Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com
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Our View
Mighty river’s potential finally being realized
Our Mighty Mississippi is indeed a mighty river. It contributed mightily to this nation’s greatness – as a transportation corridor; as a nurturing water supply for so many cities, towns, villages and farms; as a limitless resource for recreation; as a power source for industries; and last but not least, as a mighty nurturer of fish and animals. It was good to see so many river-city mayors meet in St. Cloud recently for the “Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative.” The ongoing effort is a way for mayors and river experts to get together and brainstorm on ways to preserve and enhance that mighty resource, The River. There have been many group meetings about the river by various groups, including right here in central Minnesota. More and more people are realizing what a great asset that river is, how we must protect it and how untapped it is as a limitless recreational and economic resource. At least two cities along the river (Dubuque, Iowa and Memphis, Tenn.) gained remarkable new leases on life by wisely building environmentally sound recreational and cultural facilities right at the edge of the river. Local folks from this area, including Sartell city officials, took a tour of Dubuque a few years ago and came back with glowing reviews of what they’d seen and heard. Sartell Mayor Joe Perske was one of the mayors who participated in the “River Initiative.” He, too, was impressed by the brimming concerns and ideas the “down-river” mayors brought to the three-day conference in St. Cloud. Perske, who grew up in the St. Cloud area, is old enough to remember how the Mississippi River, right in this area, was polluted to such a foul extent. For many along the river, it had become a more or less open sewer into which individuals and industries dumped virtually anything. Thanks to laws and regulations throughout the years, the quality of the river has vastly improved and some species in it have even made a comeback. However, there is more work to do. There is no reason why “river folks” can’t get together and keep working on ways to keep pollutants (such as herbicides and pesticides) out of our Mighty River and other area waterways. In the meantime, there are is exciting potential for environmentally friendly development of commercial, recreational and cultural ventures along the river (as in Dubuque) that could boost local economies. For too long, people took the Mississippi River for granted. At long last, its ecological vulnerability and its mighty untapped potential are being recognized and developed by people who truly love the Mighty Miss. as the mighty resource that it is.
Fairness and ethics
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Friday, July 26, 2013
Opinion Republicans should put up or shut up The U.S. House Republicans are like a colony of termites, voraciously nibbling away at the foundations of ObamaCare. Their latest dirty little tactic is to try to delay the implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. They are angry about ObamaCare becoming the law of the land, and they are doubly bitter ever since the U.S. Supreme Court, to their dunderheaded disappointment, upheld the Act’s key provision – the mandate. It’s time for Republicans to either put up or shut up. If they detest ObamaCare so much, it’s time for them to come up with solutions of their own. But of course that will never happen, because these smug legislators, whose health-care packages are part of their many perks paid by taxpayers, have the selfish notion the health-care system is not broken. Their smarmy attitude is if nearly 50 million people have no insurance, it’s their own fault. They are deadbeats and freeloaders who are not working hard enough. If they would get two or three minimumwage jobs, surely they could then afford insurance. And plenty of non-legislators have that same attitude – “I got mine, you get yours!” Some day, if those people lose their jobs, they or their loved ones might be highand-dry, without the means to buy insurance. They’ll be singing a different tune, maybe, when that sad day comes. Remember, there but for fortune go you and I. So many people have said to me
Dennis Dalman Editor in the past few years, “ObamaCare is a disaster.” “Why? What don’t you like about it?” I ask, genuinely open-minded as to their objections. “Well, um . . . well . . . “ they stammer. “It’s run by the government; it’s socialism. They’ll take my insurance policy away. I won’t be able to have my choice of doctors. It will be way too expensive. We’ll have to wait in long lines. There’s a death panel that will decide who gets treatment. Why should I pay for someone else’s health care?” It’s so obvious they are parroting buzz phrases they heard from extremists like Gasbag Rush Limbaugh. Here is how I verbally slap back: “Listen, until you can do some research and learn some facts about ObamaCare, would you please stop spouting those lies?” They don’t like to hear that. Tough. Obama himself was the first to say the Affordable Care Act will have to undergo plenty of tweaking in its first years. Every major program, such as Medicare, required adjustments. You would think Republicans would roll up their sleeves and brainstorm, along with Democrats, as to how to improve the law. But
think again. Their sole purpose is to savagely sabotage ObamaCare at all costs. And why? It’s very simple. It is Obama’s law, and anything to do with Obama that might prove to be a success must be trashed, tossed out like baby with bathwater. These Republicans are so deeply bitter about Obama’s re-election they would vote against a cancer cure if Obama came up with one. For five years these do-nothings have been naysaying, poo-poohing and rigidly obstructing any legislation that comes down the pike. And their rationale for their obstructionism is anything Obama proposes, they will oppose – no matter what it is. Compromise is not a word in their vocabularies. Sen. Mitch McConnell, one of the worst obstructionists, vowed two years ago his prime purpose as a senator was to do everything in his power to defeat Obama in a re-election bid. It was a nasty vendetta that backfired on him and other Obama-haters. And now, of course, they are more obstructionist than ever – utterly determined to sink the Affordable Care Act, which is Obama’s signature legislation and the most important health act since Medicare. We keep hearing, “Why doesn’t Obama spend more time explaining how ObamaCare will work?” He has. Many times. There have also been many excellent media explanations. But the trouble is too many people aren’t paying attention. The real question should be, “Why do so many people prefer lies over facts?”
I’m happier in a boat than on a golf course I always find it interesting the hobbies people embrace and the reasons behind that decision. For instance, I used to golf, not very well mind you, but I tried. For a number of years I went golfing with friends. They were all better than me. That didn’t really matter; I could accept my deficiency at the game. I grew up playing baseball and didn’t golf until I was in college. I might have golfed once or twice a year at that time. As I got older I made friends with guys who were avid golfers, and I tagged along with them. I’d do OK. I’d always have the high score, but occasionally I made a great shot, which gave me hope there might be more to my game. I even took a few lessons to get better, but somehow I think they hurt more than helped. I started worrying about my knees and hips and back and head and swing and follow-through. The more I thought, the worse my game got, it seemed. And then, the nightmare of all nightmares happened. I went golfing with a couple buddies, and one of them brought his brother along. His brother, it turned out, was a golf pro
Mike Nistler Reporter at a local course. This must have really messed me up because somewhere along the course I couldn’t hit the ball off the tee. I swung and missed. Tried again but whiffed again. I knew my friends and the golf pro were watching me. Let me tell you they were great about it. They didn’t say anything until I asked for help. The golf pro gave me a few friendly suggestions. I think I finally squirted the ball off the tee. That was good enough for me, but that’s the last time I picked up a club. I still have them in my storage shed. I’m not sure why. Maybe I think someday I’ll take up the sport again. Meanwhile, I now fish with my brothers on a regular basis during the summer. I find this much more enjoyable. Again, I’m not a professional angler, and I’ll probably never go fishing with one. But I have my share of success.
And if we don’t catch anything, at least we have the beauty of the lake to enjoy. When you do catch a fish that puts up a bit of a fight, it’s exhilarating landing it. Probably because you never know what you’re going to pull into the boat from the waters below. It’s sort of like that children’s game at carnivals — the wishing well. When they put that hook behind the curtain you never know how big a prize you’re going to reel in. Another distinct advantage I think fishing has over golf is when you go fishing you can eat the rewards from that day. You can’t eat a scorecard. Well, maybe you can, but I’m sure it tastes nowhere as wonderful as a bunch of pan-fried fresh fish. And while you can have a beer or two on the golf course, the more you drink while golfing, the harder it is to hit the ball where you want it to go. Having some beers while fishing, well, the fish don’t seem to mind one bit. This column may start a debate. I’m sure there are tons of folks who would prefer a day at a golf course over one in a boat on a lake. I’m just not one of them.