Legalectric

THIS Sunday, December 2, 10 a.m.

Hobgoblin, Red Wing, MN

Cruelty and care: hope for our contradictory relationship with animals

Christine Coughlin Minnesota State Director, The Humane Society of the United States

The majority of Americans have pets and we spend more money than ever on our companion animals.  Our appreciation for wildlife is surging, and our concern for the welfare of animals raised for food is higher than ever.  At the same time, there are inherent cruelties in the ways we relate to millions of animals- in puppy mills, factory farms, and in the wild.

Hope is abundant, as we are experiencing a revolution in the way we view and treat animals, thanks to expanding awareness among consumers, legislators, voters, and business.

Join us to hear about the Humane Society of the United States’ campaigns and work in Minnesota and how you can help build a truly humane society here at home.

Christine Coughlin is the Minnesota State Director for The Humane Society of the United States.

Born and raised in Minnesota, she has been active in the field of animal protection since 2002, with a focus on grassroots legislative campaigns and electoral advocacy.  Christine has served on animal welfare policy task forces for the City of Minneapolis, initiated the biannual publication of MN’s Humane Scorecard, and founded Minnesota Voters for Animal Protection, serving as executive director until 2015, when she joined The Humane Society of the United States.

She is the recipient of the 2017 Kenny Feldman Animal Advocate Award.

Do you know if southern states had/has a policy of not teaching history, particularly Civil War history?  Arkansas sure did! Very shocking.  What about in Minnesota?  I haven’t a clue about it, and need to check it out.

We’re down here in Arkansas for thanksgiving, and went to a HUGE bookstore, Once Upon a Time Books, and of course got some books, including “Arkansas: A Narrative History,” and it reports that Arkansas had/has a failing public education system, many of the WWII enlistees were returned home because they were uneducated, illiterate, that the public schools weren’t doing the job was not news.  One area wasn’t just “failing,” but intentional misdirection.  The state of Arkansas specifically did not have much of anything in the way of academic state history books, just a state historical journal, until the 70s or so, and in the public schools, the state specifically did not require teaching of history from the 60s until 1990s!

The history of the Civil War that was taught was “Dunning-Phillips” pro-slavery notion of slavery as benevolent and educational.  This went on for generations.  WHAT?!? So reading this book was shocking, even just the quick skim in the tent, yes, shocking, to put it mildly.  I quickly ordered it for a friend/client here in Arkansas who is from New York and struggles with aspects of life here. I was blessed in MN at Central HS with a social studies teacher from SNCC, we had classes like Radicalism in America, The Draft, Comparative Education, and there was a Civil Rights history class just around the corner.  And at Metro State U, Chuck McDew taught Civil Rights era history.  These were important parts of my education for a white grrrrl from the near-burbs. My partner Alan tells me that textbooks had “Northern” and “Southern” versions.  I’m stunned.

This fact that history was not taught in Arkansas, and what was taught was so skewed, says a lot about why people don’t know history.  It’s bad enough in the north, but to have not taught history for decades in Arkansas, and before, to have taught such twisted history, no wonder ~700 yahoos show up in Russellville for a Confederate flag rally.  Given this history, it’s easy to see how reality can be regarded as Fake News.  Ugh… 

Is the history of history in Arkansas common to other southern states?  And across the U.S.?  Is there a broad pattern of failure to teach history?

In Variety:

White House’s New Press Conference Rules Pose New Problems

It’s appropriate that this be in Variety, as this is an un-reality White House show.

And the rules?

Please be advised of the following rules governing future press conferences:

(1) A journalist called upon to ask a question will ask a single question and then will yield the floor to other journalists;

(2) At the discretion of the President or other White House official taking questions, a follow-up question or questions may be permitted; and where a follow up has been allowed and asked, the questioner will then yield the floor;

(3) “Yielding the floor” includes, when applicable, surrendering the microphone to White House staff for use by the next questioner;

(4) Failure to abide by any of rules (1)-(3) may result in suspension or revocation of the journalist’s hard pass.

On a side note, take a look at the White House site. It used to have clear pages across the top for Press Releases, live broadcasts, and a listing of Executive Orders and Proclamations.  Now?  It’s gone.  It’s available in the upper lefthand corner, the lines which will give you a menu.

I often use this photo, because it represents one simple fact: Sometimes things go off the rails.  Wind siting in Minnesota is one of those things, we have no wind specific siting criteria!

Thursday, December 6th, we’re back at the Commission, where they’ll address Goodhue Wind Truth’s Petition for Reconsideration, or not (and toss it in the circular file).

PUC Notice – Agenda Meeting 12-6-2018