Boaters beware: The Feds have your number
Boaters who cruise the Duluth-Superior harbor beware: The Bush administration on Monday escalated its fear and deception campaign, suggesting you might be mistaken for a terrorist hell-bent on nuking Presque Isle.
An exaggeration? Vayl Oxford, the head of Homeland Securitys Domestic Nuclear Detection office, said the United States cant sit back and wait to be attacked. In an Associated Press story, Oxford said his office is establishing programs to train and arm harbor patrols. Theyll be equipped with portable radiological and nuclear detection equipment. The adventure will begin in Seattles Puget Sound, then move to San Diego.
States have been urged to join this bizarre exercise, establishing programs for boaters to observe and report suspicious waterborne behavior much like a neighborhood watch program. But take heart. Matters could be worse. An earlier plan called for the government to establish a federal license for recreational boaters. Fortunately, our friends in the boating industry objected loudly enough to, dare we say it, blow that idea out of the water.
Sounds like a scene from George Orwell's 1984. For those who havent read the novel, its about a totalitarian government that controls its citizens by filling them with fear about a war in which their country supposedly is engaged. The government, led by Big Brother, uses the threat of attack to justify total control of people, institutions, history even the dictionary. Signs are posted everywhere warning Big Brother is watching you.
Under Bush and Cheney, the United States is moving in that direction invoking a police state mentality in which people forfeit individual rights for the sake of security.
Establishing a waterfront citizen goon squad is more than a little extreme. Same goes scanning runabouts for radiation. Pretty soon, the feds will demand warrantless bait box searches, confiscate flare guns and strip search water skiers. Some day soon, users of the Arrowhead boat launch may have to pass through a metal detector before landing their first bullhead.
This country already has an outfit called the Coast Guard. As the name implies, its duty is to guard the coast. It does that job extremely well, along with numerous other tasks.
And it does that job without subtracting from our personal freedoms, which are guaranteed by the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Heres some advice for the bureaucrats at Homeland Security: Go fish.
Posted by: Ron Brochu on 4/29/2008 at 2:08 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
PETA's rants can be silly, but they stimulate needed ethics debate
On the surface, a recent spat over Northwestern Middle Schools hunting wall seems pretty silly.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, better known as PETA, called upon principal Ken Bartelt to remove a collection of photos showing birds and animals killed by students. PETA argues the wall sets a precedent for a dangerous mind set that glorifies and even rewards violence.
That part of PETAs argument definitely is silly, at least from a woodsy cultural perspective.
American Indians and subsequent North American settlers relied upon hunted animals to survive. Even today, animal meat supplements the diets of many area residents, and even makes it way to area food shelves, all without prompting area gun owners to harvest fellow humans.
Also silly is PETAs argument that the wall should be replaced with something that demonstrates how students are doing good work to benefit the community.
It can be argued that ridding area roads of deer goes far toward accomplishing that task. Deer can be classified as a dangerous highway hazard. Their habit of jumping in front of cars puts every driver in danger and causes property damage that jacks our insurance rates. After mosquitoes and bees, theyre the most disdained Northland pest.
But despite PETAs culturally-incorrect proclamations from afar, the group has actively used its free speech right to make us think about topics wed rather ignore.
" It lobbies against puppy mills, which are notorious for breeding dogs in despicable conditions.
" It promotes vegetarian diets which, truth be told, would make us all healthier.
" It objects to wearing fur because of the cruelty caused to animals in the harvesting process.
" It spotlights horrible farm practices used in the raising and harvesting of animals for food.
Is the group a bit wacky? Oh yeah! Thats how it grabs attention.
Should PETA be ignored? In some cases definitely, but not in others.
Remember that some good emerges from PETAs efforts. Members have shined a needed spotlight on many questionable practices. And theyve made us re-evaluate our ethics.
Posted by: Ron Brochu on 4/25/2008 at 8:00 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Consumers won't benefit from airline merger
A battle is brewing that hopefully will set a precedent in the out-of-control world of business mergers.
The agreement to combine Northwest and Delta is being met with opposition by U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and others in Congress. Hopefully, the Minnesota Democrat and like-minded representatives will succeed in preventing the carriers from becoming the countrys top mega-airline.
Thats quite a challenge, as the Bush Administration has never seen a monopolistic business deal it didnt like. The merger of XM and Sirius satellite radio is a prime example. Laws to prevent the creation of monopolies mean nothing in the current White House.
Clearly, combining Delta and Northwest would move airlines in that direction, prompting more carriers to consolidate, reducing competition and degrading service. Such was the case as Northwest grew to its current size. As it purchased North Central, then Republic, options such as flying from the Twin Ports to Thunder Bay, or Twin Ports to Madison and Chicago without changing planes, disappeared.
If anything, the federal government should raise its level of airline regulation. Irrational price cutting has slammed many top carriers into bankruptcy, eliminating countless good jobs including ones at Northwests maintenance facility in Duluth. Service has become progressively worse, with cabins almost resembling a proverbial bus ride in Guatemala, with chickens and goats in the aisle. Thats just about fitting for Northwests menu water and nuts.
It remains to be shown that larger airlines are better airlines. Consolidations may reduce costs, but that wont be a positive development if it further fuels a price war that ensures failure.
Posted by: Ron Brochu on 4/15/2008 at 4:49 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Chaos doesn't serve the public interest
A key city council campaign issue was the bodys three-minute speaking rule, which limits public input during meetings. In a Wednesday editorial, The Telegram suggested more flexibility is needed. Later that day, city officials unofficially ignored a few rules of order during their council meeting. Their experiment proved us wrong. The meeting fell into a low-grade chaos that wasnt pretty.
People popped out of their chairs to address issues whether they had signed up in advance; councilors spoke three or more times about the same issue (their limit is two); one person wasnt heard at all when making a point about government spending (councilors were busy chatting among themselves).
To some, this was an invigorating display of democracy in action. But a historical review explains why the rules of order were enacted.
In January 2000, a South Superior woman came to address the council on an issue. As citizens and councilors chimed in repeatedly without rule, the hour grew later and later. After midnight more than five hours into the council meeting she stood up and asked When are you going to get to my issue? as one councilor filibustered on another topic.
That meeting, not unlike Wednesday nights run-amok session, demonstrates listening is a function of the ears, not the mouth. Soon thereafter, the offending councilor was ousted and the mayor was recalled.
The councils rules are spelled out clearly in the citys code of ordinances:
" Any citizen who wishes to address the council on any agenda item may sign up with the city clerk and indicate the issue.
" All comments by members of the public are limited to three minutes.
The council has an obligation to abide by its own rules. But if three minutes is too short, the ordinance can be revised.
Despite our previous call for more flexibility, elected bodies must follow some formal rules. If councilors allow people to run long on a topic this week, when the agenda is thin, but limit them on another issue next month, when the agenda is packed, complaints of favoritism invariably will arise, never mind the circumstances. Rules can be aggravating, but sometimes theyre necessary to ensure fairness from person to person, meeting to meeting.
Posted by: Ron Brochu on 4/7/2008 at 5:55 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink
Ventura's radical views make sense
Its rare that someone of stature appears on nationwide television to speak frankly about American politics. Whether former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura has such stature is a matter of personal opinion, but he certainly minced few words Tuesday on Larry King Live when addressing todays troubled times. For instance:
" He said many of todays economic problems can be attributed to the Iraq war.
Hes not totally correct, but no nation can conduct an offbudget billion-dollar credit card war without thrusting the economy into a tailspin. Thats particularly true in the current situation, as the Bush Administration has no plan in place to pay off our war debt. On top of that, Bush and the Congress are trying to stimulate the economy by putting the country further in debt, writing checks on an NSF account.
" Further commenting on Iraq, Ventura compared the U.S. invasion to Hitler lining up his troops to invade Poland. Theres never been any evidence to link Iraq with the 9/11 attacks, said the former Navy Seal, and our invasion was not justified.
" The decision to launch a war, he said, should be made by parents of children who will do the fighting. He labeled Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld chicken-hawks, because they all avoided fighting in Vietnam but had no reservations about sending others to fight and die for their cause in Iraq.
" Ventura credited Sen. John McCain for serving his country in Vietnam but said the presidential candidate should not suggest the U.S. will stay in Iraq for 100 years if necessary. Ventura said we successfully marched into and conquered the country in three days; we should leave just as quickly.
" The two-party system is fatally flawed, he said, and theres little difference between Democrats and Republicans.
Hes half correct.
The current Congress is in gridlock, unwilling to debate, much less solve, the countrys most troubling problems. Neither party has a plan to gain control of health care costs nor to offer affordable insurance. Same goes for pharmaceutical costs, although the feds warn us not to buy prescriptions in Canada. Immigration policy is in shambles. Roads and bridges are crumbling. Public education, particularly in metros, is failing.
Although the parties philosophically differ, both are ineffective.
Ventura has penned a book calling for an American revolution. That sounds severe, but hes not talking about armed insurrection. The political system is in his crosshairs as it should be. Intelligent, courageous people need to step forward outside of the party system and drive out the incumbents. Parties are the problem, not the solution.
Posted by: Ron Brochu on 4/7/2008 at 5:46 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink