Legalectric

Herman Cain, winner of today’s Horse’s Ass award for irresponsibility in the face of COVID — he is the COVIDIOT of the day!

Here he is at the tRump Tulsa Rally, June 20th. Note in the entire photo, there is exactly ONE mask visible.

Then he tweets this, ecstatic that masks are NOT mandatory:

And then, DOH, it’s revealed that June 29 he was diagnosed with COVID, two days before the twit twitted the above ecstatic “PEOPLE ARE FED UP” and on July 1, he was hospitalized with COVID! Twitting from his hospital bed?!?!

Then for staff, or whoever, to have the nerve to have the nerve to say, “Please keep him, and all who are battling this virus, in your prayers.” As if he cared about people he was with at that rally, as if he cared when he was so thrilled about distancing not being required at tRump’s Mt. Rushmore COVID-fest?

Herman Cain, here’s your Horse’s Ass award, for your irresponsible uncaring attitude toward COVID and toward those near you.

https://youtu.be/NDgnNb6Cklw

Really, you’ve got to read this, up for Public Inspection, to be published tomorrow. This is baldfaced disinformation about just who was traveling, just who was violent, and reveals just who knows nothing about history — this is shameful:

A snippet of the introduction — OMFD:

Many of the rioters, arsonists, and left-wing extremists who have carried out and supported these acts have explicitly identified themselves with ideologies — such as Marxism — that call for the destruction of the United States system of government.

Anarchists and left-wing extremists have sought to advance a fringe ideology that paints the United States of America as fundamentally unjust and have sought to impose that ideology on Americans through violence and mob intimidation. They have led riots in the streets, burned police vehicles, killed and assaulted government officers as well as business owners defending their property, and even seized an area within one city where law and order gave way to anarchy. During the unrest, innocent citizens also have been harmed and killed.

These criminal acts are frequently planned and supported by agitators who have traveled across State lines to promote their own violent agenda. These radicals shamelessly attack the legitimacy of our institutions and the very rule of law itself.

Jawdroppingly clueless, spewing false information in this “Executive Order.” Idiot, a treasonous pawn.

There’s fomenting happening right now about BLM’s wanting to remove a statue of Lincoln. Here’s the statute at issue:

If you look really closely, you’ll see that turbines 3, 4, 16, 17, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, and 49 are now not on the map! What gives?

Here are other maps for comparison:

And ya know, when there’s a significant change in the project, the developer needs to apply for a permit amendment. But wait… there’s not been a peep about this! Nothing, not a word!

We received verification of the missing 17 turbines, so yesterday Association of Freeborn County Landowners filed this:

Ya gotta acknowledge the changes, and address the impacts, and, well, will this project even be built? How dependent is the project on $$$$ to the local governments to support this poorly designed mess? With over 40% of the turbines gone, that means at least 40% of the production and 40% of money to local governments, and 40% of payments to participating landowners is missing in action. Do the participating landowners of the missing 17 turbines know of the changes? The County Board seems to have not been told, and the summary of the May 13, 2020 “Pre-construction Meeting” reflects that there was no discussion of eliminating 17 turbines.

What gives, Xcel? Where’d those turbines go? Gone to Iowa?

After having 3 camping trips cancelled due to COVID, the state parks are now open, and our annual trip to Tettegouche State Park (usually Wooden Boat Show, but that’s virtual only this year) over solstice was booked a year ahead again, so we headed up north.

Campers don’t seem to get that we’ve got a COVID pandemic happening. No masks, other than ours and DNR staff. We spent much of the time at our site, and up and down the shore checking out campgrounds, and of course, a stop at Gun Flint Tavern!

Back home, after a long drive to consider the situation, I fired off this missive to the DNR person in charge of this sort of thing, Linda Erickson-Eastwood, the DNR Commissioner, and the Governor:

Ms. Erickson-Eastwood, Commissioner Strommen, and Governor Walz:

We need an Executive Order requiring everyone to wear masks in public.  I also think it’s too early to have campgrounds and parks open.  After spending 5 days up at Tettegouche State Park, and an afternoon at Jay Cooke State Park, I think it’s too early to “open up.” At Tettegouche, staff was wearing masks, most but not all, when deep cleaning and stocking bathrooms and taking out trash, and that was happening at least twice daily, GOOD! Plastic barrier was up between sinks, GOOD!  Signs on bathroom door about distancing, GOOD, but no mention of wearing MASKS.

And the CAMPERS!!  That was the major problem.  We were the only ones wearing masks in the tight bathrooms, and we had them around our necks hiking and pulled them up when others were nearby.  People didn’t seem to care about distancing. Jay Cooke was so crowded, particularly on the approaches to and on the bridge, people were not observing distancing at all, and again, we were the only ones with masks on.

In a camping situation, how on earth will any sort of enforcement happen, who would that fall to?  I can’t imagine a more difficult task than attempting to get folks to take this pandemic seriously!  But if Menards can, so can Minnesota.

Generally, we need an Executive Order to wear masks in public, top down.  Again, I think it’s too early to have campgrounds and parks open.  But campgrounds and parks are open…  That said, in addition to an Executive Order from Gov to wear masks in public as state parks and campgrounds are open, a few things I’d recommend:

• A LARGE NEON sign at the check-in stopsign/desk “wear masks in public, i.e., restrooms, and have handy out in public” or some such, signs on bathroom doors.
• Get serious about signage. There should be signs everywhere there’s a sign of another sort, i.e., vending machines, wood sales, picnic areas, water spigots, rentals, etc., EVERYWHERE.
• Make sure staff has large supply of cheap Menards style masks to hand out to everyone not wearing one, asking, “Do you need a mask?” frequently!!
• Masks everywhere, with a sign, “”Take one, wear it in good health!”  Camp hosts can put masks on picnic tables in a bag with note inside, “Please wear masks in bathrooms, in public where others are nearby, have handy on the trails, for everyone’s protection,” or some such…
• Sell irresistibly cute pine tree, bear, moose, etc. masks at all visitor centers, front and center with a sign, “Please wear masks, help keep our parks open,” or some such.
• Camping and reservation page banner with two photos, one of cute 20 somethings with masks hanging around their neck hiking with message, “Pull up your mask when you encounter others on the trail!” and a few women in the bathroom with masks on distancing and handwashing, “Keep 6’ Distance!  Wear Masks!  Wash Those Hands!”  Website changes are easy.
• On reservation page, when making reservation, the message “I agree to wear a mask when in proximity to others, while hiking, in bathrooms, etc.” and click an “I accept” box. Again, website changes are easy.

We just cancelled out of our Minneopa State Park camp host gig, which I was seriously looking forward to, but that gig involves not just stocking, but cleaning bathrooms at the campground and separate picnic site, and of course greeting and hosting… but there’s COVID (plus we’re down to one vehicle now).  As it is, I don’t think I could do camp hosting without bringing my sewing machine and making masks in the screen tent, greeting campers and handing them out, hanging them on each site number post, in the bathrooms, etc!  It’s not part of the camp host gig, nor is being a bossy boots, but this is a pandemic, and I think the state needs to step up its precautions.

We need an Executive Order requiring wearing of masks in public.  STAT!

Thanks for your consideration,

Carol A. Overland

I’m seriously bummed over backing out of the camp hosting gig, but with what I observed this past week, neither of us are comfortable with all the cleaning necessary and dealing with people, mostly unmasked, that’s necessary as camp host. Same goes for camping in the near, and perhaps distant, future — is camping in crowded campgrounds a good idea? Would it be better to head out to way out of the way dispersed camping areas? Reservations about reservations going forward…

But the past week was overall well worth it, got around to a few favorites and some new places too. Cascade River State Park is still closed to camping, but will open on July 15.

Silver Bay has a rather bizarre scenic overlook of the Cliffs taconite pellet plant!

Yes, MASKS!!!

And Taconite Harbor, where I took old Kenya for a swim a decade ago while touring the state getting caught up on CLEs:

Smothered chicken burritos:

And of course, corncakes with rhubarb & maple syrup:

And no, not even close to primitive:

Little Sadie loves not-at-all-primitive camping:

And a stop to check out Jay Cooke State Park on the way back:

Just filed in Ramsey County District Court:

This is a suit regarding four PUC dockets, Freeborn Wind (WS-17-410); Plum Creek (WS-18-700); Buffalo Ridge WS-19-394; and Three Waters WS-19-576.

Three issues:

1. No environmental review of wind projects! They have actual and constructive notice that there are issues, and issues so serious that there have been landowner buyouts. Wake up call, DOH!
2. No siting criteria or rules have been developed despite ancient mandate to do it and a couple of rulemaking petitions. It’s been 25 years… and they’ve been using small wind rules, and setbacks that they have no idea where they came from!
3. Failure to operate with broad spectrum of public participation, instead shutting public out and operating in private to give developers what they want. How many requests do we need to make for meeting notice? Why are noise studies now “TRADE SECRET?” (well, obviously because if it was public we’d have the proof that they can’t meet the Minnesota noise standard)

Pretty simple, eh?