The United States has 5% of the world's population.
We also have 25% of the world's prisoners.
Prison/prisoner costs are $60 billion a year, more than the GDP of 140 countries in the world.
Backsliding? Roughly 70% of American prisoners will commit another crime within 3 years of their release from prison.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
More Youtube videos uploaded from the Grant County Wind project - wind blade assembly being done
Click to enlarge the photo collection.
Numerous video clips have been added to the Editor's Youtube page, which is found online at http://www.youtube.com/user/hoffeditor.
More information and photos will be in the December 3rd issue of the Hoffman Tribune.
Numerous video clips have been added to the Editor's Youtube page, which is found online at http://www.youtube.com/user/hoffeditor.
More information and photos will be in the December 3rd issue of the Hoffman Tribune.
"Black Friday" madness is underway in Alexandria, as well as other regional centers across the Midwest and big cities around the U.S.
According to a report from my mom, who I talked to at 5:45am on Friday morning, it was "worse than she ever could have imagined" as she stood in the lobby of Target in Alexandria. The lines wrapped to the back of the store. She was not one of the hardy folks who stood in line hours before the 5am opening of their doors. Every item she wanted, with the exception of one toy, was all "picked over" according to her.
She was looking forward to Herberger's at the Viking Plaza - a friend in Alexandria called her and said things looked much more promising over there.
Out in the Target parking lot, my mom added that a couple crazy drivers flew out of the lot, nearly hitting another car - sort of the behavior that I would expect on a Black Friday. She was a "Black Friday rookie" - and after just her experience at Target, she went way thoroughly un-impressed by the behavior of people!
Zoom southwest to Willmar, my sister was able to get approximately 6 of the 30 items she had on a list at Target. She went over to the Super-Walmart and reported that the parking lot there was full of cars. Her last stop was the Kandi Shopping Mall further to the north in the Willmar business district.
Even farther southwest to Hutchinson, my girlfriend got in line at Target there at 3:30am. About 50 people were in front of her. She was able to get "most" of the items she wanted, and the lines there were just as deep as they were at Target in Alexandria.
She was looking forward to Herberger's at the Viking Plaza - a friend in Alexandria called her and said things looked much more promising over there.
Out in the Target parking lot, my mom added that a couple crazy drivers flew out of the lot, nearly hitting another car - sort of the behavior that I would expect on a Black Friday. She was a "Black Friday rookie" - and after just her experience at Target, she went way thoroughly un-impressed by the behavior of people!
Zoom southwest to Willmar, my sister was able to get approximately 6 of the 30 items she had on a list at Target. She went over to the Super-Walmart and reported that the parking lot there was full of cars. Her last stop was the Kandi Shopping Mall further to the north in the Willmar business district.
Even farther southwest to Hutchinson, my girlfriend got in line at Target there at 3:30am. About 50 people were in front of her. She was able to get "most" of the items she wanted, and the lines there were just as deep as they were at Target in Alexandria.
I'm glad there's women out there who'll go through the chore of being in the midst of such madness. This guy sure has no desire to partake in it! Give me the quiet shopping district of a Hoffman or Glenwood ANY day!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Girls Basketball Preseason Polls are released - hot off the press!
Class AA
1. Minneapolis Roosevelt
2. New London-Spicer
3. Pipestone
4. Dover-Eyota
5. Sauk Centre
6. Braham
7. East Grand Forks
8. Caledonia
9. Rochester Lourdes
10. New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva
Class 1A
1. Barnum
2. Cedar Mountain-Comfrey
3. Maranatha
4. Bigfork
5. Parkers Prairie
6. New Life Academy
7. Red Lake County Central
8. Granada-Huntley-East Chain
9. Brandon-Evansville
10. Bertha-Hewitt
1. Minneapolis Roosevelt
2. New London-Spicer
3. Pipestone
4. Dover-Eyota
5. Sauk Centre
6. Braham
7. East Grand Forks
8. Caledonia
9. Rochester Lourdes
10. New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva
Class 1A
1. Barnum
2. Cedar Mountain-Comfrey
3. Maranatha
4. Bigfork
5. Parkers Prairie
6. New Life Academy
7. Red Lake County Central
8. Granada-Huntley-East Chain
9. Brandon-Evansville
10. Bertha-Hewitt
First State Bank of Kensington gathers its totals for recent food drive (photo below from their lobby on Wednesday morning)
Eight tubs of food, along with $800 from the bank's coffers, will be donated to area food shelves in the surrounding counties of Stevens, Pope, Douglas, and Grant over the next couple business days.
7th District Congressman Collin Peterson Asks Supreme Court to Uphold Second Amendment Rights
Congressman Collin Peterson has signed on to an amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” brief asking the Supreme Court to uphold Second Amendment rights on the state and local government level. The Court announced in late September that it would visit the question of whether state and local governments could deny rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment on the federal level. The court case, McDonald vs. Chicago, specifically questions a Chicago, Illinois gun control law.
“I’m pleased the Supreme Court is going to address this issue,” Peterson said after learning of the Court’s decision to hear the case. “The Court should take this opportunity to make clear what we all already know, that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments too. No state legislature can take away the freedom to protect yourself.”
In a court case last year, District of Columbia vs. Heller, the Supreme Court decided that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s, and not just a group’s, right to “keep and bear Arms.” However, that case only examined federal gun control laws in theDistrict of Columbia. McDonald vs. Chicago addresses a remaining question, whether or not the Second Amendment applies to the states.
“I’ve always been a defender of the Second Amendment,” Congressman Peterson said. “It seems clear to me that no government—federal, state or local—can infringe on the right to ‘keep and bear arms.’”
In McDonald vs. Chicago, Alan Gura, the same attorney who challenged the District of Columbia gun ban, brought suit against gun regulations in Chicago. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his claims and said that the Second Amendment did not apply to the states. The Supreme Court will revisit that decision.
The amicus brief Congressman Peterson signed was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday and is available by clicking here: http://collinpeterson.house.gov/PDF/mcdonald_ac_congress.pdf (It will download a PDF file onto your computer)
“I’m pleased the Supreme Court is going to address this issue,” Peterson said after learning of the Court’s decision to hear the case. “The Court should take this opportunity to make clear what we all already know, that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments too. No state legislature can take away the freedom to protect yourself.”
In a court case last year, District of Columbia vs. Heller, the Supreme Court decided that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s, and not just a group’s, right to “keep and bear Arms.” However, that case only examined federal gun control laws in theDistrict of Columbia. McDonald vs. Chicago addresses a remaining question, whether or not the Second Amendment applies to the states.
“I’ve always been a defender of the Second Amendment,” Congressman Peterson said. “It seems clear to me that no government—federal, state or local—can infringe on the right to ‘keep and bear arms.’”
In McDonald vs. Chicago, Alan Gura, the same attorney who challenged the District of Columbia gun ban, brought suit against gun regulations in Chicago. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his claims and said that the Second Amendment did not apply to the states. The Supreme Court will revisit that decision.
The amicus brief Congressman Peterson signed was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday and is available by clicking here: http://collinpeterson.house.gov/PDF/mcdonald_ac_congress.pdf (It will download a PDF file onto your computer)
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
ELCA Church issue - commentary for discussion purposes
I and many others I know are upset by the decision of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) made at its Churchwide Assembly this past August to allow its pastors be in gay and lesbian relationships. My wife and I have been longtime, loving members of the ELCA, but we cannot fathom why the ELCA leadership would make such a decision that runs counter to the Bible, the history of the church, and the ELCA’s membership.
This is not an issue of whether gays and lesbians are not welcome as members, or that we should not care about them as human beings. Rather, this is a matter of commitment to the word of Scriptures. Among many other statements in the Bible on this issue, in Chapter 1, Verses 24 to 27 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, God makes it clear that homosexuality is a sin:
24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. (NIV)
For over 2,000 years, the consensus of Christian teaching is that its members must remain faithful to the Scriptures, which does not approve of homosexual activity. Until its recent Churchwide Assembly, the ELCA and its predecessors were consistent with this consensus in its teaching documents and social statements. If ELCA pastors promise to preach and teach in accordance with the Holy Scriptures, how can a pastor do so if the ELCA now accepts gay and lesbian relationships as not sinful?
The membership of the ELCA is clearly not in favor of this change to allow its pastors be in gay and lesbian relationships. If permitted to continue on its current path, the ELCA will be in ruins. Look at the Episcopal Church: it has been in turmoil since 2003 when it consecrated its first openly gay bishop, resulting in congregations leaving that church and growth of rival denominations. Already, ELCA congregations are considering leaving: this past September, 91% of the members surveyed at a congregational meeting of Hosanna! Lutheran Church of Lakeville, Minnesota, one of the state’s largest Lutheran congregations, felt that it should separate from the ELCA.
So, what do those of us who care about the ELCA and the future of the Lutheran Church to do? You and I must take action to alter the current path of the ELCA:
1.Contact others in your ELCA congregation to hold a vote on the issue. I believe all will be more than 90% against the change, like Hosanna! Lutheran Church.
2.Stop all funding of the ELCA at all levels. This is a must! The two largest ELCA churches in North Dakota, Hope Lutheran and First Lutheran, both in Fargo, voted to stop funding the ELCA. Please follow them.
3.Do not leave the ELCA. This is our church! Let’s give it one year to change it.
4.Contact Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Renewal), which offers resources to help individuals and congregations make decisions about the best way forward given this crisis. Information about Lutheran CORE can be found at its website at www.lutherancore.org or by e-mailing it at info@lutherancore.org.
In closing, what upset me the most were the results of an Internet search I did for “ELCA Church Gay Ministries” on the website Bing.com: ads for “Free gay dating” and “Gay magazines” appeared throughout the web pages. The impression this gives is a travesty upon our wonderful church. Please take action.
Bob Lee
Staples, Minnesota
Bob Lee is a retired businessman. He and his wife Betty have been members of Faith Lutheran Church in Staples for over 46 years. Their four children were all baptized, confirmed, and married at Faith Lutheran.
This is not an issue of whether gays and lesbians are not welcome as members, or that we should not care about them as human beings. Rather, this is a matter of commitment to the word of Scriptures. Among many other statements in the Bible on this issue, in Chapter 1, Verses 24 to 27 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, God makes it clear that homosexuality is a sin:
24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. (NIV)
For over 2,000 years, the consensus of Christian teaching is that its members must remain faithful to the Scriptures, which does not approve of homosexual activity. Until its recent Churchwide Assembly, the ELCA and its predecessors were consistent with this consensus in its teaching documents and social statements. If ELCA pastors promise to preach and teach in accordance with the Holy Scriptures, how can a pastor do so if the ELCA now accepts gay and lesbian relationships as not sinful?
The membership of the ELCA is clearly not in favor of this change to allow its pastors be in gay and lesbian relationships. If permitted to continue on its current path, the ELCA will be in ruins. Look at the Episcopal Church: it has been in turmoil since 2003 when it consecrated its first openly gay bishop, resulting in congregations leaving that church and growth of rival denominations. Already, ELCA congregations are considering leaving: this past September, 91% of the members surveyed at a congregational meeting of Hosanna! Lutheran Church of Lakeville, Minnesota, one of the state’s largest Lutheran congregations, felt that it should separate from the ELCA.
So, what do those of us who care about the ELCA and the future of the Lutheran Church to do? You and I must take action to alter the current path of the ELCA:
1.Contact others in your ELCA congregation to hold a vote on the issue. I believe all will be more than 90% against the change, like Hosanna! Lutheran Church.
2.Stop all funding of the ELCA at all levels. This is a must! The two largest ELCA churches in North Dakota, Hope Lutheran and First Lutheran, both in Fargo, voted to stop funding the ELCA. Please follow them.
3.Do not leave the ELCA. This is our church! Let’s give it one year to change it.
4.Contact Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Renewal), which offers resources to help individuals and congregations make decisions about the best way forward given this crisis. Information about Lutheran CORE can be found at its website at www.lutherancore.org or by e-mailing it at info@lutherancore.org.
In closing, what upset me the most were the results of an Internet search I did for “ELCA Church Gay Ministries” on the website Bing.com: ads for “Free gay dating” and “Gay magazines” appeared throughout the web pages. The impression this gives is a travesty upon our wonderful church. Please take action.
Bob Lee
Staples, Minnesota
Bob Lee is a retired businessman. He and his wife Betty have been members of Faith Lutheran Church in Staples for over 46 years. Their four children were all baptized, confirmed, and married at Faith Lutheran.
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