Pam for Governor

Today was the definitive day. The day when we put our money where our mouth is and file for office. Kari and I arrived at the Secretary of State’s office around 11:20 am and waited to file. We noticed there was quite a bit of clamor at the office as Lori Swanson, one of Attorney General, Mike Hatch’s right hand attorneys, is filing for office of Attorney General. We found out from the press that Matt Entenza dropped out of the race that morning and there was now a feeding frenzy of filings coming forth from the DFL. Steve Kelley who had been a candidate for Governor, announced he was filing; as well as Bill Luther. Lori Swanson was there for good measure and who knows who else would be on the list by the end of the day.

The whole team of Green Party Candidates were there to file en masse with their petitions in hand. I admire them and actually know a few of them. I am glad they are participating. The race gives more choice to the public at large with more candidates to choose from.

We officially filed at 11:47 am, ahead of the Green entourage. We waited to watch them file. I spoke with them all and congratulated each of them for filing and collecting the necessary petition signatures required for them to run. They need to re-attain major party status; and hopefully they will.

We spoke briefly to a reporter, then left to go back to work on the campaign.

It was not an event, it was an administrative duty. Some campaigns make every detail an event; this was part of the clerical work which needs to be done to make running for office a reality; nothing more and nothing less.

We are officially in the race!!!

Today we all were up at around 3:00 am; picked up some of our crew and sojourned six hours northwest to Thief River Falls for the Pennington County Fair and the Badger Centennial Celebration in Badger, Minnesota; another 40 miles beyond Thief River Falls.

We split up the group when we arrived in Thief River Falls. Kari, her husband Earl, and Vivian, our Treasurer, all decided to stay at the County Fair booth; while Nick , my media guy, and my husband, Dave chose to go on to Badger to get in on what was left of the Centennial Celebration. We met Dale Nathan and his volunteer from Badger, Joshua Thompson there. Dale is running for Attorney General on the Independence Party ticket. We went to lunch and discussed possible fundraisers we could have in Badger. I met Riley, a new acquaintance, who took our survey and then took us over to meet his wife who works at the town VFW. We checked out the VFW and found it to be a great facility for a fundraiser. We are hoping to come back before the Primary Election and arrange a fundraiser at the VFW involving a polka band and some serious polka dancing; followed by a band and or Karaoke opportunity.

Nick met with the Sheriff and Fire Fighters in the town and asked them about their needs around the subject of law enforcement and fire fighting. We learned what we are learning from many law enforcement agencies all over the state. It’s the need for a statewide communication system that ALL law enforcement agencies can tap into, as well as the need for computerized vehicles. Law enforcement officers are required to pay for their body armor, weapons and uniforms. These items are costly and I believe should be provided for by the agency that hires them.

We met some people and handed out business cards in the VFW. I also spoke with some folks that are worried about the issue of the public’s ability to vote on issues of importance to their area. They mentioned the town of Roseau went ahead and built a huge community center in town, at great expense, without so much as a vote from the public. Because of flooding in past years, it seems the general public was more concerned about constructing flood management dykes and infrastructure ahead of a community center, but no one was able to get that idea across to public officials. What makes this even more ironic is the city decided to build the new community center right smack dab in the middle of the flood zone. Now come on, is this the type of government we want?!

This is why I encourage folks to get organized and vote the incumbents out that were responsible for such an atrocity. This is why I state that the public needs to get much more involved in the issues of the day, despite the fact that the task is daunting and frustrating. We need a whole lot more people out there who are willing to speak out and make a difference. Remember, your vote is the most powerful thing you can still wield in this state and nation. Don’t forget to vote your conscience despite what others might tell you. I hear it all the time. Oh, Pam, why do you bother, you will never win!

But, if we all listened to that advice, most of us would never get out of bed in the morning. I have a calling and we all have a responsibility to make our lives better, but it cannot be done from the couch. Get out there and make something happen! Together we can make things work in the favor of common sense, ethics and conventional wisdom. We can all work together to unify our state and get the job done!

Will you join me?

We awoke and started the day. My daughter and husband are off to work on fixing some things at her new apartment before she moves in. Kari has a chiropractic appointment and I have to finish my blogs and log into the forums and post. We decide after Kari’s appointment to gather some of our team together to strategize on how we get to every area of Minnesota between now and the Primary Election. We sit and pore over the information of County Fairs and Festivals and now we need to think strategically about how to accomplish our goals and get our message out to the people of Minnesota on literally a dime or two.

We mapped out all of the county fairs and their dates, and we now begin the task of putting a workable puzzle together of where Kari and I will be each day for the coming two months. We will have PayPal up on the site soon and will be able to take credit card donations online. We need more people who are interested in setting up a gathering at their home with a few friends or in their hometown with the whole town invited. We will come wherever there is a good gathering of folks that would like to tell us what they think needs to be done to correct some of the things that are now occurring.

We still need to fix our roads, help small town law enforcement to come into the 21st Century with the computerized tools that metropolitan departments have. We need to seek out the solutions to getting us all on an equitable footing with the access to Broadband and the technology that can benefit farmers and small businesses in rural Minnesota. These are the discussions we need to have along with how we will continue to have options for more efficient, affordable alternative energy sources without feeling the current pain we fill at the pump.

We enjoy the strategic ideas and have spent time thinking of how we can best serve Minnesotans in a fiscally responsible yet comprehensive way. We all have our assignments and Sunday is a day reserved for no campaign work.

We have done good things, we are on our way.

After going to the post office to buy some stamps for fundraising letters, I end up at the salon to have my eyebrows waxed. I am certain this is something that most of you do not care to know about, but this sort of thing is part of my life. Yes, if I didn’t engage in this process, I would be accused of being the missing link, with a uni-brow that would make Frida Kahlo proud. I just wish that her artistic talent would be downloaded with the look.

Anyway after those mundane errands are covered, I stop for a Green Tea, Strawberry Banana Smoothie at Caribou on Snelling and County Road C in Roseville. I hadn’t yet endulged in breakfast so I thought this might be a nice choice. Back home, I am working feverishly on my blogs and feel somewhat enslaved to my computer. I am having difficulty staying on top of these daily, and sometimes I just think, that no one can be THIS interested in what I do.

So skip down to after lunch and then there is something interesting to report. I have been invited to be on “Wolf Spirit”, a great show on Cable Access with Martha Fasthorse, who produces the show. She has been gracious enough to extend an invitation to myself, and my running mate, Kari Johnson to come on the show and talk about our campaign. There is a lot of waiting on the set when you are not LIVE, and we had a chance to chat about the campaign and our plans to work with the Sovereign Nations to see how the state and the Sovereign Nations can work together to bring helpful infrastructure to the state and to their lands for tourism and for other economic gains. We finish the show in one cut and she asks Kari and I to stay for an additional taping on HOT TOPICS. Well, I just can’t turn that one down, so we stay and have two new shows in the can!!! Yea!!!

I do not yet know when they will air on Metro 6 Cable, but as soon as I know I will let you all know.

Another day done, and we keep moving on.

I have a jam-packed day of errands, helping some friends move and taking a homeopathic ionic cleanse. The campaign is pressing onward, although it is sometimes difficult to find an empty post office box, with no donations for growing our campaign. It is hard to be able to compete when the wealthy parties are fundraising from all sources imaginable, and we have limited ourselves, for good reason, to individual citizen donations and donations from Sole Proprietorships. We do this because we believe in the little guy both individuals and small businesses. Our goal is to provide great economic growth to Minnesota be making it possible to have a great insurgence of small business starts and entrepreneurial endeavors by providing affordable accessible health care to all Minnesotans completely separate from their employer. This will also help Minnesota employers keep jobs in our state than sending them overseas, because they will no longer be saddled with the high cost of medical insurance here in Minnesota.

As I think about our plan we are driving down to Burnsville to help a friend move to Roseville. She doesn’t have that much, so we should be able to fit most everything in our conversion van. We are happy to help her out and she will appreciate her new home.

After loading up, my husband plans to drop me off at an appointment to have an ionic cleanse footbath. I realize that one of the other things we need to allow more flexibility in is to allow people to go to homeopaths, and chiropractors and use their healthcare coverage in this way. We need to be able to offer citizens a full array of medical care options, if they so choose. I am excited to try this ionic cleanse because it is accredited with pulling the toxins out of your body using ionic charges using a saltwater bath foot soak method. As it does its work, it turns the water orange in my case. I ask the provider, what this means. Apparently every color means a different source of toxins from the body. Orange means joint toxins. Oddly enough after I am done, I feel great relief in my feet and feel better.

Once the appointment is complete, we drive over to the new apartment my friend is moving to, in order to drop off our load. It is a hot day, but there is a great breeze.

Today, I am excited to get ready to start my day at Freedom School in St. Paul housed at St. Columba School on Blair and Hamline in the Midway area, my old neighborhood. My first house is just down the street at 1282 Blair. It is a great little neighborhood and the school has not changed that much since I lived in the neighborhood.

We lived directly across the alley from the then, Convent, where the sisters lived and served. I remember a couple of times having conversations with the sisters there and touring the Convent. Now I believe there are some Franciscan Brothers occupying that space. St. Columba school is a Catholic Parish school and the beautiful Catholic Church of St. Columba stands proudy behind the school.

I have a dear friend and former student from Arlington High School, Mr. Miracle Obeta that invited me today to read aloud to the school that is a six-week summer school program. I love to read aloud and still do to this day, even if I am only reading to myself. I am due to arrive at a little after 8:00 AM and I sit in my car and wait for awhile before I go in. I hope to see Miracle before I enter. After a few minutes of waiting in my car, I decide to go in and find out where I am to be reading to the students. They have just finished breakfast and they all gather in a lower Auditorium to have their first session, which includes the read aloud program and some fun spirit exercises. When I arrive the students are gathering with the staff. This is a summer school program that is run with University and College students and is a reading based program. The reading aloud piece is a natural part of the program each day. The students range in age from Kindergarten through eighth grade.

I was amazed at how involved and participatory the students were. When I was introduced they welcomed me and thanked me for coming. The book I decided to share was, “The Sneetches” by Dr. Suess. I introduced myself and told them that I believed that the biggest thing that reading does is to develop our imagination. I asked them if they new what an imagination was, and a few answered in the affirmative. I defined imagination as the ability to dream while you are wide-awake. I also told them that when someone reads aloud to you, your imagination goes to work to picture the people, places and things in the story. I then went on to say that when you read aloud to yourself or others you are using the four senses at once to help you more profoundly remember the elements of the story or book you are reading. In other words, reading aloud helps you use your eyes to read, your brain to think about what you are reading, your mouth to speak the words and your ears to listen. That is the best way for me to learn and I believe that you should try it yourselves. The students were perfectly quiet and engaged as I read the story and I showed a picture to them every once in awhile. I really wanted them to use their imaginations to create the picture more than rely on the pictures I showed.

I was so impressed by the students and staff alike and was profoundly affected by the positive chants and cheers they had mastered to build their individual confidence and self esteem. I am interested in coming again to read, and to see how the session turns out for all of them.

Thanks to the staff for welcoming me. And to the students, just keep on working and striving and reading more and more. Share a story with someone else and get them interested in reading too.

I hope that everyone is celebrating as we are today. Low key day with friends over for good food and relaxation. We wanted to be in a parade, but no money in the coffers for the fee. We decided to enjoy one another’s company and have a day off. We know that we will be hitting it hard over the next several weeks to the Primary. We will not relent, money or no money, this bid for office is a calling for Kari and I and we will continue until we cannot continue.

We believe that courage is really about not quitting in the face of great adversity. When you start to have great adversity, you know that you are being truly effective on all levels. We need to keep our heads and hearts positive and our hands always busy and reaching out to those who need to hear the message and need something to hang their hopes on.

I read an article that just made me chuckle a little bit. A friend contacted me and sent it along to me. It appeared in the Washington Post, and it referred to Jesse Ventura and the fact that he was working towards getting Kinky Friedman elected in Texas as their Governor this year. In the article it also mentioned that the Independence Party endorsed a team of “wonks” as a slate for the constitutional offices. You know I think that “wonk” is not mean’t to be a positive term. When I think of a wonk, I think of a policy person who knows how to write policy but lacks vision. We do not need another four years of this type of governance. We need people to be elected who really care about people and place people above policy. Good policy reflects the desires and dreams of the public at large.

Now of course I wasn’t mentioned in the Washington Post article, but I took the opportunity to write to the author of the article and remind them that Mr. H. is still being challenged by a long shot. I don’t know if anything will come of it, but I take my opportunities at every turn to get something done for the people of Minnesota. I still believe that as a visionary with common sense solutions, I can best govern in this state, and I believe that the people of Minnesota deserve nothing less, than someone that can still see a bright future, in spite of our challenges and make opportunity out of the challenges presented.

I am still one of the only candidates that have some simple solutions to complex problems that face our state.

On this day of Independence, think about declaring your Independence from slogans, rhetoric and catchy rhymes and look deeper into the character and into the platform of the people that are running for office. Do they speak in generalities, or do they have sound, clearly responsible solutions for change.

I wish you the best, Minnesota, on this Independence Day of our nation, consider casting your primary vote for a TRUE INDEPENDENT,,,,,Me!

Happy Birthday America!

May God Bless as all, every one.

I decided to go down to my new campaign office in Eagan to unpack some stuff and get some work done.

My husband came along to help organize things and as he continues to interview for more jobs, he helps on the campaign immensely. We talked with our office mate Dale Nathan who is also running for office this year for Attorney General as an Independent. We are working at getting Health Care Road Shows organized in all areas of the state. We are approaching and focusing on small business owners and average citizens to educate everyone about how we can actually get affordable heath care in place for everyone. Dale and I vary in our opinions about how to arrive there, but we are both committed to seeing that it happens for everyone in Minnesota.

We are organizing across the state and we are offering to pay commissions of 20% to anyone in Minnesota that would like to raise money for our efforts.

We believe that in order to be completely clear-minded about who are clients are, we accept PCR donations and my campaign is way behind right now. I am hoping that those of you that read my Blogs know that without me attaining 600 more PCR contributions by August 31st which is only about six weeks away now, I will not qualify for the state check off money when I win the Primary. So we are calling on everyone from the state to mail us a donation of $50.00 or less or go onto our website and check out the donation information. If you are eligible to vote in Minnesota, and you have not already given a PCR contribution to another campaign or party this year, you can do so and get your money back from the state in a 4-6 week period.

We know that we are the only team out there that will only take money from citizens in these amounts and the maximum donation we can accept from any one individual is $2000.00. So as you can see by the other candidates running, we have the least money, the best solutions and the most faith that we can win!!! I ran a pretty decent congressional race for $22,0000.00 and I have raised much less this time around.

Here is the other thing that is so interesting. When you are out there meeting average folks all over the state, you don’t have a media person with you, but when you make an impressions with people they are excited about our ideas and how we want to bring all Minnesotans to the table and see that everyone feels as though they are listened to. It really isn’t that hard to listen, and learn. By the way, if you REALLY WANT CHANGE, tell everyone you know about our candidacy. We are trying to get in parades, but they all have fees from $50.00 to $250.00, and when the coffers are low, it is difficult to get the visibility out there. Please write in and make suggestions about where we can meet with people without cost and get more support.

Time to go home and prepare for the 4th! I plan to have some folks over, eat good food and have some fun and relaxation. Enjoy!!!

Since my campaign committee was filed in November of 2004, I have been campaigning while still working a full time job and while still serving on my voluntary committees that I had committed myself to through the end of this school year. It has been a challenge and yesterday was my last official day before taking my leave of absence from the St. Paul School District. I am relieved and excited to campaign now full time. There will have to be a big push and I will need to seek help from all of you from all over the state. We are seeking fundraisers that can make calls from their homes and make contacts face to face with people in their communities. We are offering commissions on everything each person raises for the campaign with incentive bonuses for excellent work above and beyond the call of duty.

In order for us to qualify for the $400,000.00 in state check off money for the PCR program, we MUST RAISE $35,000.00 in PCR donations by the end of August of this year. That translates roughly into 700, individual PCR donations of $50.00, or 350, in PCR donations of $100.00 per married couple. This should not be that difficult, especially when people get the full donation back, by submitting their receipt from the campaign and the simple form that needs to be filled out to accompany it. In addition, we can accept up to $2,000.00 in money and in-kind donations from individuals and sole proprietorships. I will be on the phones myself hoping to bring more into the campaign.

I am going on the Healthcare Reform Road Show all over the state and we will soon be posting dates and times in your area! Please come and learn how we can move Minnesota into the new century with successful and meaningful economic rejuvenation as an outgrowth of providing affordable healthcare for all Minnesota citizens that is completely detached from employment. In other words we can redirect taxation that comes in from various sources in the medical field as well as part of our sales tax structure to provide this needed service for everyone.

I am out in my garden a little bit today and will be working diligently on more blogs and responding to many messages on my forum as well.

WE MOVE AHEAD! (not forward) Ha, ha!

Catch you on the flipside!

It is Wednesday; I am a few minutes late to work. I enter the school expecting to see my former colleague in the hall on the way to the Library. Mary and I still are in shock over the death of our colleague, Steve White. We plug away at our work and plan for the day and how we will finish everything by tomorrow. We continue today with more of the same, moving books, moving furniture, checking in books that still arrive from students over the summer. The day drags and we box up books for shipping out to other schools.

Students begin arriving to the sanctuary in the library set up with paper, pencils, markers and refreshments to take the edge off of the stress and grief that has left them red-eyed and feeling hopeless. Counselors speak in hushed but concerned tones, encouraging students to share their feelings and to talk about the good things they remember about the Commander. Many share, but most sit silently, wiping tears and trying to get beyond the stage of disbelief. I have an opportunity to give a hug or two to students who I know, and try to encourage them in the face of the great discouragement they feel so poignantly.

As the day wears on, some leave, others come in. The students are preparing themselves for the Memorial Service and are thinking of their cadet colleagues still in Chicago, and wondering how the Senior Chief will break the news to them when the time comes. Our heart cries are heard by God, in spite of the fact that many do not believe this to be true. Our grief unifies us all.

As a mom, I just want to gather them all up and embrace them and tell them that this will pass, but it is too soon. They must allow the pain to work its way through them however it can. I look at the tear-streaked faces and hope for a little less pain tomorrow, and the next day.

I think about how far behind I am on my blogs and hope to catch up tonight and tomorrow, and yet, the blogging seems to be the least significant thing to me right now.

I need to go home and process the day.

It is Tuesday; I arrive at work at 7:00AM. My coworker Mary and I have more to do and we are bone tired from the day before. We are in the process of moving books, re-shelving and reconfiguring rooms for the fall. This involves moving furniture too. Around mid-morning, I am approached by another colleague who takes me aside and tells me some devastating news. The colleague tells me because he knows I am the current Site Council Chair for the school and it is important for me to know. He tells me that the Lieutenant Commander of our Navy JROTC unit at school has passed away suddenly and the details of his death are not known. I feel as though I have been punched in the stomach and then a piercing burning in my heart brings tears to my eyes as I try to process this information. Lieutenant Commander Steve White is someone I have worked closely with and my children know him well as they had both been in the program in the past.

It is hard to imagine that such a warm, positive and kind-hearted soul has left this earth and left a huge gaping void at Arlington High School. All of a sudden I realize that this news will have to be given to my kids, and I think about the fact that the NS1 cadets are all in the Chicago area for boot camp until Friday. I wonder how will this new be managed by the school, and how the students will deal with the devastation. ALL students in the school, not just by the students in the Navy JROTC program, respect Steve White. He has brought our unit to the forefront, taking us from the least viable unit in our region to the rank of second in five years. He is known for his skill, and compassionate but strict discipline and has brought many students to a place of self-respect and encouraged them to continue on no matter what the obstacle. One of our students last year, Ka was the first Hmong woman to be admitted to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, in spite of the fact that she did not meet the height requirement. I had just seen Ka at my son’s graduation about three weeks ago, and she is doing well and thriving at the Academy. I wonder what the fallout will be for her when she finds out the news. I can hardly hold myself together, and I know that many of my colleagues will be feeling the grief themselves when the news hits them.

I know there will be many students that will rally at school to deal with the pain they are feeling. The day drags on as I continue to work and think about his daughters and wife and how hard this must be for them all. I cannot imagine anyone else taking his place and yet I know someone will. I am not ready to move on and forget the many conversations we have had over the past five years, nor will I forget how much he means to my own children. My daughter visits her high school alma mater often, and would not think of setting foot in the school without having a conversation with Lieutenant Commander White. She knows that he has always given her positive encouragement and she loves to shoot the breeze and joke about her life with him. Those times have come to an abrupt halt.

I think of my son, who also was in the program and had an interesting relationship with the Commander, because Steve knew that my son had a habit of coasting sometimes rather than giving it his all 100% of the time. My son is up in northern Minnesota at camp all summer, running the programs and will be set back on his heels when he hears of this untimely shock.

It is Monday, and I put the last weekend out of my mind to get busy barcoding the books that remain to be processed at the Arlington High School Library. Many of my colleagues are curious about the way the convention turned out on the weekend and probe for the answer to the question: “Are you going to continue to the Primary?” The answer is certain and the same to all who ask, “Absolutely!”

As we work we listen to the coverage of the IP Convention and we pontificate over the course of events that continue to weigh heavy on my mind yet today. I find the it surreal to hear myself on the radio giving a speech about how important it is to be involved. You know after small even small defeats sometimes it is difficult t get moving again without taking time for a breath or two. As the program continues, the talking heads pretty much say I have little to no choice of beating the endorsed candidate and I have to keep reminding myself, that 270 people at a convention do not make the decision about the top leader of our state – THANK GOD!

We never had any illusions that we would win the endorsement. We have no money, we entered the IP race at the beginning of June, and I have been away from the party since 2000. It was what it was. I was unprepared for the fact that several of the delegates that had signed up on the virtual caucus were not on the delegate lists, and they were unable to register that day, as they were told there the deadline had passed. I had support at the convention, that were unable to vote for me, and we did the best we could in spite of that case.

I decided to run on the IP ticket, because I truly believe in growing the third party and fourth party movement in this country if that’s what it takes. However, let me be clear, there should be more opportunity for those candidates that wish to debate the issues and to run for office to be able to do so and be included in the important forums and debates without any party affiliation.

My team agrees and yet to be politically realistic, we needed to think about whether or not our chances were better to be allowed in the debates with or without any party affiliation. We are not completely satisfied with the way the day went at the convention, but we plan to address those issues with the Party at a later date. Perhaps when we take office in the fall, we will have a stronger voice with the Party than we do now. The filing period is coming up and we will see what occurs on the day of filing. For now, we continue to believe that Minnesotans want to see someone who understands their lives, much more than someone who can talk a good game. The operative word there is game. I would be lying if I told you that I was perfectly positive and up after this day of disappointments, but I don’t lie and I don’t intend to start now.

We will be included in the Pride Parade in Minneapolis tomorrow, and are looking forward to it.

So, on to the next gig!

What can we say? We slept in, had great meal, and jumped in the car for the long trek home. We DID stop at the Flea Market in Detroit Lakes to check out the merchandise and buy some Cinnamon and Sugar Almonds. Great Stuff! After a quick perusal of the grounds and the checking out the plethora of items that we could have purchased but didn’t, we proudly walked away without purchasing anything but the Almonds.

We stopped in Pelican Rapids at the Dairy Queen for a Moo-Latte and we were off like a herd of turtles to get on I-94 and hope we had missed the onslaught of "lakesters" coming back to the metro to work and to more serious responsibilities. They are not alone, Kari and I still are working jobs and campaigning when we can.

We were able to get home in time for church, which we had been truant from this morning. We have arrived safely and are grateful for a productive weekend. Back to work tomorrow. I need sleep as I have two interviews with the press tomorrow.

I will be on Midday with Gary Eichten on FM 91.1, so listen if you can. I will be on from 11:30AM until 12:00 NOON. Then back to work.

It is a sultry breezy day in TRF. We have spent the early morning catching up on some news on CNN and have heard that another soldier was killed and two remain missing. They have little to go on as to the disappearance and they are using all available military assets to determine the whereabouts of the missing soldiers. They will not stop looking until they are found. My heart skips a beat when I here of the toll and great sacrifice our servicemen and women are making for our country and for the country of Iraq. I pray for those that are missing and pray for their families.

We went to breakfast at Handy Farms Restaurant this morning and I checked in with the mother of one of my best friends, Doris Dee. She is a server at the restaurant and also bakes all of their fresh pies daily at the restaurant. It was great to see her and greet her. As we waited for our food, we watched as the staff scurried around to accommodate the demands of their customers on a busy Saturday morning, and was reminded that service workers are a great group of people that work hard every day and rarely have access to health care. Those that work in the world of retail also are left out of the mix. It isn’t right that we have citizens that work very hard every day that have little chance that their healthcare needs will be met without serious out of pocket costs affecting their ability to provide for themselves and their families.

Should this priority be pushed aside in favor of funding stadiums at taxpayer expense with no recourse? Why does it seem as though the citizen voice is the last one heard at the State Capitol? This needs to change. We left there to go to the fairgrounds with the hope of talking with more people about how they thought things should change. We talked with the manager of a steel company in town and the high costs of gasoline and how that was causing rising costs to his business. We also discussed the plight of public education and how students were not spending enough time in the classroom in comparison with children in China. He stated that he knew of a teacher from Minnesota who had been to China and seen the educational system there and observed the fact that the students go to school year round and have an amazing work ethic in comparison to the students in our country. He also believes we need to find a way to catch up with the nations in the world that are surpassing us in trade and technology. We discussed the need to change the way in which we educate our children and prepare them more rigorously for the future in the 21st Century, by instilling a more disciplined way of approaching both their studies and their work. We talked about the inability of teachers and administrators to discipline students that were unmanageable due to the lack of desire to want to learn. We do not allow students to live with their choices, and experience the natural outcomes of the consequences, good or bad. We create an atmosphere that allows them to believe that no matter WHAT they choose, someone will always bail them out. When they are protected from the natural consequences of their behavior they do not learn how to make better choices because they never feel the outcome of a poor choice.

I suggested that we needed to meet the educational needs of families that do not work traditional day shifts and that we need to make it easier for these families. Parents need to have their students have the option of being educated at the same time their parents are at work, providing alternate hours for them to attend parent teacher conferences.

We spoke with a farmer who is frustrated that the government sets the price for his crops and pays him to “Not farm his land”. He wants farmers to vote to set their own price and believes the cost of food should reflect the true cost of producing it. I explained that as Americans we have a false sense of what food costs and we do not educate our children in school anymore about agriculture and how food is produced. It is this lack of understanding that causes us to think that food is cheap. In the UK, I saw that the cost of food was higher than in America and yet people fully expected to pay the higher price because they always had and were more educated about what it took to produce the food they were purchasing. We have enjoyed food prices that do not reflect the cost of inflation and we expect it to stay that way. These are things we need to consider if we want to keep farmers farming. Government subsidies do not work. Farmers need to be able to set their own price based on the cost of growing what they need to grow. As long as government sets the price, as consumers we will be in the dark about what the true cost of producing the item takes. EXAMPLE: If the government sets the price of a dozen eggs at $5.00 a dozen but it really costs $10.00 to produce those eggs, the farmer will never make enough money to turn a profit. We all accept the notion that a business should be somewhat profitable, or what would be the point of being in business? And if the government is spending our tax dollars, WE as taxpayers are directly subsidizing the lower price. So in short, wouldn’t it make more sense to just pay the true price, and end the subsidy? Then the farmer gets what he needs, and we aren’t robbing Peter to pay Paul.

After a brief lunch break at Café Rhombus in Thief River Falls, which by far has the best Smoothies I have ever tasted, and ribs smoked on site with the added splendor of homemade barbecue sauce with a (hush, hush) secret ingredient that we now know, but will not disclose, we returned for the late afternoon and evening to Festibration. By the way, Café Rhombus is a great destination point in Thief River Falls that is one of the few places that stays open on a Saturday night until 11:00PM. Stop by and say “Hi” to Matt and Lucas, and tell them Pam and Kari sent you. You might want to know that the Raspberry Smoothie is highly recommended by Lucas! Thanks for the hospitality, Matt and Lucas! See you at the County Fair.


Back at the end of the festival, we got thoroughly grilled by a young man who asked us every controversial subject under the sun. He wanted to be certain we had thought through our platform carefully. He said we passed, so we heaved a sigh of relief.

Thanks to Amanda and Joshua for making the weekend successful! We were able to get an interview with the local radio station in Thief River Falls. All in all it was a successful weekend, and most people we talked with couldn’t believe we made the trip to come and discuss issues with them.

As the evening waned and the sun went down, we packed up our literature and canopy and drove back to the casino hotel. We flopped in bed and watched the end of a suspense thriller. It wasn’t too thrilling because I found myself nodding off and before I knew it the credits were rolling. The evening was cool and it was pleasant to put my head on the pillow and dream about what comes next.