Well "Juan", Let's see:
1. Running around shooting people is a whole different crime (ie. violent)
2. Ignorance isn't an excuse, but then when 100s of thousands of people are thrown off voter rolls then why don't they just herd all of them in to jail too?

Kinda shows your ignorance of simple logic. Can't wait to see what happens with Leslie McRae Dowless and whether his sentence will be somehow proportional. Because if it is, since his crime was INTENTIONAL, he should get 200 years.
Btw, Amy Goodman isn't making you stupid, you've already arrived at that on your own.

David, what world do you live in? Felons are not allowed to vote. Voting is a right that gets taken away when you commit a felony. Maybe you're correct though, maybe people should need a license (and training) to vote. You could set it up like drivers ed.

Might I suggest that they be sent early voting ballots, and then a Democrat operative could help them fill them out?

Yup - the voters voted, just like you wanted them to be able to, but you'll still never be happy with the results. I moved to town 5 years ago and I don't really care who Dixon was, as it's done and over with. If you're still around in 20 years, though, I'm sure you'll keep reminding everyone.

Dear Exhausted,

I'm not sure what you meant by dismissively claiming that "the voters voted, just like (I) wanted them to be able to..."

I'm actually doubtful I will be cheering in the New Year in 2039. I lost a number of years of longevity when I my wife succumbed to cancer five years ago, last May. I do believe, however, that my version of events is likely to be remembered well into the future. I've dedicated many (literally hundreds) of hours to carefully documenting all the mistakes made, including mine, during the intense and very important civic debate you apparently missed and are content to remain ignorant of. I encourage the people who oppose my point of view to lay out their counterpoint narrative, so the citizens of Duluth can compare and judge a comprehensive pro/con analysis of what happened in their town. I personally think it's important to remember history, so you can learn, shore up the system, and never make the same mistakes again.

Towards the end of his brilliant book recounting the Belgium colonization of the African Congo, Adam Hochschild points out that the story of the Congo is “a striking example of the politics of forgetting.” Hochschild adds this statement, steeped in wisdom and insight, a statement I wholeheartedly agree with: “…the world we live in--its divisions and conflicts, its widening gaps between rich and poor, its seemingly inexplicable outbursts of violence--is shaped far less by what we celebrate and mythologize, than by the painful events we try to forget."

Let me say it this way. Fuck off exhausted. Someone has to hold the clowns accountable, and thank God Loren does, otherwise these sons of bitches would be raising your taxes and paying themselves through more huge public works projects like these unnecessary school buildings. The fucking commies in this town like you virtue signal and show off how progressive you are and how much you enjoy your taxes being spent on good causes, good causes like Johnson Controls laughing all the way to the bank. If I forgot to say it already in my response Exhausted, Eat shit.

Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He played a major role in escalating the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War. Wikipedia

cool read thanks.

Wow! You just confirmed what I knew all along. Enough said.

Dear Exhausted,

Mr. Percent is obviously a passionate person who got a bit carried away with his language. He was right, however, that Johnson Controls is laughing all the way to the bank, and you are absolutely wrong when you claim the Red Plan "is over and done with." We still owe two hundred million dollars, and that debt, coupled with the phony financing of the plan, is wreaking havoc on the district's budget. I can lay out all the numbers in very specific detail, to prove that point. I know much more about this investment than all current sitting school board members combined.

You, in fact, confirmed what I knew all along when you declared that you "don't really care who Dixon was." Hopefully you're not an educator.

As Always John, thank you for keeping your fellow Diluthisns well informed! Thank you. The Tribune is brutal, won’t know a good story if it bit them in the ass. You are amazing, the only investigative, and great reporter we have here. Thanks.

Nope, Maher had it RIGHT. Try being a moderate transplant within a unionized town. Every neighborhood dinner invite is a four course interrogation (so you politely decline) and election sign crop a redrawing of red (or blue) lines. Pick a side or be marginalized by the narrative "we, your neighbors" assign you. Today's much talked about "political engagement " is measured by percent participation.But what if headlines read, "60% of Townville successfully marginalized their neighbors" or "40% of Townville voters isolated (stayed home)?" Every election cycle "pendulum moderates" (redefined by their setting president), "chicken little" blues and "fraidy cat" reds ask themselves whether they are or will be retire-ready and thoughtfully respected within the community they serve. Platforms don't serve our neighborhoods, they divide us.
Frankly, it's a little frightening to think of my neighbors as mere followers and not thinkers. Aren't they both?

Skipping the article, and answering the question in the headline, what happens is the standard of living in all of those countries increases. What do you gain by INCREASING their dependency on us, besides some farcical attempt to save the world? Make these countries strong, end the dependency. (Also, the increased buying power of those union families is what probably lead to the consumption economy, suddenly these people had the resources to purchase a bunch of crap, so what happens when every worker in the world is making GM wages? Do you hate the poor in other countries that much that you would deprive them of our high standard of living?)

This article has no credibility because it is so one-sided.

“No credibility,” Stuart? What about the nonsensical statement, “We can have mining and clean water.” Whoever came up with that line forgot to add, “Just not in the same place.” When the mining is for copper-nickel sulfides, and is being proposed for the most water intensive place possible, it is nothing short of delusional to make such a statement. And it is equally delusional to call it “one-sided” when someone points to the reality of such an illogical scheme.

Hey Stuart, here’s my “one-sided” take on PolyMet’s land exchange legislation. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share it.


Backroom deals, a flawed Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and Climate Change; Minnesota’s economic future is in PolyMet’s crosshairs.

Minnesota’s U.S. Representative Rick Nolan, supported by his 8th District successor Pete Stauber, is still pushing his legislation to force an exchange of U.S. Forest Service lands to PolyMet, legislation that would deprive the people of Minnesota their right to due process. A public lands package, the appropriations bill, or the farm bill; all are possible avenues of attack. Apparently it does not matter to some of our legislators that the majority of people polled in Minnesota have chosen the safety of our waters over PolyMet.

If Nolan succeeds, or Stauber does in 2019, Congress would be denying the people of Minnesota their day in court, their right to be heard. There are four strong lawsuits pending; Nolan’s land exchange legislation is deliberately designed to stop those lawsuits.

I have researched the copper-nickel sulfide mining issue for more than a decade with the help of scientists who have worked for multiple agencies in Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and the Environmental Protection Agency. I can tell you that PolyMet will pollute the watersheds of both Lake Superior and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). I can tell you that maps in PolyMet’s EIS were altered to give the impression that there could be no flowage to the BWCAW. I know because I found the correct maps at the U.S. Geological Survey.

PolyMet’s EIS is full of what appear to be deliberate inaccuracies or omissions. In 2008, there were written documents stating that the LTV tailings basin, which PolyMet plans to reuse, should not be disturbed—nor the tailings used for dams or dikes—because of the high probability of arsenic release. Apparently the arsenic issue was essentially buried, in spite of repeated attempts by scientists working for the agencies to have it addressed more publically—particularly since it was directly tied to the “No Action Alternative.”

We have all seen that 500-year rain events are occurring regularly, and 1,000-year events are no longer a rarity. This will only intensify with projected climate change. PolyMet claims that they have now designed for a 1,000-year storm event; in reality they have played with the numbers. The PolyMet Project facilities were designed for a 100-year, 24-hour event. You cannot take infrastructure designed around a 100-year event and tweak it to handle a 1,000-year event. Also, in scientific literature long used in Minnesota and elsewhere, a 100-year storm event is 6 inches in 24 hours. In information I received from the DNR, this basic measurement was altered to state that a 100-year event is 6 inches in 72 hours. That change would have played a part when determining how many inches would occur in a 1,000-year event. Problematically, it would skew everything by diluting the impact of the flood. Instead of rainfall occurring suddenly in 24 hours, the impact would be lessened over 72 hours—the same number of inches spread over three days instead of one day. When I asked for an explanation from the DNR, the agency stopped responding.

Why are some of our legislators so anxious to force the land exchange through Congress? U.S. Senator Tina Smith, with U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s support, also attempted to advance similar legislation. It appears that these legislators know PolyMet is a flawed and dangerous project; know that the pending lawsuits could very well stop it. It appears that these legislators have their own agendas. Otherwise, why not let the process take its course? Why not let justice have her day?

Prove taconite mining can be cleaned up first. Taconite mining contributes less than 1% to Minnesota’s economy. Yet taconite mining is not held accountable in Minnesota, all mines operating under expired permits, permits written without limits, or variances that allow pollution to continue indefinitely. The taconite industry claims that reverse osmosis is too expensive and does not work.

Worldwide, the water-pollution record of sulfide mining is exponentially more devastating, particularly the track record of the companies currently proposing to mine in Minnesota: Glencore (PolyMet), Antofagasta (Twin Metals), Teck Resources, and Rio Tinto (Kennecott). Minnesota’s precious waters are not the place to experiment. Our waters are Minnesota’s future, not a denuded poisoned landscape with a leaking tailings basin that will perpetually be in danger of breach or collapse.

Reverse osmosis is not the solution; it only concentrates the toxic waste, which then has to be disposed of somehow, somewhere. Bioreactors are not the solution, in Minnesota causing mercury numbers to increase as a direct result of the process.

The mining industry itself has stated that “PolyMet is the snowplow and Twin Metals is the car behind the plow.” The industry knows that in Minnesota, once one sulfide mine is permitted, the standards are set, and any company that claims it can meet those standards will be permitted. PolyMet multiplied by ten. Permitted to pollute billions of gallons of our waters.

Antofagasta brought the current administration into the picture. Shortly after Donald Trump was elected president, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, rented a home in Washington owned by Andronico Luksic, whose family controls Antofagasta. Antofagasta owns 100% interest in Twin Metals. The Trump Interior Department subsequently gave Antofagasta mineral leases adjacent to the BWCAW, mineral leases that Antofagasta was not legally entitled to, leases that the Obama administration chose not to renew because of the environmental risk to the BWCAW.
http://timberjay.com/stories/old-memos-shed-new-light-on-leases,14638

Now Congress is being told to aid and abet the current administration’s actions by sacrificing the nation’s most valuable water resources—Lake Superior and the BWCAW—to a backroom deal.

In this age of climate change there is nothing more important than protecting Minnesota’s waters and wetlands. There is nothing more valuable, environmentally or economically. And there is no way that a sulfide mining industrial zone of multiple mines, undoubtedly merging eventually into one massive toxic open pit, will not pollute those waters.

There has never been a sulfide mine that has not polluted a water-rich environment such as that found in northeastern Minnesota. Examples of so-called successes that have been used by the mining industry have either been located in a dry environment, or found in a neutralizing ore body, or had little to no waste. Flambeau for example, a tiny mine compared to PolyMet, so small and localized that all the ore was shipped by rail to Canada for processing and the waste left there, and still Flambeau polluted. A mine with virtually no waste, compared to PolyMet’s 99% waste.

Minnesota’s waters are not only far more valuable than the less than 1% metals proposed to be mined; more importantly, the concentrated toxic wastes that would be left behind, the airborne toxins we would breathe and consume from mining-contaminated food, would damage Minnesota’s even more valuable asset—the intellect of future generations of our children. Innocent victims. Minnesota already has a significant problem with mercury in newborns; 10% of those tested in the Lake Superior basin of Minnesota were found with levels high enough to cause brain damage. What is the intellect of one child worth? Think of your child or grandchild.

There is also evidence that damage caused by nickel, the least recoverable metal, is a mutagen, meaning damage is passed from generation to generation.

Do not be a party to destroying the best and most valuable assets of Minnesota, its water and the future of its children. Demand that the people of Minnesota have their day in court. That is what democracy is supposed to look like, not deals made behind closed doors.

If what you're saying is true, Carla, we can divorce this from 1. Trump 2. Climate Change and 3. Taconite mining. Seriously, you do yourself no favors by including them in your argument, unless you're just seeking more outrage. Justifiable outrage, perhaps, but outrage misdirected just makes you more enemies and look unreasonable.

"Unreasonable"? I suggest you Google "willful blindness." Here is one of many links. https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=368759610

Unreasonable to people outside your echo chamber, many of which have jobs and careers that depend on minding and don't like to be made into victims (or need to be) for you to demonstrate your case. it's very easy for someone like you to over-extend and be perceived as elitist. I'm trying to help.

For what it's worth, they don't mine vermiculite on the range. Some of us have relatives who worked in the mines (exposed to actual asbestos, BTW) who don't have these symptoms. This article does not apply and is extremely alarmist.