I'm very anxious for the vote on Tuesday - mainly to see how the WCA levy turns out

...and yes WCA voters, please vote yes!

In the interest of the public's right to know...

Due to the fact that Grant County is broke (generally speaking), the general election "sample ballot" was not published in our Herman-Hoffman Tribune.

Once the county auditor's office found out what it would cost to publish it in our newspaper, they decided to do only what the state law requires: publish it two times leading up to the general election in the official "county newspaper" - which is the Grant County Herald.

Obviously, my publisher was angry. I am too. Of course, 99% of the blame lies with Governor Pawlenty and the tea party, anti-tax, cut-government-into-oblivion crowd. I don't have ill feelings towards our county auditor - this time, the county budget said "no".

Our phone has been ringing off the hook today with angry seniors who wanted to see the ballot in their Herman-Hoffman Tribune.

The best I can do is have a copy of it in my office (which I do) so people can come down and look at it or get copies.

The dumbing down of America continues...

So the Republican Party chair thinks that Republicans who support Tom Horner are going to hell...

In regards to the Republicans who are publicly supporting Tom Horner for governor, the chair of the Minnesota Republican Party, Tony Sutton, was quoted as saying "there's a special place in hell for these quislings."

Classy.

Here is the response from two of the gentleman attacked by that comment, George Pillsbury and Bill Belanger.

October 7, 2010 
To: Tony Sutton Chairman, Republican Party of Minnesota
525 Park Street, Suite 250
St. Paul, MN 55103 

Mr. Sutton:  As veterans of the United States military and former state legislators, we were highly offended to pick up our morning Star Tribune newspaper and read that you were accusing us of being traitors to our country for supporting Tom Horner for governor. (“There’s a special place in hell for these quislings.”) Those of us who support Horner and his centrist view of governance have nothing in common with Norwegian politician Vidkun Quisling, a Nazi sympathizer who collaborated with the Germans to enslave millions of his countrymen during the Second World War.  We proudly wore the uniforms of our nation, one of us as a Marine Lieutenant in the Philippines during World War II, one of us a few years later in Korea as an Army Corporal. For you to besmirch that service is demeaning. We support Tom Horner for governor precisely because we care so much about our state and our nation. We sought elective office after our years of military service because we care about our country and its future. We did not believe our service ended when we were discharged. For decades, we have continued to volunteer in our communities to make our society stronger. We are supporting Tom Horner for governor because we believe his moderate, centrist view of government is precisely what Minnesota needs right now. We are concerned that Sutton’s candidate, Tom Emmer, is too far to the right, and that Mark Dayton, the Democrat, is too far to the left. We believe it is best for all concerned to have a governor who can work with both political parties, to do what’s right and not worry about who gets the credit. We went to war to defend the Constitution, which included fighting for your right of free speech, so you are free to say whatever you want. We would appreciate it if, in the future, you were more careful not to criticize American veterans just because you disagree with our choice of candidates.

Sincerely, George Pillsbury First Lieutenant, United States Marine Corp (ret)Veteran of World War II, former State Senator, Wayzata 

Bill Belanger Corporal, United States Army (ret)Veteran of the Korean War, former State Senator, Bloomington.

Democracy isn't easy

I just got back from the Tom Emmer rally at the Douglas County Republican headquarters in Alexandria, held at 3:30 today.

I showed up about 10 minutes late (typical) but had plenty to take in when I arrived. On the other side of the street was a young man with a megaphone. A loud one. Even though it was quite windy, it wasn't hard to hear what he was saying.

His mom and sister are both former waitresses; his wife is a waitress. (Guess what he was upset about) I won't be adding much more than that, because I'm in the process of finding out what, if any, laws he broke while protesting. Apparently, the cops were called on a complaint either about what he was doing or what he was saying.

Last I checked, though, this wasn't Nazi Germany. Hopefully we can keep it that way.

**Update at 8:30pm...the gentleman who was protesting gave me a call tonight and reported that he, in fact, was not breaking any laws, and had a nice conversation with a police officer with the Alexandria P.D. about what he was doing. After reviewing the city's noise ordinance, it was determined that he was not breaking any laws.

Chalk one up for the little guy.

• Visit the Herman-Hoffman Tribune website videos page to see a clip of Emmer speaking to his supporters at the headquarters. I just uploaded and edited the taglines at 9:00 tonight.

http://www.hermanhoffmantribune.com/?page_id=432

Tomorrow I'll talk a little bit about what Emmer was saying inside headquarters. Most of it will be on the videos page. I have one of the two clips already loaded. I will give all sorts of credit to the Emmer campaign, his speaking style has gotten very refined and polished. He gave many valid points in what I heard him say.

He still can't shake what he said last July, though. (About cheating restaurant servers out of their wages with a tip credit.)

I like it - do you?

It probably doesn't work for the Tea Party...but I don't care what they think.

Max J. Beilke VA Clinic has dedication ceremony on Saturday in Alexandria

The Department of Veterans Affairs Alexandria community-based outpatient clinic held a renaming ceremony in honor of Max J. Bielke on a sunny afternoon, Sat., Sept. 11. Wonderful photo here taken by Georgene Gunderson of Kensington. More photos are on the Tribune's Facebook fan page as well as the upcoming issue of the Herman-Hoffman Tribune on September 16.



Below, Senator Amy Klobuchar speaking at the ceremony. Photo by Bennett Smith, DFL candidate for House District 11A.

Remember the fallen - 9/11/01

Remember the fallen on this day - 9/11/01 - may they never be forgotten nor their deaths be in vain as we celebrate our freedoms and rejoice in America's unequaled liberties. Photo taken outside the Cyrus Fire Department late this afternoon.

God Bless America!

Happy Fourth of July!

Saturday night fireworks up North at a cabin I stayed at with my family this past weekend.

Memorial Day program held at West Central Area high school

Phil Corrigan narrated a Flag-folding ceremony during the Memorial Day program on Monday at the WCA High School auditorium.

Welcome home, Charlie Company!

You can view a photo album with scenes from the Homecoming ceremony at the University of Minnesota-Morris P.E. Center by clicking here:

http://freescout.dotphoto.com/CPViewAlbum.asp?AID=6126031

Here's a couple video clips...