Print this story |
E-mail story |
This story has 9 comments Add your own |
iPod friendly | Bookmark this
What is this?
Franken’s daughter rallied in FF
Published 06:00 a.m., October 18, 2008
Last Sunday afternoon, Oct. 12, an enthusiastic group of Al Franken fans gathered at DFL headquarters on East Lincoln Avenue, Fergus Falls, to help rally support for the DFL-endorsed Senate candidate. The crowd was in good spirits, based on recent poll results showing Franken in the lead over incumbent Norm Coleman.
Franken’s daughter Thomasin, a teacher specializing in early childhood education, was on hand to share her insights about her Dad’s world view and motivation for running. He is a lifelong advocate for middle-class values such as education and the importance of a social safety net for people going through hard times.
Thomasin can testify first-hand that her dad is a caring family man who has learned first-hand the importance of social security, and will never let it go away if he has the power to make sure that won’t happen.
He knows the importance of a strong middle class, supported by a public policy that works for everyone, with quality education for all, good jobs right here in America, affordable health care, and a fair tax code where those with the highest income contribute their fair share to the common good.
She believes he is, in part, running for the U.S. Senate because the middle class has been badly neglected during the past eight years, and as a country, we have a moral imperative to include everyone, not just the rich and powerful, in the potential of the American dream.
The meltdown of the mortgage and credit industries and plunging stock market are certainly a wake-up call that we need some different policies in Washington to get back on track. It should be obvious that this is not going to happen if we keep the same crowd in office.
Al’s opponent in the Senate race, Norm Coleman, has voted 90 percent of the time with George Bush and his cronies, who still think we should have big tax breaks for the richest Americans and corporations, while ignoring the needs of ordinary people: such things as jobs, good schools, affordable gas and groceries, a health care system that works, a healthy environment, and improved infrastructure.
Pundits and pollsters are predicting that we will have a Democratic administration in Washington in January. But in order to avoid gridlock and pass vital legislation that is needed to restore sanity to our government, we also need a Democratic Congress, to make sure the needed legislation gets passed.
We have been duped for too long. As “Dear Abby” used to say, we need to wake up and smell the coffee. Please vote for the Obama/Biden ticket, and Al Franken for the United States Senate.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THIS STORY?
Elizabeth Sweder - Fergus Falls
Comments
The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post. To post a comment you will need to register. Or, if you're already registered but have not included your true, verifiable identity with your registration, you will need to update your account to include your identity. Effective Dec. 1, 2009, all posts appear with the commenter's true identity, which must be verified by site staff. Those who registered prior to Dec. 1, 2009, should be aware that once you update your information with your true identity, all prior posts under your user name will also indicate your true identity. If you do not wish to link yourself to prior comments, you should register again with a different user name.Posted by RichHensch (Rich Hensch) on October 19, 2008 at 9:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It would be amazing if Fergus Falls residents actually voted DEMOCRATIC for a change, instead of continaully being hoodwinked by the right wing that really doesn't care one bit about towns such as Fergus Falls. I grew up in Fergus Falls, graduated from Moorhead State, spent the best 22 years of my life as a US Navy pilot, defending and protecting our AMERICAN way of life, to now be embarassed to be an AMERICAN under this most ridiculous GWB Administration. During VietNam I lost my my college roommate, Mike Jenson (who also grew up in South Fergus Falls and was an avid hunter/fisher). I also lost my first cousin Loren Schmitz, from a farm near Springfield, Mn. To me that was enough reason that I came to the conclusion that WAR is STUPID! Especially a war that was never declared by congress....and was preceeded by a LACK of DIPLOMACY! Our once strong country needs to CHANGE! We need to become a valuable part of a NEW GLOBAL economy and world order, and first and most important to set the example.....giving tax breaks to wealthy and megawealthy while continuing to ignore our country's infrastructure problems will do NOTHING to correct the situation. At the core of the problem are 2 very critical areas.....EDUCATION, and the one word that has caused a good share of the total problem...."MORE". We somehow always think we need "MORE". Our country thinks it needs "MORE", and we as irresponsible citizens also think "MORE" is somehow better. It isn't! GWB has spent like CRAZY! And so have many of our citizens! We all have different opinions about how to correct things....but the FACTS are clear and speak loudly for MAJOR CHANGE! The DEMOCRATIC Party offers the best chance for a major change.
Electing John McCain would ensure at best 4 years of Congressional GRIDLOCK! I don't believe we have the time to waste!
Posted by cascade (anonymous) on October 19, 2008 at 9:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You are right- Our systems OF government would be much more effective and efficient if it were just A one-party monopoly. Just like the utopia of Detroit- who has voted strictly democrat party FOR 30 years from the school board TO the mayor- we too would see vast improvement IN our everyday life if we just voted a straight party (Democratic) ticket.
I'm sorry you're currently embarrassed to be an American.
And....thank you for your service to our country-
Posted by mgdbottled (anonymous) on October 21, 2008 at 10:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm a Vietnam Vet and am also embarrassed to be an American. We need to educate the country so the likes of GWB and Reagan that run for office will be laughed at, not voted into office to commit mayhem. Our founding fathers were all liberals, a political ideology that seeks to maximize individual liberties, who envisioned an America founded on those principles. They also recognized that religion can destroy those principles and recognized the necessity of a free press in any democracy, and gave us the First Amendment laying down those principles in law. About a hundred and fifty years ago, the Senate set out rules that required a 60 vote majority to send any bill to the floor. This too was recognized as a necessity so that no one party would be able to slide through bad legislation based solely on that particular party having a majority. After the 1929 collaspe of the capitalist markets, it was also recognized that capitalism needed to be reigned in with regulations to prevent a repeat. Uneducated and ignorant people who vote based solely on a politcal and religious ideology are the problem. Not the form of government we have.
Posted by HotFergusMan (anonymous) on October 21, 2008 at 11:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Rich... "HOODWINKED" certainly is a fun word- not only to read but to say. Try it! HOODWINKED. It kinda has a getto ring to it... but lots fun. Today, this is my word. HOODWINKED
(now if i only knew webster's definition)
Posted by mgdbottled (anonymous) on October 21, 2008 at 1:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
anarchosyndicalist;
funny, but true. The unpatriotic ones are the ones who constantly ridicule our liberal minded founding fathers and their vision of what they wanted the country to be.
Fergusman;
"Hoodwinked" is a word I use often. Meaning to be fooled. I'm a 59 year old caucasian male, grandfather of two, who never lived in a getto. So, what's your point?
Posted by IntotheWoods (anonymous) on October 21, 2008 at 2:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
First, all rules limit freedeom, but rules also limit the unchecked excercise of financial or political power.
As the false financial structure that grew in the absence of such rules/regulations comes crashing down on the middle class, we can only look back and wish that regulations had been in place to prevent the ultra-wealthy speculators from re-distributing the profits (reward) to themselves and the spreading the losses (risk) to us.
A free market cannot be created or maintained without government action (regulations) to facilitate its operation and to guard against its corruption or perversion by portions of the wealthy and powerful who seek to bend it to their own interest at the expense of the society at large.
An economic system is neither formed by nor operated as part of some immutable natural law. Even a democratic free market economy is formed by the policies of government and the actions of those both in public and private life that either support the system's basic principles or seek to change them in the interests of either public good or personal gain.
Second, the Rovian vision of a permanent Republican majority (and Presidency) died of it's own conceit that only one party had good ideas. That's one reason Obama is gathering such overwhelming support - he obviously understands that we must recognize good ideas by whether they work, not by which party flag they wave.
Third, if gridlock comes from the unresolved clash of sincerely held beliefs, the system is working. If gridlock comes because someone has been paid to plug the bottleneck - that is not democracy, it is merely that the 'fix is in'.
So, while the institutional barriers to bad ideas (or power-hungry politicians) should never be lowered, the artifical barriers that allow powerful and wealthy minorities to deprive the country of progress to serve their own selfish interests must be removed.
If that includes incumbents, so be it.
Finally, Webster actually does define 'hoodwinked':
"to deceive by false appearance : dupe"
though the online version omits the picture, which I believe is that of our current President (jk) who said something like:
Dupe me once, shame on me. Dupe me twice, I'll never be duped again.
Our country elected him twice. Here's hoping they take the rest of that advice to heart.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionar...
Posted by mgdbottled (anonymous) on October 21, 2008 at 8:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
During the 1920s the stock market run wild without any regulation. In 1929, the markets were clearly in trouble. Pres Hoover did nothing. The money supply shrunk by over a third. Pres Hoover did nothing. The financial markets collapsed. People ran to the banks to draw their money out. Investors jumped out of windows. Pres Hoover did nothing. The goods market collapsed because the financial system had collapsed and many banks had closed. Unemployment rose to over 20 percent. Most mortgages back in those days had a due in full clause at the option of the banks. The banks called those mortgages. People couldn't pay. The banks foreclosed. Millions lost their homes. Pres Hoover did nothing. It wasn't until 1932 when Pres Roosevelt was elected that the government began to act. Many public works programs were initiated. Many steps were taken to get the banking system working again including the FDIC program. The country finally began to recover about the time WWII broke out. Socialist solutions got us out of the great depression. Uncontrolled capitalism got us into the great depression. Get you history correct.
Todays troubles are similar. Only difference is socialism has responded to the failed capitalism much quicker. Apparently the Treasury Secretary and the Federal Reserve Chairman remember the history. Socialism just may save your butt this time around because of the lessons learned from history.
Posted by mgdbottled (anonymous) on October 21, 2008 at 8:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hoover dam had nothing to do with the work programs initiated to help recover from the great depression. The project was conceived in 1922 and approved in 1928, before the great depression occurred. And yes, John Maynard Keynes' theories are right on. So are Milton Freedman's theories.
Posted by Mel (anonymous) on October 22, 2008 at 10:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Now it seems that the Roosevelt administration caused the depression to last longer that it would have by mismanagement of the economy. The depression lasted longer in the USA than it did in the rest of the world. Read a new book "The Forgotten Man" or an old book "The Roosevelt Myth" if you can find it.
Post a comment (Terms of Use Policy)
(Requires free registration.)
You may also register to comment in our forums at www.fergusfeedback.com.