Herald Journal Blogs & News » Letters to the Editor

Letter: We need more responsible government

Staff — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:47:50 +0000

From: James Bobier
Chair Senate Dist. 18 Republicans
On March 13, the Republicans of Senate Dist. 18 are holding their first endorsing convention since 2002.
This is an exciting time as we have four candidates vying for this office and at a time our state is seeking real solutions to the problems of Minnesota.
It is interesting to read certain newspaper editorials from our area weighing in on who is the better candidate and even who is the most Republican. It is surprising to me that these authors can have such great insight into the Republican Party, yet I do not remember these critical authors ever attending our monthly meetings, walking parades, helping candidates or contributing in any way.
What I can comment on is that many of the active members of our McLeod, Meeker and Wright County Republican parties are demanding a return to more responsible government.
This includes not spending more than you have, respecting the individual rights of our citizens and acknowledging that all levels of government must have a limit.
Reaching across the aisle should not be judged just by practicing this method but by the results of using this method. Can anyone claim that the reason our state and nation are suffering today is because our elected officials are not reaching across to the other side enough?
Indeed, the converse is true: one party agrees to increase spending for their bill if the other party agrees to increase spending for theirs. This is the root cause of the frustration fueling the resurgence of tea parties and grassroots groups.
If a new bill is being proposed that continues to enlarge government that we can’t afford, I pray that our elected Republicans will vote no and keep saying no until a constitutional bill is offered that will not make matters worse.
Some would have you believe that the Republican leadership in Senate Dist. 18 is entrenched power brokers wielding strong powers behind-the-scenes. This is ridiculous and anyone showing up at our events would know this.
The truth is, that many of our current party leadership are new and were not involved with political party’s leadership before 2008, including myself.
The reason I and many active members became involved is because of our concerns about the continuing erosion of liberties we are seeing and the further growth and spending of government beyond our means. We are concerned with the future of our children.
Minnesota is fortunate to have a caucus system that allows anyone wanting to support the Republican Party to get involved with the process to endorse our candidates. My job as Senate Dist. 18 chair is to arrange for a convention for the benefit of the delegates and for them to choose whom to endorse.
The delegates are interested to know which candidates commit to honor the endorsement decision from our convention. One could ask why a candidate would go through all of the work to speak to our delegates and ask for their endorsement, if they can not willingly commit to honor the endorsement decision from the delegates.
Lastly, our government was organized with the understanding that power was to be shared between the federal and state levels. However, the last 60 years the federal government has steadily encroached on the power of the states. This is a serious cause of concern.
A recent Rasmussen survey revealed that 59 percent of “likely voters” believe states should have the right to opt out of federal programs with which they don’t agree. Such a number would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. Again, this shows that the voters recognize this and are seeking a correction through electing conservative Republicans for the upcoming 2010 elections.
Dist. 18 includes all of Meeker and McLeod counties, plus the following area in Wright County: the cities of Howard Lake, Cokato, and Annandale; and townships of French Lake, Middleville, South Haven, Southside, and Stockholm.

Letter: Snowmobile hater punishes the masses

Staff — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:47:00 +0000

From: Thor Lund
Cokato
Dear snowmobile hater, we have never even met and yet you hate me and all who share my passion.
I have several snowmobiles, more than I can even ride. Not everyone follows the rules. I do not believe you should punish the masses or label them based on the actions of a few.
Do you hate people who own cars? People trespass and are killed in cars all the time. Do you hate people who drink? Some people drink and drive. For this, should we go back to prohibition?
Do you hate hunters? Some hunters trespass. Do you hate guns too?
I would like to suggest that you turn to Christ to help you deal with your hate issues. Even Jesus Christ was hated, and he never sinned. I realize some people don’t believe in God, in that case, maybe anger management would help.
There are several children in my neighborhood who cut through my yard. Some of them litter, but I don’t hate them, or even put up fences. That would take away from the others that were not doing anything wrong. I do not hate you. I don’t even hate Barack Obama, and he just tells one lie after another.

Letter: Doctors will take fewer Medicare claims

Staff — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:44:10 +0000

From: Joan Neururer
Waverly
As of March 1, Medicare reimbursements to doctors have decreased by 21 percent. Doctors weren’t even close to breaking even with the old reimbursements. This assures that there will be fewer and fewer doctors taking Medicare patients.
Doctors who do take Medicare patients will have to pass more losses on to non-Medicare patients. Insurance costs will go up and the hypocrites in government will want to further regulate the “evil” insurance companies, and possibly doctors.
Insurance companies have a low profit margin of just 2.2 percent and can hardly be, fairly, labeled as greedy. They are however, labeled as greedy by the Obama administration.
Meanwhile S-CHIP and Medicaid programs were expanded under Obama. For the first time in American history, government-run entities encompass more people than the private sector insurance. We are in big trouble. All three of these entities are under-funded and going broke.
To make matters worse, the geniuses on the left want universal health care. Every program the government is overseeing, whether Social Security, Medicare, S-CHIP, Medicaid, social services, and so on, is an administrative nightmare and very costly.
Altogether, government programs are spending us into oblivion. The national debt is $12.3 trillion. This translates into a debt for every man, woman, and child in America of $39,840 and that amount is continuing to mount daily, thanks to the spending of Mr. Obama.
This man has out-spent the combined totals of all the presidents before him and he has only been in office for a year. His “hope” has taken all our change “and” his “change” is taking all our hope.
Obama and the Democrats want a complete overhaul of health care. They had the numbers in the Senate and House to do whatever they wished. It is just lucky for sane people that they could not agree amongst themselves.
Our illustrious leader is, now, calling for bi-partisan support of Obamacare. He wants the “Party of No” to say yes, to bankrupt the nation. They must stand firm and continue to say no to this massive overhaul of the health care industry.
Candidate Obama promised transparency and accountability. He promised an end to back room politics. He promised C-Span coverage for important legislation. So the president finally, after a year in office, living up to his promise brought us a “health care summit.”
Earlier in his presidency he has a “beer summit.” Like the “beer summit” the “health care summit” was a charade and meaningless. At the health care summit, our angry and petulant president lecture for more than a third of the allotted time. The Democrats were given more than a third of the time to spew their talking points. We heard one story after another.
One can only wonder why these sad individuals weren’t already covered by the, much expanded S-CHIP or Medicaid programs.
The Republicans were given much less than a third of the time to make their points. They did, nonetheless, make their points in a clear and concise way. They were articulate and very knowledgeable.
Senator Tom Coburn, a doctor, and Senator Lamar Alexander led the charge. The Republicans brought out a multitude of fixes, all of which would lower health care costs and none that would cost the $1.6 trillion estimated for the current Senate version of Obamacare.
Among items mentioned were eliminating costly government mandates, allowing better non-taxed health care savings accounts, portable insurance, procedures for coverage of pre-existing conditions, and tort reform.
President Obama, the artful dodger, wants individual states to take on tort reform, not the national government. This seems strange coming from the man who wants to have the government’s hand in everything.
The really troubling issue with the summit is the fact that the president, even before the summit, was making plans to push the health care legislation through Congress no matter what transpired at the summit. This president doesn’t seem to realize that he is an elected official. Being elected doesn’t give him the right to do anything he wishes. He is our employee. He is not our dictator.
Remember the purpose of the health care debate is to lower health care costs, thus making health care more accessible to the people of the United States. The goal of the president, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reed, et al seems to be spending money we don’t have. It is a power grab designed to get more people beholding to their party.
If the current health care legislation passes, the people on the left will have a strangle hold on the people of this great country. We will see campaign slogans that go something like this: “don’t vote for him, he will take away your health care.”
These are troubling times. We must become engaged in the health care debate. We cannot be complacent. We must call, e-mail, or write letters to our congressional representatives. If we are not careful, we will lose the best health care system in the world.

Letter: An insult to Democrats’ intelligence

Staff — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:43:04 +0000

From: John Norman
Buffalo
Listening to the arguments on both sides of the health care debate, the Republicans make statements that insult our intelligence. They claim that Democrats want the government to “take over” the health care system.
This is a bogus argument since the main thrust is to rein in the private health insurance companies by creating a free-market health insurance exchange.
It would provide affordable insurance from a competitive market with basic regulatory oversight to those who are not covered by their employers, and others needing health insurance, similar to coverage now enjoyed by members of Congress. These regulations are to protect the consumers from the injustices of non-competing health insurance companies and is not a takeover by the government.
Our present health care system is the most expensive ($7,290/person) in the world and has some below-average outcomes. We are mediocre, at best, even though we have highly-trained doctors and nurses and the finest medical facilities.
There are over 25 other major countries who provide universal and near-universal health care for their citizens, while the United States, Turkey and Mexico fail to cover all their citizens adequately.
At this time there are 480,000 Minnesotans who don’t have any health insurance. When these people need health care they use costly hospital emergency rooms and you and I foot the bill. It is estimated that each Minnesota policyholder pays an extra $1,100 per year to cover these emergency room costs.
Contrary to the Republican claim, most Americans want this health care reform bill which will remove the stranglehold the private insurance companies have on our health care system.
This bill will remove the restrictions of prior medical conditions; eliminate caps on total expenses; provide free market competition between health insurance companies; eliminate the “donut hole” on prescription drugs and promote preventive care to reduce costs.
The health care summit in Washington clearly demonstrated that the Republicans, “the party of no,” do not want to solve the health care crises in a timely manner. Let’s not wait any longer.
Congress should pass a bill by majority vote to rein in the exploding cost of health care insurance and bring peace of mind to all of its citizens.

Letter: Coleman or Franken?

Staff — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:41:20 +0000

From: Scott Smith
Chaska
Is the Carver County Republican executive committee responsible for Al Franken being elected to the United States Senate?
Carver County had approximately 500 ballots disallowed during the last election. Franken won the election by 318 votes statewide. When you take into consideration the ratio of traditional Republican verses Democratic voters in Carver County, it is safe to assume that Norm Coleman would have had a large majority of those votes.
The Carver County Republican executive committee is a group of individuals who are elected by members of their party and whose primary responsibility is to get Republicans elected to office.
Do the Republicans of Carver County believe that they should spend the greater part of their time working on a non-partisan county commissioner race?
What all members of the executive committee should have done was to make sure that all potential supporters were provided with sample ballots explaining exactly how to complete the ballot for Republican candidates.
Sample ballots are purchased as display advertising in local newspapers and/or distributed as political literature. Instead of a vicious door knocking campaign for a non-partisan county commissioner candidate, they should have worked for their candidate for United States Senate.
The fact is that if members of the Carver County Republican executive committee in one of the most Republican counties in Minnesota had done their job in 2008, it would be Senator Coleman not Senator Franken.
Some members of the Carver County Republican executive committee currently plan to continue this same kind of effort toward non-partisan local elections this year.
The 2010 governor’s race will be very competitive. Could the actions of a few misguided Carver County Republican executive committee members result in a Democrat in the governor’s office?

Letter: Input valuable to Watertown-Mayer

Staff — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:47:50 +0000

From: Therese Salonek
Board Chair, Watertown-Mayer Public Schools
We can hardly pick up a newspaper or turn on a TV and not be reminded of the dire consequences resulting from our national and state financial crisis. The impact of these crisis are far reaching and will inevitably be felt in all areas of our society, including public schools.
Funding for public k-12 education comprises 40 percent of the budget for the state of Minnesota. The current deficit for our state stands at $1.3 billion, reliable projections for the next biennium put that figure at closer to $5 billion. Deficits of this magnitude are unprecedented.
School leaders are in uncharted territory when it comes to projecting future funding for the schools and students they are responsible for.
Recently, while attending the Minnesota School Board Association conference, I attended a meeting with board chairs from across the state as, Bob Meeks, the association’s executive director, assessed Minnesota’s budget situation and its impact on school districts at the local level.
The forecast for the funding of public schools is precarious at best, it is unrealistic to assume k-12 funding will be held harmless as our state and federal leaders wrestle with mounting deficits.
MSBA is forecasting level funding for k-12 education for the next seven years best case scenario, and the real possibility of funding reductions to k-12 as the worst.
Currently, school districts, including Watertown-Mayer, receive approximately $5,500 per student per school year. Often this amount is supplemented by voter approved operating levies. Watertown-Mayer last had a voter approved operating referendum in the amount of $242 per pupil in 2001.
An operating levy is to be used for operating the school district and cannot be used for building initiatives. This levy will expire in 2011. If this operating levy is not extended and/or increased by the voters, Watertown-Mayer will have significant budget shortfalls, which will require difficult decisions to be made regarding the education of our students.
The school board and administration are keeping careful watch on spending, our fund balance was predicted to drop as we opened new educational spaces the past few years. Unfortunately this drop has coincided with a national economic downturn of a magnitude that has surprised even the experts.
As the school board and administration make plans to best position Watertown-Mayer to weather this economic storm and continue to prosper, we hope to continue to have open dialogue with the community we serve.
Recently we held a public forum to lay out the issues the district must address with the primary school in order to upgrade this aging facility to a satisfactory level. The student pressure on this facility will grow in the next few years, until it reaches full capacity in the near future.
This initiative will not be inexpensive regardless of the path we take. To do nothing and simply maintain this facility will require major improvements such as new heating systems, new roof, upgraded air handling systems to name a few. Renovating the primary school is also an option the school board has been investigating.
At the forum several options for renovation were presented for public comment, the school board plans to hold other information sessions in the next few months to receive input and dialogue with the community on what they would like to see done with the primary school building issues.
The reality is that this facility will continue to be an integral part of the education of the students of Watertown-Mayer for many years to come.
Please consider joining us as we contemplate our next steps as a district. Your input is valuable to us and crucial to helping us make the very best decisions possible. Watertown-Mayer has so much to be proud of and our future is a bright, together we can continue to give our students the very best education to help them succeed in their lives.

Letter: Camp Manitou at risk of being sold

Staff — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:45:26 +0000

From: The Friends of Bertram Chain of Lakes
Christina Johnson Koshiol Monticello
The YMCA property in Monticello, currently known as Camp Manitou, is at significant risk of being sold for private development.
For those who may never been there, the area boasts over 1,200 acres of an amazing pristine natural environment that includes four beautiful lakes with completely undeveloped shoreline, a large wildlife habitat, large wetland complexes and a potential for multiple recreational activities including swimming, fishing, hiking, camping, canoeing, athletic fields and much more.
It is very much like having a piece of the Boundary Waters in Central Minnesota.
Preserving this property as a resource for the central Minnesota region has received significant support by residents within and beyond the region.
We are appreciative of the efforts of several leaders in the Monticello and Wright County area. A lot of effort is being made to try and preserve the property as a regional park.
Currently, there is a incremental purchase agreement with the YMCA that extends through 2013, but this agreement will fall through without additional support.
Understandably, there is a tough economic and political environment right now. In these tough times, it is especially important to protect our natural resources for future generations.
Because there is broad support for this project, a “Friends of Bertram Chain of Lakes,” group has been created with a mission to provide a grassroots effort to support the acquisition of the property as a regional park and natural resource.
Anyone interested in keeping up with the current efforts to preserve this area and learn how to support the project can join us one of several ways:
1) join our Facebook page – just search for “Friends of Bertram” and click on “Become a Fan”
2) join our e-mail list through the City of Monticello web site City Departments and Services Parks and Recreation Bertram Chain of Lakes
3) call 866-590-7223 and leave your contact information on the voicemail.
Membership is free and open to anyone who supports the group’s mission.
We look forward to hearing from you all.

Letter: Food shelf donations needed in Mcleod

Staff — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:10:22 +0000

From: Marietta Neumann
McLeod Emergency Food Shelf
It is that time of the year again to appeal for help for the needy households in McLeod County.
March is the month of the statewide Minnesota Food Share Drive that you hear about on radio, TV, and in the papers. What does it mean to us in McLeod County?
About 135 Winsted and Lester Prairie residents have been served so far this year.
This drive is of utmost importance to our local food shelf. The donations that come to the McLeod Emergency Food Shelf stay here in the county but we receive cash credit for that amount to be spent strictly on food.
Although it started to be a dollar-for-dollar match, Minnesota Food Share did not receive enough money from the big donors to be able to do this. Now it is a percentage according to the amount received, and the number of households served and the number of pounds of food distributed. Each pound of food is equal to $1.
At this time, the Feinstein Foundation from Rhode Island also awards a cash donation according to the amount received. The drive is also very important to the food shelf as the amount received has to supply the food and personal care items needed until the Halloween drives.
The only other large drive for food during that time is the Cub Scout drive in April. The summer months are the time of great need as the children are home from school and many are not receiving the one hot meal a day that for many, is the only meal for the day. Almost 10,000 children had breakfast before they went to school because of your concern.
In 2009, there was over a 20 percent increase in usage over 2008 and is still increasing in numbers of households served. Of the 3,111 households served, 400 never had to use the food shelf before; many of them were over 70 years of age.
All donations are tax deductible, with donated items being considered $1 a pound. Every donation, however large or small, is very important to help feed many need households and is greatly appreciated.
We appreciate all the past donations.

Letter: Distracted driving major safety hazard

Staff — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:08:45 +0000

From: Matthew Schoen
principal, Delano High School and Safe Communities Wright County board member
This letter is concerning a very important topic in keeping our community safe. Distracted driving has become a considerable safety hazard on the roads that we travel daily.
I can tell you as a high school principal that this has become more of an issue among teenage drivers than educating our students about the hazards and legalities of drinking and driving.
Distracted driving can come from other people in the car, loud music, talking on a cell phone or worst of all, texting while driving. These all are major factors in distracting a driver which always creates an unsafe situation on the roads of our community.
In the spring, we will be hosting a mock car crash, and new this year, we will be implementing in the dialogue of the car crash that the driver will be texting while driving.
As a fellow community member, it is my strong belief that we need to continue to educate drivers of all ages regarding this critical safety issue.
With ever increasing new technology in the hands of our fellow citizens, this has created just another way for drivers to be distracted and potentially create a crash that could change the lives of many.
We need to continue to reinforce good habits while driving and continually educate our drivers of the potential risks involved with distracted driving.

Letter: Precinct caucuses being held Tuesday

Staff — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:26:08 +0000

From: Tom Schoper
Glencoe
Most people don’t even realize Tues., Feb. 2 is a big day. That’s right; Tuesday is the day we hold precinct caucuses in Minnesota.
This is your opportunity to have a strong voice in what happens in Minnesota and in Washington.
The bid for election starts here for most candidates. When you show up to a caucus, you have an opportunity to become a delegate at the endorsing conventions. Elected offices doesn’t belong to the person serving the office, it belongs to you.
This is the first step in getting the right people to be on the ballot in November. All too often we think that caucus is for someone else and not for us. It is for you and it is easy to get involved. Just show up and participate.
As a civics instructor, I teach students about our system of government and how it works and many of my students will be attending the caucuses for class.
You’ve most likely all learned the same things. So let’s put it to practice on Tuesday, and set an example for our students attending party caucuses.