz in the Duluth paper, although the Lake County weekly ran a photo of the protest.
Last September, Karwath also was the messenger who axed DNT managing editor Andrea Novel Buck, a 19-year DNT employee. Facing orders to chop about $300,000 from his newsroom budget, Karwath and other DNT execs decided Buck was among editors who were expendable. Most of them were women. Once the managing editor was axed, opinion page editor Robin Washington was promoted to the newly created position of news director a highly unusual title in the print world.
Clearly, however, cuts by the Fargo-based publisher extend beyond the Northland and may even suggest a degree of panic has gripped the organization. In recent months, Forum has eliminated veteran employees at numerous properties, including:
· Mike Burke, who was general manager at the New Richmond News. He had 28 years of experience
· Michael Kuehn, general manager at the Red Wing Republican Eagle, eight years
· Brady Bautch, Internet Publisher of Forum's RiverTown Newspaper Group in southwest Wisconsin, eight years
· Robin Kruse, Pierce County Herald advertising sales rep for 26 years
· Sandy Burdine, Hastings Star Gazette sales clerk for 28 years
· Melissa Kinneman, classified sales rep at the RiverTown Newspaper
Group
· Jo Erickson, advertising assistant and receptionist, Red Wing Republican Eagle
Why would any organization boot so much experience out the door? Some believe it's not Forum's decision at all. Instead, they suspect some shots are being called by the consortium of banks that borrowed Forum enough money to buy the Duluth and Grand Forks newspaper groups at a price said to exceed $100 million.
Times are changing
When Forum purchased the DNT, Telegram, News-Chronicle and Cloquet Pine Journal, Marcil assured employees that his family-owned company has never shuttered an acquired newspaper. That¹s no longer the case. On May 7, Forum closed the Stillwater Courier and one of its rare startup properties, the Lake Elmo Leader. Employees received two days' notice, according to a story published in the competing Stillwater Gazette.
Lake Elmo suffered a slow, painful death. In 2006, the paper closed its Lake
Elmo office and operated from the Courier's Stillwater office. Then in April 2008, Forum cut its only Lake Elmo reporter and stretched its Stillwater Courier staff to cover both communities.
In closing the two newspapers, Forum eliminated Yvonne Klinnert, who was editor of the Stillwater Courier and Lake Elmo Leader; Mark Brower, a Stillwater Courier/Lake Elmo Leader reporter, and Andy Blenkenship, reporter/photographer at the two publications.
Cuts continued last week, when Forum closed its North Dakota capitol bureau and released Scott Wente from the staff of its Minnesota capitol bureau.
Not important?
By eliminating veteran employees, Forum also is losing institutional memory and community relationships that most newspapers strive to develop.
"It's a great loss to the community to the newspaper," Simonson noted.
That loss is particularly difficult for the Telegram, where the newsroom and advertising sales staff have seen several cuts. When LeRoux took over approximately nine months ago, most considered her a breath of fresh air. Ken Browall, her predecessor, spent much of his time analyzing spreadsheets and union contracts. Unlike most publishers, he seldom ventured into the community, and during his tenure, Browall began to spend more time at the DNT than at the Telegram, even though he claimed to dislike the DNT's culture, particularly in the newsroom.
LeRoux, however, was an extrovert who loved Superior and enjoyed community relations.
Her Telegram tenure began in 1983 as a reporter. After a stint reporting in Galveston, Texas, she returned home and became Telegram editor, then was transferred by Murphy McGinnis Media to expand the Duluth Budgeteer, raising distribution to twice-weekly. During that time, she hired Rick Lubbers, who went on to become DNT sports editor, and Kyle Eller, now editor of The Northern Cross, published by the Duluth Catholic Diocese. Eventually, she was given editorial oversight for all Murphy McGinnis properties.
After an ownership change, Forum hired her in a marketing capacity at Living North Magazine. Then she advanced to become Telegram publisher. In addition to her PR role, LeRoux also worked side-by-side with newsroom staffers, coaching writers and assisting with pagination.
"Her loss will not only be felt by the newspaper and the city of Superior, but by the talented, emerging reporters throughout the region," said freelance writer Joan Farnam, a former colleague at the Budgeteer. "By firing her, they've clearly shown that they are not interested in owning a newspaper that communicates well and is a lively 'forum' for the community. Instead, their focus seems to be their profit margin, which is undoubtedly shrinking because of decisions like these."
In his own story about LeRoux, Simonson also used the term "firing." Karwath objected and sought a correction, saying the term unfairly besmirched his former colleague. Pointing to the way LeRoux was ushered out the door, Simonson refused, then asked Karwath why he employed the tactic. The DNT newsroom exec took a corporate stance, refusing to answer.
While Forum's growing list of terminations is reducing corporate costs, it's also flooding the market with a wide array of talented journalists and sales people. At least three Northland organizations currently are discussing plans to launch an internet alternative to the News Tribune, similar to the MinnPost.com venture launched by former Twin Cities mainstream journalists. So far, however, none of the local efforts have gone into publication. And even tenured start-ups like MinnPost are yet to turn a profit.
Ron Brochu formerly was Telegram executive editor.
This article first appeared in the May 29, 2009 Reader Weekly.
Friday, May 15, 2009
School board aims shovels at pristine green field
By RON BROCHU
The destruction of green space once elicited angry cries in Duluth, but a new plan that will uproot a square mile of undisturbed land is barely raising eyebrows.
Why? The parcel is hidden in a far corner of West End, where residents lack the political clout and financial resources to fight the massive development.
The project, known as Wheeler North, would position a middle school just above the DM&IR corridor on a green field that runs from Chestnut to Wellington Streets. Just a few blocks uphill from the A& Dubbs drive-in restaurant lies a pristine site where backhoes soon could rip up wild strawberry fields and former pastures that helped feed generations of Germans, Poles and Italians who settled the neighborhood a hundred years ago.
Most of those families – such as the Stammens, Gimples, Scheers and Stockmans – are long gone. The neighborhood and its old houses have largely morphed into transient housing for low-income renters who’ve managed to escape the Central Hillside. These aren’t monied socialites who can afford to sue the Duluth School District every time an eagle craps on their porch.
That dubious tale generated headlines when the School Board proposed to stuff East High onto the Ordean site. Unhappy neighbors managed to pull an eagle’s nest out of their pocket with hopes of milking the rare bird.
Those who reside near Wheeler North, however, haven’t been nearly as clever. So far, raping the western hillside has generated neither discussion nor lawsuits. Beyond the crumbling pavement on Chestnut Street, where the school district hopes to demolish several homes to accommodate a newly paved entrance road, the ambitious West End school plan is nearly a secret.
The lack of news coverage is troubling but not unexpected. Few local reporters reside east of Lake Avenue, so they’re seldom familiar with western neighborhoods or their problems. Many are simply incapable of preparing a story that’s not spoon fed at a news conference or public meeting.
For sure, the lack of media scrutiny is helping to squelch discussion about alternative school sites, such as the existing Central High or Lincoln properties. Assisted by this knowledge vacuum, the School Board can spew nonsense about the high cost of rebuilding Central without anyone questioning the high cost of extending utilities and building roads into the Wheeler North site, where the dominant geological feature is solid rock.
Environmentally unsound?
Unearthing wild raspberries, strawberries and lichen-covered boulders is merely one concern about the Wheeler North site. It doesn’t take a passel of clever attorneys to uproot others. Simple observation from hillside outcroppings provide a quick education.
The DM&IR rail corridor, where taconite-filled trains speed from Iron Range mines to the Ore Docks, is located between the proposed school and Wheeler Field.
There’s only one way to quickly walk from the proposed school site to the athletic complex and West Duluth residential area: Dart across a dozen railroad tracks like an overcharged bunny.
But that’s not the only safety issue. The other is air pollution.
Sixty years ago, nearby residents pulled clean linens off their clothes line each time a steam locomotive flew down the tracks, spewing coal soot in every direction. Those days are long gone, but airborne dust particles continue to be a concern, and prevailing winds blow toward the school site.
On numerous occasions, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has fined DM&IR for dust emissions created when taconite pellets are moved and stockpiled. Although most of the emissions occur near the Ore Docks, a quick walk along the rail corridor unveils a virtual treasure trove of pellets that have dropped from speeding rail cars. In addition to fueling local slingshots, the pellets create dust as they bounce along the tracks.
Those who reside in the neighborhood also are familiar with blue clouds that billow from brake pads as locomotive engineers slow their trains during the quick descent between Proctor and the working waterfront. The smell of hot brakes, which is evident for blocks, and particulates from the brake pads will heighten the sickly ambiance at the Wheeler North outdoor athletic field, recess field and hiking trail.
How can this be?
Superintendent of Schools Keith Dixon has suggested the Red Plan arose from discussions held at numerous public meetings. Citizens who participated in those sessions, however, say they were poorly attended, often by fewer than two dozen people, and certainly didn’t generate a community-wide consensus. In any event, it’s hard to imagine that a local participant suggested bulldozing an undisturbed green field instead of reusing convenient sites that already are equipped with water, sewer and power lines.
Unfortunately, Dixon and his heavy-handed minions are hell-bent on initiating every aspect of the plan before the fall school board elections, when voters will tell board members what they really think. By then, however, it will be far too late to halt the expensive madness; the environmental damage will be irreversible.
Author Ron Brochu refuses to lighten up and hopes more Duluthians will do the same.
This story was first published in the May 15 Reader Weekly
The destruction of green space once elicited angry cries in Duluth, but a new plan that will uproot a square mile of undisturbed land is barely raising eyebrows.
Why? The parcel is hidden in a far corner of West End, where residents lack the political clout and financial resources to fight the massive development.
The project, known as Wheeler North, would position a middle school just above the DM&IR corridor on a green field that runs from Chestnut to Wellington Streets. Just a few blocks uphill from the A& Dubbs drive-in restaurant lies a pristine site where backhoes soon could rip up wild strawberry fields and former pastures that helped feed generations of Germans, Poles and Italians who settled the neighborhood a hundred years ago.
Most of those families – such as the Stammens, Gimples, Scheers and Stockmans – are long gone. The neighborhood and its old houses have largely morphed into transient housing for low-income renters who’ve managed to escape the Central Hillside. These aren’t monied socialites who can afford to sue the Duluth School District every time an eagle craps on their porch.
That dubious tale generated headlines when the School Board proposed to stuff East High onto the Ordean site. Unhappy neighbors managed to pull an eagle’s nest out of their pocket with hopes of milking the rare bird.
Those who reside near Wheeler North, however, haven’t been nearly as clever. So far, raping the western hillside has generated neither discussion nor lawsuits. Beyond the crumbling pavement on Chestnut Street, where the school district hopes to demolish several homes to accommodate a newly paved entrance road, the ambitious West End school plan is nearly a secret.
The lack of news coverage is troubling but not unexpected. Few local reporters reside east of Lake Avenue, so they’re seldom familiar with western neighborhoods or their problems. Many are simply incapable of preparing a story that’s not spoon fed at a news conference or public meeting.
For sure, the lack of media scrutiny is helping to squelch discussion about alternative school sites, such as the existing Central High or Lincoln properties. Assisted by this knowledge vacuum, the School Board can spew nonsense about the high cost of rebuilding Central without anyone questioning the high cost of extending utilities and building roads into the Wheeler North site, where the dominant geological feature is solid rock.
Environmentally unsound?
Unearthing wild raspberries, strawberries and lichen-covered boulders is merely one concern about the Wheeler North site. It doesn’t take a passel of clever attorneys to uproot others. Simple observation from hillside outcroppings provide a quick education.
The DM&IR rail corridor, where taconite-filled trains speed from Iron Range mines to the Ore Docks, is located between the proposed school and Wheeler Field.
There’s only one way to quickly walk from the proposed school site to the athletic complex and West Duluth residential area: Dart across a dozen railroad tracks like an overcharged bunny.
But that’s not the only safety issue. The other is air pollution.
Sixty years ago, nearby residents pulled clean linens off their clothes line each time a steam locomotive flew down the tracks, spewing coal soot in every direction. Those days are long gone, but airborne dust particles continue to be a concern, and prevailing winds blow toward the school site.
On numerous occasions, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has fined DM&IR for dust emissions created when taconite pellets are moved and stockpiled. Although most of the emissions occur near the Ore Docks, a quick walk along the rail corridor unveils a virtual treasure trove of pellets that have dropped from speeding rail cars. In addition to fueling local slingshots, the pellets create dust as they bounce along the tracks.
Those who reside in the neighborhood also are familiar with blue clouds that billow from brake pads as locomotive engineers slow their trains during the quick descent between Proctor and the working waterfront. The smell of hot brakes, which is evident for blocks, and particulates from the brake pads will heighten the sickly ambiance at the Wheeler North outdoor athletic field, recess field and hiking trail.
How can this be?
Superintendent of Schools Keith Dixon has suggested the Red Plan arose from discussions held at numerous public meetings. Citizens who participated in those sessions, however, say they were poorly attended, often by fewer than two dozen people, and certainly didn’t generate a community-wide consensus. In any event, it’s hard to imagine that a local participant suggested bulldozing an undisturbed green field instead of reusing convenient sites that already are equipped with water, sewer and power lines.
Unfortunately, Dixon and his heavy-handed minions are hell-bent on initiating every aspect of the plan before the fall school board elections, when voters will tell board members what they really think. By then, however, it will be far too late to halt the expensive madness; the environmental damage will be irreversible.
Author Ron Brochu refuses to lighten up and hopes more Duluthians will do the same.
This story was first published in the May 15 Reader Weekly
The Fifth Estate is one too many
By RON BROCHU
If journalism is the Fourth Estate, then legislative lobbyists are the fifth, which is one too many – according to Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
About $35 million in taxpayer money was paid by local units of government between 2003 and 2007 to pros who wander the capitol promoting parochial needs – everything from publicly financed civic projects to aid for cities, counties, colleges and school districts..
Facing budget deficits, Pawlenty believes, local government could save a lot of money by firing their lobbyists, Minnesota Public Radio reported April 20. He even has support from some Democrats.
"We just think it's an expense that doesn't have to be there," DFL State Rep. Michael Paymar of St. Paul told MPR. Paymar, a former Duluth city councilor, also would prohibit state agencies and departments from spending tax money to lobby the legislature.
His opinion differs sharply from DFL Rep. Thomas Huntley, who once served with Paymar on the Duluth city council. Huntley told KBJR-TV “When we're down here, we don't talk to senators, we don't have time, yet we have to coordinate our actions and it's basically the lobbyists that run back and fourth and keep us informed by what the other body's doing."
Did Huntley really intend to suggest taxpayers should pay lobbyists to function as couriers between the House and Senate? Hopefully not, for it would be difficult to find more expensive labor to shuttle notes among lawmakers.
But that’s a minor issue, and so is the taxpayer cost to hire lobbyists. At issue is the role of state legislators. Don’t taxpayers elect them to lobby local interests? Aren’t they paid rather well to seek aid for cities, counties and schools – to get funding for aquariums, theaters and other non-profits that live up to that description? The real question is why taxpayers must pay twice to get the same service.
Like a three-eyed toad, the political system has been poisoned, morphing into a troubling monster that would rattle our founding fathers. That’s not to say lobbyists are corrupt. After all, Duluth city lobbyist Kevin Walli is a Denfeld grad who carried the pigskin alongside good ‘ole West Duluth boys like Mark Bibeau and Ernie Conito. But he’s among the expensive professionals who essentially have added another layer of costs and complications to democracy.
Where does it end?
Throughout the winter, education lobbyists pleaded their case in a related by slightly different venue. Education Minnesota, which represents 70,000 educators, purchased television ads suggesting viewers should tell their legislators that their top priority should be to fund public schools.
The union-funded ads didn’t cost taxpayers a nickel – or did they?
Giving top priority to public schools, of course, would push some other entity down the funding ladder. One example might be cities, or law enforcement, which is funded by cities. Facing competition from the massive educators’ union, cities feel the need to hire their own lobbyists. After all, voters aren’t happy when crime rises, which tends to happen when police funding is reduced.
On another level, county board commissioners also have a stake in the game. For if state aid is reduced, who will pick up the tab for ever-growing social service costs? So counties also need their own lobbyist.
The University of Minnesota is a sprawling animal that affects every corner of Minnesota. It can’t afford to watch while scarce state money is allocated to other entities. So it sends chancellors and others to St. Paul to represent its interests.
And so on. Without some legislative restraint, the system will feed on itself and spread like wildfire.
High development costs
Don’t expect Pawlenty to address a parallel situation that also wastes taxpayer dollars. It’s unlikely a Republican would condemn the massive amount of public money that’s spent to lure companies from one community to another, one state to another, even one country to another.
The original intent of publicly funded business incentives was to create jobs in America’s worst poverty pockets. But over the years, every community has painted itself as developmentally impaired, in an economic sense. As a result, public economic development has become an industry, and it’s a sinkhole for tax money. Every time a city hands out tax breaks, tax credits, TIF financing and the like, taxpayers pick up the tab.
Today, every city and every state plays the game – even though private investors at times haven’t even sought assistance. It happened last year in Superior. To create a new TIF district, the first occupant was given TIF assistance it didn’t need and hadn’t requested.
Economic development agencies, however, have become the darling of mayors, governors and legislators. Every time politicians use tax breaks to lure private development or redevelopment, they use the occasion to pose before cameras with private executives and union officials – and later with contractors and trade union reps – claiming credit for creating jobs. Yet reporters seldom provide critical analysis of the tax incentives, even though the devil is in the details.
Essentially, they allow politicians to paint themselves as heros and perpetuate incumbancy – all on your dime.
This story first appeared in the May 1 Reader Weekly.
If journalism is the Fourth Estate, then legislative lobbyists are the fifth, which is one too many – according to Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
About $35 million in taxpayer money was paid by local units of government between 2003 and 2007 to pros who wander the capitol promoting parochial needs – everything from publicly financed civic projects to aid for cities, counties, colleges and school districts..
Facing budget deficits, Pawlenty believes, local government could save a lot of money by firing their lobbyists, Minnesota Public Radio reported April 20. He even has support from some Democrats.
"We just think it's an expense that doesn't have to be there," DFL State Rep. Michael Paymar of St. Paul told MPR. Paymar, a former Duluth city councilor, also would prohibit state agencies and departments from spending tax money to lobby the legislature.
His opinion differs sharply from DFL Rep. Thomas Huntley, who once served with Paymar on the Duluth city council. Huntley told KBJR-TV “When we're down here, we don't talk to senators, we don't have time, yet we have to coordinate our actions and it's basically the lobbyists that run back and fourth and keep us informed by what the other body's doing."
Did Huntley really intend to suggest taxpayers should pay lobbyists to function as couriers between the House and Senate? Hopefully not, for it would be difficult to find more expensive labor to shuttle notes among lawmakers.
But that’s a minor issue, and so is the taxpayer cost to hire lobbyists. At issue is the role of state legislators. Don’t taxpayers elect them to lobby local interests? Aren’t they paid rather well to seek aid for cities, counties and schools – to get funding for aquariums, theaters and other non-profits that live up to that description? The real question is why taxpayers must pay twice to get the same service.
Like a three-eyed toad, the political system has been poisoned, morphing into a troubling monster that would rattle our founding fathers. That’s not to say lobbyists are corrupt. After all, Duluth city lobbyist Kevin Walli is a Denfeld grad who carried the pigskin alongside good ‘ole West Duluth boys like Mark Bibeau and Ernie Conito. But he’s among the expensive professionals who essentially have added another layer of costs and complications to democracy.
Where does it end?
Throughout the winter, education lobbyists pleaded their case in a related by slightly different venue. Education Minnesota, which represents 70,000 educators, purchased television ads suggesting viewers should tell their legislators that their top priority should be to fund public schools.
The union-funded ads didn’t cost taxpayers a nickel – or did they?
Giving top priority to public schools, of course, would push some other entity down the funding ladder. One example might be cities, or law enforcement, which is funded by cities. Facing competition from the massive educators’ union, cities feel the need to hire their own lobbyists. After all, voters aren’t happy when crime rises, which tends to happen when police funding is reduced.
On another level, county board commissioners also have a stake in the game. For if state aid is reduced, who will pick up the tab for ever-growing social service costs? So counties also need their own lobbyist.
The University of Minnesota is a sprawling animal that affects every corner of Minnesota. It can’t afford to watch while scarce state money is allocated to other entities. So it sends chancellors and others to St. Paul to represent its interests.
And so on. Without some legislative restraint, the system will feed on itself and spread like wildfire.
High development costs
Don’t expect Pawlenty to address a parallel situation that also wastes taxpayer dollars. It’s unlikely a Republican would condemn the massive amount of public money that’s spent to lure companies from one community to another, one state to another, even one country to another.
The original intent of publicly funded business incentives was to create jobs in America’s worst poverty pockets. But over the years, every community has painted itself as developmentally impaired, in an economic sense. As a result, public economic development has become an industry, and it’s a sinkhole for tax money. Every time a city hands out tax breaks, tax credits, TIF financing and the like, taxpayers pick up the tab.
Today, every city and every state plays the game – even though private investors at times haven’t even sought assistance. It happened last year in Superior. To create a new TIF district, the first occupant was given TIF assistance it didn’t need and hadn’t requested.
Economic development agencies, however, have become the darling of mayors, governors and legislators. Every time politicians use tax breaks to lure private development or redevelopment, they use the occasion to pose before cameras with private executives and union officials – and later with contractors and trade union reps – claiming credit for creating jobs. Yet reporters seldom provide critical analysis of the tax incentives, even though the devil is in the details.
Essentially, they allow politicians to paint themselves as heros and perpetuate incumbancy – all on your dime.
This story first appeared in the May 1 Reader Weekly.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Stories only good as the reporters who write them
By RON BROCHU
The Technology Village, Great Lakes Aquarium, OmniMax Theatre, a high-speed train to Minneapolis and the infamous Red Plan. Why do so many high-risk, costly public projects take flight in Duluth despite great odds for failure?
First and foremost, they’re funded by government money, which flows like water here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. So if a project isn’t successful, losses are simply covered by more government money, or tucked into a line item that escapes public attention.
But there’s also insufficient media scrutiny, and a tendency by media to partner up with project sponsors to gain a slice of the action –contractor-funded advertising spreads that typically accompany open houses.
One gut reaction would be to conclude editors, publishers and producers are telling reporters to back away from popular civic projects, but it doesn’t happen that way. The truth is that many journalists lack the skill and background to adequately report complicated financial stories. They’ll deny it, but it’s the unfortunate truth.
But don’t blame reporters. The problem runs all the way back to the institutions of higher learning that fail to provide them a broad educational background.
Journalism schools spend far too much time focusing on the glory and grandeur of reporting while failing to ensure students know the difference between an income statement and balance sheet, revenue and profit.
Math skills are equally weak, no matter the reporter’s pedigree. The number who can’t calculate the percent of change (for instance, the decrease in attendance from 2007-2008 at Great Lakes Aquarium) is astounding. Many journalists also graduate with no background in spreadsheets – the most basic software tool used in public and private accounting.
How many would know the difference between equity and commercial financing? Who would be able to analyze cash flow? How many could name Duluth’s top angel investors, and in which projects they hold a stake?
Such details would bore the hell out of most reporters, and probably baffle many of their supervisors. So it’s not surprising that few stories provide deep financial analysis of even the biggest, costliest projects.
Meanwhile, Duluth’s large collection of young novice reporters doesn’t have a pony in the race. They’ve never owned homes, so they haven’t experienced the joy of paying property taxes. They don’t have kids in school, so they don’t recognize the hassle of driving from downtown to Morgan Park to pick up an ill child, then back home to Duluth Heights in a mad dash that can last far more than a hour.
As an alternative, reporters interview project sponsors, who are all too aware of the media’s limitations. People like Superintendent of Schools Keith Dixon hold all the trump cards in most every discussion of the Red Plan – even though the project will cost nearly a half-billion dollars. He fully understands complicated financial plans; reporters can’t even navigate the index.
Psychological factors
Despite numerous accusations, editors seldom if ever tell reporters they can’t write about stories favored by civic leaders. But reporters face psychological barriers.
What Duluth News Tribune reporter in her right mind, for example, would propose to pen a critical analysis of the high-speed rail plan – for which DNT News Director Robin Washington has been the lead cheerleader? Looking back a few years, the same question could have been asked when Dean Jacobus was a Technology Village consultant while his wife was DNT publisher. Or later when DNT Publisher Marti Buscaglia chaired a task force to save the aquarium.
It’s unlikely News Tribune reporters would admit to such intimidation, but they raised concerns internally about relationships between company execs and project sponsors – and were consistently ignored.
Today, of course, there are fewer reporters than in the past to chase stories of high community interest, and the numbers keep declining.
On the TV side, streamlining is most evident in the KBJR-KDLH newsroom. It would take a high-power microscope to unveil any difference between news coverage provided on one channel versus the other.
In print, the News Tribune continues to cut, and the most recent layoff proved embarrassing. Days after it occurred, Forum Communications’ CEO Bill Marcil was credited in USA Today for saying his company is having “one of our best years ever” after making some necessary staff reductions. But in an April 10 internal memo, Forum President Lloyd Case said Marcil was misquoted. If true, Marcil was misquoted by the best. The USA Today column was written by Al Neuharth, who founded the nationwide newspaper. Marcil, by the way, married into the Forum fortune.
This story was published in the April 24 Reader Weekly
The Technology Village, Great Lakes Aquarium, OmniMax Theatre, a high-speed train to Minneapolis and the infamous Red Plan. Why do so many high-risk, costly public projects take flight in Duluth despite great odds for failure?
First and foremost, they’re funded by government money, which flows like water here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. So if a project isn’t successful, losses are simply covered by more government money, or tucked into a line item that escapes public attention.
But there’s also insufficient media scrutiny, and a tendency by media to partner up with project sponsors to gain a slice of the action –contractor-funded advertising spreads that typically accompany open houses.
One gut reaction would be to conclude editors, publishers and producers are telling reporters to back away from popular civic projects, but it doesn’t happen that way. The truth is that many journalists lack the skill and background to adequately report complicated financial stories. They’ll deny it, but it’s the unfortunate truth.
But don’t blame reporters. The problem runs all the way back to the institutions of higher learning that fail to provide them a broad educational background.
Journalism schools spend far too much time focusing on the glory and grandeur of reporting while failing to ensure students know the difference between an income statement and balance sheet, revenue and profit.
Math skills are equally weak, no matter the reporter’s pedigree. The number who can’t calculate the percent of change (for instance, the decrease in attendance from 2007-2008 at Great Lakes Aquarium) is astounding. Many journalists also graduate with no background in spreadsheets – the most basic software tool used in public and private accounting.
How many would know the difference between equity and commercial financing? Who would be able to analyze cash flow? How many could name Duluth’s top angel investors, and in which projects they hold a stake?
Such details would bore the hell out of most reporters, and probably baffle many of their supervisors. So it’s not surprising that few stories provide deep financial analysis of even the biggest, costliest projects.
Meanwhile, Duluth’s large collection of young novice reporters doesn’t have a pony in the race. They’ve never owned homes, so they haven’t experienced the joy of paying property taxes. They don’t have kids in school, so they don’t recognize the hassle of driving from downtown to Morgan Park to pick up an ill child, then back home to Duluth Heights in a mad dash that can last far more than a hour.
As an alternative, reporters interview project sponsors, who are all too aware of the media’s limitations. People like Superintendent of Schools Keith Dixon hold all the trump cards in most every discussion of the Red Plan – even though the project will cost nearly a half-billion dollars. He fully understands complicated financial plans; reporters can’t even navigate the index.
Psychological factors
Despite numerous accusations, editors seldom if ever tell reporters they can’t write about stories favored by civic leaders. But reporters face psychological barriers.
What Duluth News Tribune reporter in her right mind, for example, would propose to pen a critical analysis of the high-speed rail plan – for which DNT News Director Robin Washington has been the lead cheerleader? Looking back a few years, the same question could have been asked when Dean Jacobus was a Technology Village consultant while his wife was DNT publisher. Or later when DNT Publisher Marti Buscaglia chaired a task force to save the aquarium.
It’s unlikely News Tribune reporters would admit to such intimidation, but they raised concerns internally about relationships between company execs and project sponsors – and were consistently ignored.
Today, of course, there are fewer reporters than in the past to chase stories of high community interest, and the numbers keep declining.
On the TV side, streamlining is most evident in the KBJR-KDLH newsroom. It would take a high-power microscope to unveil any difference between news coverage provided on one channel versus the other.
In print, the News Tribune continues to cut, and the most recent layoff proved embarrassing. Days after it occurred, Forum Communications’ CEO Bill Marcil was credited in USA Today for saying his company is having “one of our best years ever” after making some necessary staff reductions. But in an April 10 internal memo, Forum President Lloyd Case said Marcil was misquoted. If true, Marcil was misquoted by the best. The USA Today column was written by Al Neuharth, who founded the nationwide newspaper. Marcil, by the way, married into the Forum fortune.
This story was published in the April 24 Reader Weekly
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Red plan angst spreads into business community
By RON BROCHU
A Duluth real estate broker rang her hands last week when discussing the housing market. Bad enough that home sales have slowed to a trickle, but the school district’s Red Plan has many potential buyers wondering if they want their kids in Duluth public schools at all.
“Everyone is checking out private and parochial schools,” because they don’t like what ISD 709 proposes to offer," the broker said. People don’t want their kids bused across town, and they don’t want them bouncing between different schools each time Superintendent Keith Dixon tries to expedite Red Plan implementation. Those factors have made it more difficult to market homes in neighborhoods that traditionally had nearby schools.
“The board knows they have to push the plan forward now, because they’ll all be voted out of office at election time. People are livid!” the broker lamented.
Quite possibly, a court decision also could force district officials to rethink their strategy, which in essence has been to sidestep their own bidding rules and derail public input, opponents say. In a civil court action, Harry Welty, Laurence Burda, Dean Davidson, Robert Sershon and Art Johnston are challenging the school district’s right to give Johnson Controls Inc. a no-bid contract to provide professional services to implement the construction. Case law suggests such arrangements are illegal, Welty said.
According to a Dec. 14, 2006, letter from Johnson Controls to school district property and risk manager Kerry Leider, Johnson will receive 18.8 percent of construction costs as a management fee.
This is the plan Budgeteer columnist Ralph Doty on Sunday deemed “visionary.” In his column, he argued it will stimulate Duluth’s economy by creating construction jobs, even suggesting opponents would stall local economic progress while in the depths of an economic abyss – as if the Red Plan wasn’t divisive enough without adding fear-mongering to the equation. Fortunately, most people understand an alternative plan also would stimulate the construction industry.
In the same column, Doty also suggested Duluthians support the Red Plan three-to-one. If that were true, of course, board members wouldn’t fear submitting the $400+ million project to referendum, as the school district’s own hand-picked citizens’ panel recommended. But Dixon refused, alienating even staunch supporters. He knows the Red Plan doesn’t offer what people want at a price they can afford.
It promotes just the opposite, in fact. Under former Superintendent Julio Almanza, the school district hosted a weekend-long session to solicit community input. Smaller schools topped the priority list.
Today’s plan, however, is to build larger buildings and transport more kids than ever at a time when fuel costs are destined to climb. Moving forward, a growing share of taxpayer dollars will go toward busing instead of teaching.
There are numerous other flaws:
• The biggest mistake is dumping the Central High School-Secondary Technical Center complex and its surrounding fields. The site has space for parking, for athletics, and it’s centrally located. Best of all, it’s isolated from homes. Constant traffic and student frolicking pose no problem.
• Conversely, the miniature footprint at Ordean, the district’s next high school site, promises to disappoint. If developed as proposed, neighbors will display the same angst as those who formerly resided across West Fourth Street from Denfeld. For decades, they screamed about students disrespecting their property, which was sandwiched between the school and a Grand Avenue fast food joint. For years, wimpy Denfeld administrators refused to acknowledge the problem, much less address it.
• Stuffing 1,100 kids into each of two proposed middle schools creates an unruly situation when kids are at a volatile age. Parents whose children have attended Woodland, for example, heard constant talk about fights at the school, which for years has been packed like a can of sardines.
The fatal flaw, however, is the district’s relationship with Johnson Controls, opponents argue. Like many consultant deals, it encourages the contractor to find “problems,” real or imagined, Welty said.
Despite legal and other concerns, Dixon and school board supporters are digging in their heels, refusing to acknowledge the growing heap of concerns.
Lawsuit plaintiffs have called for an expedited trial schedule, arguing “…between now and the time of trial, untold amounts of taxpayer money may be spent on an unlawful contract.”
Author Ron Brochu archives his stories at www.ronbrochublog.com.
Story was originally published in the March 28 Northland Reader.
A Duluth real estate broker rang her hands last week when discussing the housing market. Bad enough that home sales have slowed to a trickle, but the school district’s Red Plan has many potential buyers wondering if they want their kids in Duluth public schools at all.
“Everyone is checking out private and parochial schools,” because they don’t like what ISD 709 proposes to offer," the broker said. People don’t want their kids bused across town, and they don’t want them bouncing between different schools each time Superintendent Keith Dixon tries to expedite Red Plan implementation. Those factors have made it more difficult to market homes in neighborhoods that traditionally had nearby schools.
“The board knows they have to push the plan forward now, because they’ll all be voted out of office at election time. People are livid!” the broker lamented.
Quite possibly, a court decision also could force district officials to rethink their strategy, which in essence has been to sidestep their own bidding rules and derail public input, opponents say. In a civil court action, Harry Welty, Laurence Burda, Dean Davidson, Robert Sershon and Art Johnston are challenging the school district’s right to give Johnson Controls Inc. a no-bid contract to provide professional services to implement the construction. Case law suggests such arrangements are illegal, Welty said.
According to a Dec. 14, 2006, letter from Johnson Controls to school district property and risk manager Kerry Leider, Johnson will receive 18.8 percent of construction costs as a management fee.
This is the plan Budgeteer columnist Ralph Doty on Sunday deemed “visionary.” In his column, he argued it will stimulate Duluth’s economy by creating construction jobs, even suggesting opponents would stall local economic progress while in the depths of an economic abyss – as if the Red Plan wasn’t divisive enough without adding fear-mongering to the equation. Fortunately, most people understand an alternative plan also would stimulate the construction industry.
In the same column, Doty also suggested Duluthians support the Red Plan three-to-one. If that were true, of course, board members wouldn’t fear submitting the $400+ million project to referendum, as the school district’s own hand-picked citizens’ panel recommended. But Dixon refused, alienating even staunch supporters. He knows the Red Plan doesn’t offer what people want at a price they can afford.
It promotes just the opposite, in fact. Under former Superintendent Julio Almanza, the school district hosted a weekend-long session to solicit community input. Smaller schools topped the priority list.
Today’s plan, however, is to build larger buildings and transport more kids than ever at a time when fuel costs are destined to climb. Moving forward, a growing share of taxpayer dollars will go toward busing instead of teaching.
There are numerous other flaws:
• The biggest mistake is dumping the Central High School-Secondary Technical Center complex and its surrounding fields. The site has space for parking, for athletics, and it’s centrally located. Best of all, it’s isolated from homes. Constant traffic and student frolicking pose no problem.
• Conversely, the miniature footprint at Ordean, the district’s next high school site, promises to disappoint. If developed as proposed, neighbors will display the same angst as those who formerly resided across West Fourth Street from Denfeld. For decades, they screamed about students disrespecting their property, which was sandwiched between the school and a Grand Avenue fast food joint. For years, wimpy Denfeld administrators refused to acknowledge the problem, much less address it.
• Stuffing 1,100 kids into each of two proposed middle schools creates an unruly situation when kids are at a volatile age. Parents whose children have attended Woodland, for example, heard constant talk about fights at the school, which for years has been packed like a can of sardines.
The fatal flaw, however, is the district’s relationship with Johnson Controls, opponents argue. Like many consultant deals, it encourages the contractor to find “problems,” real or imagined, Welty said.
Despite legal and other concerns, Dixon and school board supporters are digging in their heels, refusing to acknowledge the growing heap of concerns.
Lawsuit plaintiffs have called for an expedited trial schedule, arguing “…between now and the time of trial, untold amounts of taxpayer money may be spent on an unlawful contract.”
Author Ron Brochu archives his stories at www.ronbrochublog.com.
Story was originally published in the March 28 Northland Reader.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Rolex revolutionaries buy freedom at bike store
By RON BROCHU
Four decades after their movement failed, former hippies are trying to recreate their past aboard loud, fast Hogs.
That thought emerged a thousand times at the Feb. 14 International Motorcycle Show in Minneapolis. The event was jammed with aging throwbacks who, after raising a passel of kids, are donning leather and straddling Harleys.
It’s not always a pretty picture. Come look: There’s Bill Clinton in a head wrap sizing up a Road King, and Hillary checking out leather vests in the apparel booth. By impersonating Sonny Barger, the legendary Hell’s Angels figurehead, aging Americans are searching for a counterculture Nirvana, that mythical place nobody quite found Back In The Day, when it became easier to drop out and turn on than to redefine the American Dream.
A $20,000 bike, of course, is just an expensive symbol. Like a Stratocaster, it’s worthless in the wrong hands. And face it: Most Harleys are in the hands of overstuffed execs who trailer their bikes to Sturgis behind Escalades, riding them just the last few miles – after they swap their monogrammed shirts for brand-name leather costumes. If confronted by real bikers, they wouldn’t survive the first blow to their capped teeth.
Nonetheless, prosperous suburbanites don’t embarrass easily. They’re cool with buying freedom at a bike store, hideously resembling Fred and Ethel Mertz wrapped in cowhide.
It’s just the latest form of escapism in a society hell-bent on having fun while Washington burns. Earlier came snowmobiles and ATVs – machines well suited for a society awash in cheap fuel and environmental disregard. Ignored were loftier goals, such as being good citizens by monitoring the political process, running for office and forcing incumbents into early retirement.
Our disregard has been our downfall. It’s been a fine party, but let’s be clear: While we played, our country putrefied.
Tardy or too late?
Real freedom can’t be purchased, nor can respect. You have to fight for both, but at some point, Americans stopped fighting for anything that didn’t involve personal pleasure or amusement.
Duluthians, for instance, have spent more time haggling over the Lakewalk extension than street repair, expended more effort to saving Lake Superior Zoo than ridding the harbor of invasive species. Our priorities are completely whacked.
On a broader front, the American Dream ran amok, with a majority of people refusing to accept personal responsibility for our collective plight. Instead, we’ve sought pleasure through role play, whether aboard a lightning-fast sport bike, playing Guitar Hero or mindlessly gaming on cell phones. Sure as sunrise, we disregarded all need to sacrifice for the common good.
Just one question: Is it too late to change? Can decades of high life and cheap decadence be reversed? Is America ready?
Hell no.
• Higher state and federal taxes? You’ve got to be kidding! We want to pay less and complain more.
• Reduced public employee benefits? Go fish! Public employee unions control City Hall and care less about taxpayers, despite looming deficits.
• Mainstream media owned and operated by locals rather than carpetbaggers? Much needed, but it ain’t gonna happen.
• Muffled Harleys? Don’t bet your sweet earplugs! The stairway to badass heaven will remain surrounded by thunder.
Yet, we’re at a tipping point. Something must change. Even cheap Nirvana is too costly as the country teeters on bankruptcy. And the worst is yet to come.
• The next shock will appear on our first quarter 401(k) statements. As If December results weren’t bad enough, the markets have dived every time President Obama unveiled new bailout initiatives. Pensions are dwindling faster than hope.
• As unemployment soars, millions inch closer to credit card default. That could be the final straw for big banks that already are destined to topple. How many bailouts can our great grandchildren afford?
• Domestic automakers are destined to fail without a significant infusion of public money. While Detroit seems far away, it’s the major consumer of Minnesota’s iron ore. If one of the big three go under, the regional economy will be slapped hard.
Where do we ride now? Have you heard of the dreaded high-side crash? Hope you wore a helmet and chaps.
FULL DISCLOSURE:Author Ron Brochu rides a 1990 Harley XL1200, which spends more time in repair than on the road, thanks to hideously poor design. But it’s cheap transportation and easy to fix. Brochu archives his articles at www.ronbrochublog.com.
Congress manufacturing sleeper cells
By RON BROCHU
Revolution was a frequent topic in the 1960s, but the threat is far greater today.
Average people are much more desperate and disgusted than our detached leaders comprehend – even during quiet moments between ongoing feedings of white wine and quiche with healthcare lobbyists. From Duluth to Tonawanda, highly educated, experienced people can’t find employment; retirees are struggling to survive as their 401(k) balances vaporize; college kids, burdened by massive tuition debt, have little chance of getting their heads above water before midlife. Widespread discontent is beginning to fester.
After caving in for decades to excessive union demands, cities, counties and states suddenly find themselves broke and gasping for bundles of cash to fund expensive benefits that are beyond reach to non-government workers. Programs that serve the poor are in danger of being severely trimmed or discontinued, while common taxpayers must be extra fees to receive services that should be covered by their existing levy. Mainstream workers have grown tired of picking up the pieces.
Still, the Washington banter remains partisan and deconstructive. During the Bush administration, Congress hastily advanced an ill-thought economic rescue plan that already has failed. Despite a staggering price that will choke future generations, it merely helped big banks grow bigger while continuing to perk underachieving executives. Even worse, the massive handout featured the same lack of oversight that originally dragged America into recession.
President Obama’s new plan thrusts the country far deeper into debt but smells heavily of a liberal feeding frenzy. Despite quick passage, virtually everyone anticipates failure.
And for good reason. Just take at look at Duluth’s “stimulus” proposal. Here’s a quick way to spend a quarter-billion of your dollars: Get the feds to fund the school district’s ill-thought and overpriced Long Range Facilities Plan; build a new airport terminal (as if the existing one isn’t big enough to serve one airline); improve airport runways and roads; construct a joint public safety facility and enhance public transportation infrastructure.
The outcome? Create 2,300 jobs – all in construction-related trades. According to 2007 Census estimates, that would provide employment for every Duluth construction worker, plus a few more. Interestingly, 92.6 percent of them are men; apparently women don’t need jobs.
Not all of the local requests are included in our list, but the remainder lean heavily toward more of the same. Basically, it’s the city’s list of state legislative bonding requests.
In essence, it’s a hastily assembled wish list that, coincidently, would create jobs for unions that contribute heavily to whichever party is in power. It’s not a thoughtfully created list of projects that would assist a broad spectrum of unemployed workers in a vast array of professions.
Thus far, Americans have remained passive about Washington’s failure to lead – so much so that most people don’t understand the long-term apathy; hopefully, that behavior won’t become passive-aggressive. But given the widespread pain and discontent, people may begin to act out their frustrations for a variety of reasons:
Lawlessness could be an early sign that American life is running amok. Theft already is on the rise as poor people struggle to survive with less and less. It will increase if the middle class loses its footing, its homes and its future.
As national debt grows in tandem with illegal immigration, more and more citizens could refuse to pay their taxes, either in protest or for lack of money. Tax collection or property confiscation efforts would only fuel middle class angst.
If this scenario proves true, well-heeled Americans could pack up the car and move abroad – creating massive out-migration of financial resources. Well-educated young people might follow, taking their skills to more-stable countries while abandoning their college loans. That would dump America’s troubles on those who are stuck behind – the abandoned middle class and growing numbers of poorly educated impoverished people.
Could it really happen? Only time will tell, but we’re off to a great start.
The promise of an Obama presidency brought hope to many, but early evidence suggests he’s just another party hack bent on serving his closest supporters while common citizens pay for the party.
Author Ron Brochu is mad as hell and won’t take it anymore. He archives his rants at www.ronbrochublog.com, where your comment is always welcome.
Revolution was a frequent topic in the 1960s, but the threat is far greater today.
Average people are much more desperate and disgusted than our detached leaders comprehend – even during quiet moments between ongoing feedings of white wine and quiche with healthcare lobbyists. From Duluth to Tonawanda, highly educated, experienced people can’t find employment; retirees are struggling to survive as their 401(k) balances vaporize; college kids, burdened by massive tuition debt, have little chance of getting their heads above water before midlife. Widespread discontent is beginning to fester.
After caving in for decades to excessive union demands, cities, counties and states suddenly find themselves broke and gasping for bundles of cash to fund expensive benefits that are beyond reach to non-government workers. Programs that serve the poor are in danger of being severely trimmed or discontinued, while common taxpayers must be extra fees to receive services that should be covered by their existing levy. Mainstream workers have grown tired of picking up the pieces.
Still, the Washington banter remains partisan and deconstructive. During the Bush administration, Congress hastily advanced an ill-thought economic rescue plan that already has failed. Despite a staggering price that will choke future generations, it merely helped big banks grow bigger while continuing to perk underachieving executives. Even worse, the massive handout featured the same lack of oversight that originally dragged America into recession.
President Obama’s new plan thrusts the country far deeper into debt but smells heavily of a liberal feeding frenzy. Despite quick passage, virtually everyone anticipates failure.
And for good reason. Just take at look at Duluth’s “stimulus” proposal. Here’s a quick way to spend a quarter-billion of your dollars: Get the feds to fund the school district’s ill-thought and overpriced Long Range Facilities Plan; build a new airport terminal (as if the existing one isn’t big enough to serve one airline); improve airport runways and roads; construct a joint public safety facility and enhance public transportation infrastructure.
The outcome? Create 2,300 jobs – all in construction-related trades. According to 2007 Census estimates, that would provide employment for every Duluth construction worker, plus a few more. Interestingly, 92.6 percent of them are men; apparently women don’t need jobs.
Not all of the local requests are included in our list, but the remainder lean heavily toward more of the same. Basically, it’s the city’s list of state legislative bonding requests.
In essence, it’s a hastily assembled wish list that, coincidently, would create jobs for unions that contribute heavily to whichever party is in power. It’s not a thoughtfully created list of projects that would assist a broad spectrum of unemployed workers in a vast array of professions.
Thus far, Americans have remained passive about Washington’s failure to lead – so much so that most people don’t understand the long-term apathy; hopefully, that behavior won’t become passive-aggressive. But given the widespread pain and discontent, people may begin to act out their frustrations for a variety of reasons:
- • The beltway stench grows worse and worse. Recent national elections demonstrate people want to throw the bastards out – the Republicans one year, Democrats the next. Each time, the incoming party is a mere clone of its predecessor. People are coming to realize that everyone in Congress is owned by special interests. Power means everything, constituents mean nothing.
• Politicians and economists alike believe Obama’s latest plan won’t be the last. Another massive bailout will be proposed before 2009 ends, raising skepticism even faster than domestic debt.
• Deficit spending eventually will devalue the dollar, fueling inflation faster than federal presses can print greenbacks. Inflation will outpace wage growth, further decreasing the quality of life for average people.
• Medicare and Medicaid costs will continue to grow, and lawmakers won’t work together to repair the ailing plans.
• Bought and controlled by the medical industry, Congress won’t address health care reform, even as constituents fall through the cracks and silently grow livid.
• Taxes inevitably will have to rise as the country struggles on multiple fronts to solve problems politically rather than intellectually. Eventually, everyone will be forced to repay the cost of Washington’s political ineptitude.
Lawlessness could be an early sign that American life is running amok. Theft already is on the rise as poor people struggle to survive with less and less. It will increase if the middle class loses its footing, its homes and its future.
As national debt grows in tandem with illegal immigration, more and more citizens could refuse to pay their taxes, either in protest or for lack of money. Tax collection or property confiscation efforts would only fuel middle class angst.
If this scenario proves true, well-heeled Americans could pack up the car and move abroad – creating massive out-migration of financial resources. Well-educated young people might follow, taking their skills to more-stable countries while abandoning their college loans. That would dump America’s troubles on those who are stuck behind – the abandoned middle class and growing numbers of poorly educated impoverished people.
Could it really happen? Only time will tell, but we’re off to a great start.
The promise of an Obama presidency brought hope to many, but early evidence suggests he’s just another party hack bent on serving his closest supporters while common citizens pay for the party.
Author Ron Brochu is mad as hell and won’t take it anymore. He archives his rants at www.ronbrochublog.com, where your comment is always welcome.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Some industries deserve regulation
By RON BROCHU
The best way to make a buck in Duluth is to launch a company that uses law enforcement to generate business and strong arm customers.
Say what? How can that be?
Here and in many other areas, these perks are enjoyed by those in the towing/impound biz, a largely unregulated trade that allows some operators to rip off the public while cops turn their back.
Several versions of the game are played every day. One of them involves an expensive shakedown of drivers who park in snow removal zones. It happens like this.
For one reason or another, some folks park in zones marked for snow removal, even though the operation is advertised (in publications they never read) and “no parking” signs are posted. They probably could have avoided a tow.
Later, they find their vehicle missing, then call or visit police. That’s when they discover the equivalent of a ransom scheme. To get their car back, they first need to get release documents from police. But after hoofing it to PD, people learn the release tag can only be provided if they present proof of insurance.
Authorities, of course, urge people to keep proof of insurance in their glove box. So, without their car, parking violators must hoof it to a bus or an impound lot, meet with the owner, remove the insurance card from their car, then tread back to Police HQ.
Impound lots, by the way, aren’t located in spiffy areas. Expect to walk down an alley in an unkempt part of town.
The second trip to impound is the most depressing. It’s when you learn the high cost of lodging an automobile. A few hours behind a chain link fence can cost more than a weekend at the Radisson. If you leave your car there for a day or two, better dig into your Christmas Club account or be prepared to forfeit your title.
Don’t expect to see a rate card conspicuously posted. A sympathetic lot owner might give you a break, but a grump might burn your butt just for the sport of it. Best bet: avoid an argument and don’t flaunt your Rolex.
The game can also go like this. You’re in a collision, and the car is disabled. If it’s blocking traffic, emergency dispatchers will call the first tow truck available, despite the operator’s reputation. If you have a preference or auto club membership, forget it.
I played this game nearly two years ago. My auto was towed to a locked outdoor facility, where an adjuster declared it a total loss. When retrieving personal belongings, several things were missing, including a $200 sleeping bag, FM transmitter and an antique religious pendant. In a subsequent phone call, the tow operator denied anything was missing and loudly slammed the received into his phone cradle.
Then came the lesson about the relationship between police and the tow business. After reporting the missing items to authorities, I was told that anybody could have climbed the impound lot’s fence, and I’d need an eyewitness to identify who burglarized my vehicle. It’s “a civil matter” and authorities wouldn’t do anything, they said, washing their hands of the situation. My only recourse was a small claims suit. Although the impound yard was in Duluth, the operator resided in another state. Any lawsuit would have required me to take time off from work to plead my case before the defendant’s home town judge for a fee of about $80. The odds stunk.
Having an acquaintance in the tow business proved informative. I learned some companies immediately inventory vehicle contents and place them under lock and key.
That’s not required, however. Only top operators go the distance for their customers.
I also learned that nearby communities did very little business with the driver who towed my vehicle. After receiving numerous complaints about missing possessions, they moved his name to the bottom of their call list, a local police chief told me.
But not in Duluth, which (incorrectly) views itself as progressive. It seemed logical, therefore, to address the situation. So I contacted city councilors about the need for regulation. All of them responded to my letter, some even expressing sympathy, but my plea fell from their memory quicker than Gary Doty’s lame administration.
Police Chief Gordon Ramsey referred the matter to an assistant chief, who was to contact me within a few days. It never happened.
The situation is even worse in rural areas, a distressed motorist told me several months later. His pick-up broke down and was towed in rural northwestern Wisconsin, even though he left a note on the windshield saying he’d return within minutes. He claimed it was driven off the state road, yet it was towed and he was forced to pay several hundred bucks to get it back.
This individual alleged the tow operator was paying a kickback to his county sheriff, but it was impossible to prove. Similar arrangements, however, are common in the car repair business. While investigating a franchise opportunity a few years back, the franchisor’s representative taught me the value of working with tow truck drivers. When picking up a dead car, they “highly recommend” your shop, and convince the distraught motorist it’s the best place to fix their vehicle. In turn, the shop pays the truck driver an instant stipend. A nice cash deal.
There are many honest operators in the tow business, but high ethics aren’t universal. Until city councilors tackle the problem (don’t hold your breath), motorists would be wise to ask where their vehicle will be stored, at what cost and whether their possessions will be kept under lock and key. If not, make a big fuss and demand responders contact another tow. State your concerns and hold your ground.
It worked for me recently when the same tow that “lost” my possessions was sent to an accident involving a relative. I voiced my concerns and the traffic officer sent him packing when my AAA truck arrived.
Author Ron Brochu archives his articles at www.ronbrochublog.com, which is linked to several local and regional political blogs.
Published in the Feb. 13, 2009 Northland Reader
The best way to make a buck in Duluth is to launch a company that uses law enforcement to generate business and strong arm customers.
Say what? How can that be?
Here and in many other areas, these perks are enjoyed by those in the towing/impound biz, a largely unregulated trade that allows some operators to rip off the public while cops turn their back.
Several versions of the game are played every day. One of them involves an expensive shakedown of drivers who park in snow removal zones. It happens like this.
For one reason or another, some folks park in zones marked for snow removal, even though the operation is advertised (in publications they never read) and “no parking” signs are posted. They probably could have avoided a tow.
Later, they find their vehicle missing, then call or visit police. That’s when they discover the equivalent of a ransom scheme. To get their car back, they first need to get release documents from police. But after hoofing it to PD, people learn the release tag can only be provided if they present proof of insurance.
Authorities, of course, urge people to keep proof of insurance in their glove box. So, without their car, parking violators must hoof it to a bus or an impound lot, meet with the owner, remove the insurance card from their car, then tread back to Police HQ.
Impound lots, by the way, aren’t located in spiffy areas. Expect to walk down an alley in an unkempt part of town.
The second trip to impound is the most depressing. It’s when you learn the high cost of lodging an automobile. A few hours behind a chain link fence can cost more than a weekend at the Radisson. If you leave your car there for a day or two, better dig into your Christmas Club account or be prepared to forfeit your title.
Don’t expect to see a rate card conspicuously posted. A sympathetic lot owner might give you a break, but a grump might burn your butt just for the sport of it. Best bet: avoid an argument and don’t flaunt your Rolex.
The game can also go like this. You’re in a collision, and the car is disabled. If it’s blocking traffic, emergency dispatchers will call the first tow truck available, despite the operator’s reputation. If you have a preference or auto club membership, forget it.
I played this game nearly two years ago. My auto was towed to a locked outdoor facility, where an adjuster declared it a total loss. When retrieving personal belongings, several things were missing, including a $200 sleeping bag, FM transmitter and an antique religious pendant. In a subsequent phone call, the tow operator denied anything was missing and loudly slammed the received into his phone cradle.
Then came the lesson about the relationship between police and the tow business. After reporting the missing items to authorities, I was told that anybody could have climbed the impound lot’s fence, and I’d need an eyewitness to identify who burglarized my vehicle. It’s “a civil matter” and authorities wouldn’t do anything, they said, washing their hands of the situation. My only recourse was a small claims suit. Although the impound yard was in Duluth, the operator resided in another state. Any lawsuit would have required me to take time off from work to plead my case before the defendant’s home town judge for a fee of about $80. The odds stunk.
Having an acquaintance in the tow business proved informative. I learned some companies immediately inventory vehicle contents and place them under lock and key.
That’s not required, however. Only top operators go the distance for their customers.
I also learned that nearby communities did very little business with the driver who towed my vehicle. After receiving numerous complaints about missing possessions, they moved his name to the bottom of their call list, a local police chief told me.
But not in Duluth, which (incorrectly) views itself as progressive. It seemed logical, therefore, to address the situation. So I contacted city councilors about the need for regulation. All of them responded to my letter, some even expressing sympathy, but my plea fell from their memory quicker than Gary Doty’s lame administration.
Police Chief Gordon Ramsey referred the matter to an assistant chief, who was to contact me within a few days. It never happened.
The situation is even worse in rural areas, a distressed motorist told me several months later. His pick-up broke down and was towed in rural northwestern Wisconsin, even though he left a note on the windshield saying he’d return within minutes. He claimed it was driven off the state road, yet it was towed and he was forced to pay several hundred bucks to get it back.
This individual alleged the tow operator was paying a kickback to his county sheriff, but it was impossible to prove. Similar arrangements, however, are common in the car repair business. While investigating a franchise opportunity a few years back, the franchisor’s representative taught me the value of working with tow truck drivers. When picking up a dead car, they “highly recommend” your shop, and convince the distraught motorist it’s the best place to fix their vehicle. In turn, the shop pays the truck driver an instant stipend. A nice cash deal.
There are many honest operators in the tow business, but high ethics aren’t universal. Until city councilors tackle the problem (don’t hold your breath), motorists would be wise to ask where their vehicle will be stored, at what cost and whether their possessions will be kept under lock and key. If not, make a big fuss and demand responders contact another tow. State your concerns and hold your ground.
It worked for me recently when the same tow that “lost” my possessions was sent to an accident involving a relative. I voiced my concerns and the traffic officer sent him packing when my AAA truck arrived.
Author Ron Brochu archives his articles at www.ronbrochublog.com, which is linked to several local and regional political blogs.
Published in the Feb. 13, 2009 Northland Reader
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Bush doctrine strangled Northland residents
By RON BROCHU
Since the 1960s, Duluth-Superior has seldom been uttered in the same breath as “prosperity,” so residents have grown not to expect much beyond inherent natural beauty and the clean, safe environment. But today’s challenge is much more difficult than usual, thanks to debilitating policies promoted by the Bush administration.
While corporate executives floated to soft landings beneath their golden parachutes:
Meanwhile:
Pain regionally and nationwide was triggered by federal decisions designed to generate baskets of money for people just like Bush—those who benefit when government turns its back on long-standing lending and investment regulations. When the house of cards finally toppled, even the wealthy couldn’t recover their losses, forcing Washington to bail out their best campaign contributors.
While combining free market nonsense with delusions of grandeur, he dragged America out of the fast lane straight into a gaping sinkhole that’s devouring middle class dreams from Pennsylvania Avenue to Skyline Parkway.
According to MSN Money, his presidency cost the country about $11.5 trillion. In contrast, the United States had a $150 billion surplus when President Bill Clinton left office.
Nobody escaped the financial trauma inflicted by the unnecessary $3 trillion Iraq war and multi-billion-dollar bailouts designed to salvage irresponsible Wall Street banks and brokers. Each of us has a story.
About the time Bush Too was elected, I covered northwestern Wisconsin as a business reporter. My stories focused on an overheated economy. Resorts and restaurants from Hayward to Grand Marais were hiring foreign students because full employment had created a shortage of local workers. Fast food joints were paying a couple bucks over minimum wage just to cover their shifts. Property values, particularly for lake parcels, were climbing out of sight. Times were good, but much has changed.
Like many others, my earnings today have declined versus 2001, considering inflation. Like society’s aspirations, journalism and the quest for truth stumbled badly during the Bush presidency, tripped by years of top-level skullduggery that threatened freedom and privacy. The raging economy has been replaced by raging unemployment, record profits by record foreclosures.
Even worse, most educated people, including President Barack Obama, say the worst is yet to come.
My mailbox in December contained a letter from Wells Fargo that illustrates how Bush and his reckless advisors infected the worlds of government and business.
“In a recent account review, we noticed that you have not used your line of credit…for over a year. Since your account was inactive…it has been closed,” wrote corporate vice president Richard Nelson.
His words reflect a rather strange arrogance, considering that Uncle Sam invested $25 billion in Wells Fargo to ensure customers would continue to receive credit. But hubris and corporate handouts walked hand-in-hand during the Bush years – at least for the president’s friends. Firms like Blackwater and Halliburton exhibited both traits with impunity, so why not financial institutions?
Supported by the Troubled Assets Relief Program (“The Bailout”), Wells Fargo followed the most troubling path, purchasing Wachovia Corp., which was choking on toxic investments. The purchase nudged Wells Fargo closer to becoming the nation’s largest bank, increasing its corporate stature. But the investment hasn’t impressed stockholders. Trading at $44.30 on Sept. 19, the bank’s stock price has fallen to the $18-$19 range, contributing to its new credit conservatism. The stated intent of TARP, however, was to loosen credit and spark rebounds in the ailing real estate and automotive sectors.
Since the 1960s, Duluth-Superior has seldom been uttered in the same breath as “prosperity,” so residents have grown not to expect much beyond inherent natural beauty and the clean, safe environment. But today’s challenge is much more difficult than usual, thanks to debilitating policies promoted by the Bush administration.
While corporate executives floated to soft landings beneath their golden parachutes:
- 1,900 residents of St. Louis and Douglas counties lost their jobs from January through November, about 1.4 percent of the workforce.
- 7 percent of Duluthians had no jobs in November, according to the latest figures, the highest rate in nearly five years.
Meanwhile:
- Minnesota’s jobless rate climbed to 6.4 percent – double the 3.2 percent when Bush was inaugurated in January 2001.
- Wisconsin’s rate was 5.6 percent compared with 3.7 percent when Bush took office.
Pain regionally and nationwide was triggered by federal decisions designed to generate baskets of money for people just like Bush—those who benefit when government turns its back on long-standing lending and investment regulations. When the house of cards finally toppled, even the wealthy couldn’t recover their losses, forcing Washington to bail out their best campaign contributors.
Dangerously dumbIf lies were money, George Bush would have become the world’s richest man instead of an icon for blissful ineptitude and failure.
While combining free market nonsense with delusions of grandeur, he dragged America out of the fast lane straight into a gaping sinkhole that’s devouring middle class dreams from Pennsylvania Avenue to Skyline Parkway.
According to MSN Money, his presidency cost the country about $11.5 trillion. In contrast, the United States had a $150 billion surplus when President Bill Clinton left office.
Nobody escaped the financial trauma inflicted by the unnecessary $3 trillion Iraq war and multi-billion-dollar bailouts designed to salvage irresponsible Wall Street banks and brokers. Each of us has a story.
About the time Bush Too was elected, I covered northwestern Wisconsin as a business reporter. My stories focused on an overheated economy. Resorts and restaurants from Hayward to Grand Marais were hiring foreign students because full employment had created a shortage of local workers. Fast food joints were paying a couple bucks over minimum wage just to cover their shifts. Property values, particularly for lake parcels, were climbing out of sight. Times were good, but much has changed.
Like many others, my earnings today have declined versus 2001, considering inflation. Like society’s aspirations, journalism and the quest for truth stumbled badly during the Bush presidency, tripped by years of top-level skullduggery that threatened freedom and privacy. The raging economy has been replaced by raging unemployment, record profits by record foreclosures.
Even worse, most educated people, including President Barack Obama, say the worst is yet to come.
My mailbox in December contained a letter from Wells Fargo that illustrates how Bush and his reckless advisors infected the worlds of government and business.
“In a recent account review, we noticed that you have not used your line of credit…for over a year. Since your account was inactive…it has been closed,” wrote corporate vice president Richard Nelson.
His words reflect a rather strange arrogance, considering that Uncle Sam invested $25 billion in Wells Fargo to ensure customers would continue to receive credit. But hubris and corporate handouts walked hand-in-hand during the Bush years – at least for the president’s friends. Firms like Blackwater and Halliburton exhibited both traits with impunity, so why not financial institutions?
Supported by the Troubled Assets Relief Program (“The Bailout”), Wells Fargo followed the most troubling path, purchasing Wachovia Corp., which was choking on toxic investments. The purchase nudged Wells Fargo closer to becoming the nation’s largest bank, increasing its corporate stature. But the investment hasn’t impressed stockholders. Trading at $44.30 on Sept. 19, the bank’s stock price has fallen to the $18-$19 range, contributing to its new credit conservatism. The stated intent of TARP, however, was to loosen credit and spark rebounds in the ailing real estate and automotive sectors.
Lies and damned liesSo far, $350 billion in TARP money has flowed from taxpayers to big business with few strings attached, and without any meaningful administrative restraint.
The inattentive gatekeepers included Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the TARP czar unhindered by traditional inconveniences such as congressional oversight, and also the Fed, which has refused to reveal which companies are receiving TARP welfare. But accountability was never important to Bush or his ilk, as Americans learned when weapons of mass destruction were never found in Iraq and torture was secretly sanctioned in Abu Ghraib. Nobody in Washington was ever deemed responsible. Quite the opposite, in fact. Recall that Bush praised Donald Rumsfeld even as the outgoing defense secretary resigned in obvious disgrace.
The fallout, unfortunately, is landing everywhere. Local residents have lost millions in their retirement accounts as stock prices precipitously decline. That forces retirees to spend less at malls, grocery stores, car lots and other places that provide jobs for working age residents. Food shelves are suffering from fewer donations, and the same can be said of other charities that support poor and homeless people throughout the Twin Ports.
Meanwhile, joblessness and uncertainty have convinced many that now isn’t the time to change homes or buy new vehicles. Even those who are still employed fear the recession could deepen, and their instinct is to spend less.
That’s grim news in a metro that was on the rebound. Residential construction in Duluth-Superior has stopped, with some new condo and townhome units sitting unoccupied for months. Talk has ceased about the potential Murphy Oil refinery expansion, as the possibility of finding a multi-billion-dollar private investor has virtually disappeared. Even a downtown walk along Superior Street reflects the downturn, the Athletic Club Deli being the latest victim.
It’s bad enough that some presidents – Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford – didn’t live up to expectations. George W. Bush, however, whipped America into a tailspin from which we may not recover. At the very least, our offspring will be paying the price for decades, and have nothing to show for it.
Published in the Jan. 23, 2009, Northland Reader
Author Ron Brochu archives his stories at www.ronbrochublog.com, where your comment is encouraged.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Digital TV offers faster speeds, better mileage
By RON BROCHU
By this time next month, Duluth’s antenna farm will blanket the Northland with digital TV signals in a foolish technology change that’s already outdated.
Proponents of the analog-to-digital transformation contend the move will improve picture quality, allow broadcasters to offer more channels and help emergency responders by giving them the former TV frequencies. Their overhyped message, however, overlooks much and paints a thin glossy sheen over system flaws.
We need look only at the recent past to debunk claims of improved quality. It’s the same argument made to promote the replacement of vinyl recordings with CDs, and analog cell phones with digital units. The argument for CDs was that they wouldn’t skip like vinyl. That was a crock, crock, crock, crock, crock, crock, crock, crock, crock, crock. Digital cellular, meanwhile, was going to be crystal clear. “Ca you h r me ow?”
Indeed, digital will allow local TV broadcasters to offer more channels. With the same half-million watts, they can pump out several signals. That ignores the fact, however, that just as many signals can be carried to any location in North America by a few satellites that consume only a couple hundred watts of solar energy. So why waste all the costly, scarce fossil fuel to power transmitters in every burb coast-to-coast?
This argument also fails to address the issue of whether local broadcasters can afford to provide multiple channels, particularly in small metros like Duluth-Superior. The advertising pie hasn’t grown in decades. Every year, the slices grow thinner. In a no-growth market, expansion is only possible at the expense of another player. There’s not enough advertising revenue for everybody to survive.
Moreover, how will those additional stations be managed? Hopefully, the common ownership of multiple radio stations won’t serve as the example. Can you say “dead air?” Or how about stations that simultaneously play two overlapping commercials? It’s the electronic equivalent of an erection that lasts more than four hours. Enough already!
The need for emergency responders to have more frequency spectrum grew out of the 9-11 attacks, when intra-agency communication failed miserably. But the added channels are useless unless municipalities can afford new equipment, and most of them can’t. The added channels will be useless without equipment that can put them to use.
A few things are for sure.
- The digital conversion has provided a cash infusion to overseas manufacturers. They’re working overtime to export flat-panel TVs to the United States, increasing our trade deficit.
- Old analog TVs will be cast aside in large number when the conversion takes place. Rather than paying a recycling fee, some owners will carelessly dump them in landfills, ditches or other inappropriate places.
- Some unscrupulous “recyclers” will merely export old televisions to foreign outfits that burn or bury the toxic components, endangering the environment in other countries. Out of sight, out of mind, eh?
But the conversion has some advantages. It will allow Americans to observe their financial demise in high definition. And if president-elected Barack Obama offers another taxpayer incentive package, which is likely, we could learn whether average people use the money to buy necessities or immediately squander it on enormous mind-numbing flat-screen TVs. In our entitlement-oriented society, the answer could be shocking, for most people believe we deserve that bigger, crisper picture even as the economy crumbles – just as they believe we deserve 20 percent annual growth in stock, bond and real estate values – at a minimum.
The digital revolution, unfortunately, has its limits. It won’t propel Duluth out of its budget deficit, Minnesota out of its revenue shortfall nor America out of its credit collapse. No amount of hype, including constant televised ticker-tape messages, will squeeze the city’s retiree healthcare costs into a beautiful new spectrum devoid of whining retired cops. Darn!
Hopefully, the digital signals will perform better when transmitters are raised to full power. Currently, some channels are nothing to brag about, pixilating or disappearing entirely only a mile from Observation Hill. Expect an uproar if the service doesn’t improve.
The conversion’s success could influence the less-hyped move to digital radio, which is taking off like a herd of turtles.
Like digital TV, digital radio more logically would be broadcast from low-power satellites, but that won’t happen. And it also will greatly benefit foreign manufacturers, because American companies no longer make radios, or much of anything for that matter, because we have labor laws and pollution controls. So we can anticipate more U.S. dollars flowing to emerging nations that soon will have a higher standard of living than America, despite their filthy air and water.
This country, by the way, lags others in the digital conversion, just as it lags others in providing broadband internet access – even as we pat ourselves on the back thinking America leads the pack. Our internet access also is among the costliest when compared with other nations, and providers are paving the way to make it even more expensive by limiting the volume of information we can receive without paying a surcharge.
They contend it’s to prevent heavy users from clogging the system, but many believe the true intent is to prevent people from watching the equivalent of television via computer. That, of course, would offer competition to cable TV giants, which seek to monopolize their highly overpriced services, including “bundles” that cost far more than buying individual components from separate providers.
Author Ron Brochu knows a ruse when he sees one. He archives his ramblings at www.ronbrochublog.com, where your comments will be posted whether they make sense or not.
Published in the Jan. 16, 2009 Northland Reader
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Canadians will resolve Duluth Heights traffic problem
By RON BROCHU
The solution could be worse than the problem for Duluth Heights residents plagued by discourteous East Enders who race down residential streets en route to Miller Hill stores.
City councilors next week will debate whether to further restrict local traffic to cope with boorish sots who can’t see fit to drive Arlington Avenue between Arrowhead Road and Central Entrance. Councilors will consider a plan that would close Ideal Street and forbid east-bound traffic on a portion of Maple Grove Road as the next logical step to discourage “cut-through” driving. That’s in addition to existing Eklund Avenue barriers designed to prevent locals from being smacked down by drivers who view the neighborhood as their private shortcut.
In a letter to Heights residents, city engineers offer one alternative – remove the temporary Eklund Avenue barriers. That, of course, would be akin to waving a green flag at outside motorists.
The Maple Grove Road restrictions are hardly fair to those who live and pay taxes in the neighborhood. In essence, Heights homeowners would be penalized because outsiders refuse to drive along established thoroughfares.
Additionally, it would force neighborhood motorists to further congest Central Entrance, where rush hour traffic has become intolerable. Each day, more drivers are using East Palm Street to circumvent the 4:30 p.m. bottleneck between Central High School and Arlington Avenue.
The proposals will be reviewed by city councilors at the 6 p.m. committee of the whole meeting on Monday (Jan. 12).
It’s possible the discussion will be moot. Duluth-Superior will soon become part of a new country having ties with Canada, according to a bizarre scenario being advanced by a Russian academic.
The United States will fall apart next year, strangled by economic and moral decay, believes Igor Panarin, dean of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s academy for future diplomats.
“There's a 55-45 percent chance right now that disintegration will occur," Panarin, 50, said in the Wall Street Journal’s Dec. 28 edition. More specifically, he claimed the aforementioned decay – aided by uncontrolled immigration and collapse of the U.S. dollar – will spark civil war.
America, predicts the former KGB analyst, will split six ways along geographic lines, with our neck of the woods becoming the Central North American Republic. Presumably, we’d be answering to Ottowa instead of Washington, Prime Minister Stephen Harper rather than President Barack Obama, Ontario Premier Dalton James Patrick McGuinty rather than Govs. Tim Pawlenty and Jim Doyle.
The change might be advantageous for the Twin Ports, where residents already speak Canadian, drink Molson and worship Alanis Morissette. For instance, Minnesotans could nudge Pawlenty off of his Republican bully pulpit, from which he has vociferously chastised Duluth for being too spendy. There’s little appetite for his fiscal conservatism among our neighbors to the north, although Pawlenty may get some street cred for supporting a larger DECC hockey arena. In the new world order, he and other heavy-handed Republicans will be banished to Fargo, which will become a prison city for wealthy ingrates.
Doyle may survive, given his leftward leanings, but he would have to park the cheesehead and embrace the constitutional monarchy form of government. That could prove difficult. His primary skills are fundraising and pleading ignorance when state contracts land in the hands of overstuffed campaign donors. Those abilities aren’t needed given Canada’s brief election cycles and electoral process.
Unlike remaining regions of the former United States, the Great North American Republic would benefit from Canada’s single-payer health insurance. Small businesses could again afford to insure their employees, and governmental agencies – including cities, counties and school districts – wouldn’t have to constantly wrangle with unions over upwardly spiraling healthcare costs.
A substantially uglier scenario would emerge for America’s existing health system, which is controlled by profiteers and legislative lobbyists, designed primarily to benefit stockholders rather than patients. As the party fizzles, healthcare execs would have to adapt to a life without backdated options, forcing them to drive Lincolns instead of Acuras.
At the street level, Duluthians may actually be able to trade their SUVs for standard cars. Unlike the existing United States, Canada actually invests in its roads, replacing broken pavement with smooth new concrete. Its potholes aren’t large enough to swallow Toyotas, unlike the moonscape left in Duluth by mayors Fedo, Doty and Bergson.
Taxes, unfortunately, would be higher. But society would not collapse, as existing American politicians have led us to believe, nor would freedom disappear, as is evident in Canada and Scandinavian countries that lean toward socialism.
Is Panarin for real or just another publicity hound? It’s anyone’s guess, eh?
Author Ron Brochu archives his stories at www.ronbrochublog.com. He invites your comments.
Published in the Jan. 9, 2009 Northland Reader.
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