Eden Prairie News - Opinion - Comments

Thank you for this wonderful

Randi Reitan — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:36:59 -0500

Thank you for this wonderful commentary!

Gavin, it's obvious that you

stark — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 02:53:40 -0500

Gavin, it's obvious that you share the same disdain towards religion as Lenin and Marx. Was the hyper-link provided in the title of the post meant to foreshadow your atheistic/agnostic views?

"Who's Swenson, you ask? He's Menomonie, Wisconsin's leading creationist yarn-spinner, pumping out a superstition-promoting book every several years. His own bio doesn't include the word scientist; his academic stature hasn't yet earned him a Nobel (nor even a Wikipedia entry). "

Global warming alarmist Al Gore has both a "Nobel" and his very own Wikipedia entry, does this make him an expert?

Swenson, may not refer to himself as a scientist in his bio, but Dr. Johnson is not the first to use that description.

http://www.cwfa.org/radio.asp?broadcastID=1724&mode=detail

I think you missed Johnson's point about evolution and creationism as two theories which are not mutually exclusive. Proof of one does not necessarily disprove the other. Darwinism is a term that has evolved on it's own, becoming a pejorative to describe those who feel that evolution theory is sufficient proof to deny the existence creationism.

Millions who fully support the theory of evolution also believe that God is the true creator. Those "churchfolk" who believe in evolution do not, by default, fit the contemporary definition of Darwinism.

http://gavinsullivan.blogspot

Gavin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:50:24 -0500

http://gavinsullivan.blogspot.com/2009/08/question-marx.html

Dr. Bernard E. Johnson alternates with a number of local churchfolk in writing the Spiritually Speaking column in The Eden Prairie News. Johnson demonstrates his elevated humility this week--urging us to embrace life's question marks. How wonderful it is that religious people maintain such modesty--freely admitting they just don't know much. Shucks!

Perhaps it will occur to the moralist that a below-the-belt, fact-free attack on an unpopular philosophical minority might buttress his thesis:

"Richard Swenson is a medical doctor and respected scientist who had written about the amazing reality of the human being and its equally amazing limitations. He is especially interested in those who confidently rule out the possibility of God based on the revelations of science. Such people have rejected question marks and, in Swenson’s opinion, been blinded by a thimbleful of knowledge. Here is a person with a three pound brain sitting in judgment on God! Whatever else atheism is, it is too small."

Who's Swenson, you ask? He's Menomonie, Wisconsin's leading creationist yarn-spinner, pumping out a superstition-promoting book every several years. His own bio doesn't include the word scientist; his academic stature hasn't yet earned him a Nobel (nor even a Wikipedia entry). In his More Than Meets The Eye: Fascinating Glimpses of God's Power and Design, the 'futurist' reveals the following about Jesus: 'Without a doubt, he shed at least one red blood cell for every human who ever lived' (as Publishers Weekly noted as it panned). No non-creationist could conceivably find Swenson's opinion of any interest whatever.

Thousands of cosmological maps have been proposed over the millennia--and immense change has occurred within individual religions over time. To commit oneself to a specific faith in its particular temporal guise is to reject nearly as many alternatives as does Richard Dawkins. To choose one religion to believe in--among the thousands that humans have described--requires one to reject a slew of subpar claimants. If we judge it a capital offense to employ one's three-pounder to reject gods, we should buy our crucifixion lumber in bulk.

A wood shop Mr. Mallo? Are

stark — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:23:25 -0500

A wood shop Mr. Mallo? Are you telling me there is a community wood shop at the Senior Center?

If the wood shop was determined to be a necessity for the Senior Center, then I now fully understand why senior recreation services are not going to be moved to the Community Center.

Why does the city need a community wood shop? What is the cost to the taxpayers?

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts: I have no problem with these private organizations using city facilities - but they should not exist for their benefit. Why is the city subsidizing the work of a University of Minnesota Professor? The U does have wood shops.

Our local schools also have wood shops. Why not open these up to the seniors and scouts? That U of M professor can find his own facilities and quit sucking off of Eden Prairie taxpayers.

The BAC recommendation to move the senior programming to the Community Center is a reasonable one. It is not going to happen, thanks to a city council that is afraid to make decisions that benefit all taxpayers.

I'm excited to see it! I

Karla — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:36:05 -0600

I'm excited to see it! I think I saw Doua Moua in the trailer. He is described on his web site: http://www.douamoua.com/ -- as "exceedingly odd and creepily funny." Here's a link to his imdb profile too: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1732080/

(Karla Wennerstrom is the editor of the Eden Prairie News. She can be reached at editor@edenprairienews.com.)

I LOVED "Gran Torino." Talk

Miss Mollee — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:16:18 -0600

I LOVED "Gran Torino." Talk about a movie that is both entertaining and moving. I highly recommend it. Of the movies I've seen in the hunt for Oscars this year, this is the one I'll be rooting for.

For Franken, a math

Gino G — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:11:56 -0600

For Franken, a math problem.
Challenged ballots may offer the Senate challenger a path to overtaking Coleman, but numbers indicate it would be a tough route.

By PAT DOYLE and GLENN HOWATT, Star Tribune

Last update: November 30, 2008 - 12:52 PM
While a tiny margin separates the candidates in the Minnesota U.S. Senate race, it is wide enough that Democrat Al Franken faces a daunting task in challenging votes to erase Sen. Norm Coleman's lead.

The two sides have disputed thousands of the other's votes, but many of those challenges are regarded by experts as frivolous.

To win his case before the state Canvassing Board, Franken must prevail on more than 6 percent of his challenges of Coleman votes even if Coleman fails to succeed on any of his challenges, a Star Tribune analysis shows.

If the outcome of past election disputes provides a clue, Franken will have a hard time reversing enough votes to win, said one veteran elections official who has been involved in the Senate recount.

"Based upon the kinds of challenges I've been looking at in the last two weeks, I think that's just not going to happen," said Joe Mansky, Ramsey County elections manager.
http://www.startribune.com/politics/35263049.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEy...

You would think liberals

sd42webmaster — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 11:19:06 -0600

You would think liberals would be celebrating this month. You would think they would be reveling in their smashing success -- in a few short weeks Obama will be President, Democrats will have near veto-proof majorities in both houses of Congress, they can go ahead with their socialist plans and no one will be there to stop them.

But no, they aren't happy. They need another round of Erik Paulsen-bashing.

Vile? Here is what is vile, Mr. Bromelkamp, Democrats like you who write screeds about "vile attacks" and then spend all day long on websites like Minnesota Democrats Exposed . . . making vile attacks.

Democrats actually want you to believe Republicans are full of dirty tricks while they are pure as the driven snow. Do you want proof? Four years ago -- or so the story goes -- John Kerry was "Swiftboated". Never mind the fact that 264 of John Kerry’s fellow Swift Boat veterans signed a petition against him, and only 13 took his side.

And Barack Obama told Tennessee Republicans to "Lay off my wife" for attacking some of her public statements.

You can’t get lower than THAT, can you?

Until we start to learn that liberals will dredge to the depths of hell to get as low and dirty as they can, and then they will keep on digging. And they will stop at absolutely nothing until they have reached absolute rock bottom.

In the three days after Sarah Palin was announced to be the pick for VP, the NY Times ran no fewer than 67 articles attacking her. Everything from "she’s no Hillary" to "her hair looks 20 years out of date" to "she’s got a Fargo accent". They attacked the church she goes to and repeated the lie that she’s a seperatist nut-case, that she wants Alaska to break off from the United States.

But it's funny. I don't remember you or Ken writing ONE WORD defending Sarah Palin or complaining about how she was treated in this campaign.

The smears went on and on. They said that Palin was a bad mother who put her own ambitions ahead of her baby to advance her career. Democrats are all heart. They smear their opponent as someone who doesn’t even care enough to watch over her own children.

But the attack machine does not stop there. Then Democrats claimed that Sarah Palin is not the mother of Trig. No, the baby born with Downs Syndrome, according to Democrats, is really her granddaughter from her daughter Bristol.

And even that isn't low enough -- oh no! Soon stories were out that Sarah's husband, Todd Palin, was the incestuous father of the kid. Sarah, according to some Dems, faked her pregnancy in order to explain away the fact that her husband’s DNA was in the baby.

One blogger, Charles Martin, at last count, compiled at least 84 lies about Sarah Palin.

And now the slime merchants and bottom feeders who dragged Sarah Palin's family through the mud want to lecture the rest of us about clean campaigns? Yeah -- good luck with that!

Erik knew the vile charges

danbrome — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:37:14 -0600

Erik knew the vile charges against Ashwin were wrong:

* Not "one of us"
* Liar, Liar, Liar.. he lie here, and here, and here.
* Ashwin's face darkened to look like a terrorist at best.
* $2600 per family in fictitious Madia tax increases
* Carpetbagger with no connection to the 3rd CD

Erik knew, but he accepted the attacks as his way to "win".

"I'm Erik Paulsen, and I approved this message."

Like you said Ken, the look on Erik's face said it all. In his heart he was troubled by the ads, but he allowed them anyway because he had to win even if it meant selling his soul.

I too read the Eden Prairie

stark — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 07:47:58 -0600

I too read the Eden Prairie Taxpayers Alliance new website, eptamn.com. I appreciate their efforts, as do many residents.

First to the past record of the EPTA. There has not been a group that has done more to educate local taxpayers as to how their money is being spent by city hall and the school district. In the past the EPTA identified many unneeded expenditures by the city and the schools. Take for example, the full-time heritage preservation expert employed at city hall. Who ever heard of such a position, outside of Eden Prairie of course.

The EPTA and the city's Budget Advisory Committee identified many ways the city should address the rapidly growing budget two years ago. This led to significant reductions in wasteful spending in a number of areas - much to the dismay of liberals on the prairie. The truth is that Mayor Young and the council didn't go far enough.

The BAC was new at the time of the last budget deliberations. (During Ron Case's first tenure on the city council and he fought hard against the formation of a citizen committee that has input with respect to budgetary decisions.) In 2008 and going forward, the BAC is much more versed in city spending and opportunities to control costs.

On the new EPTA website, they list city employees making over $75,000 per year. The salaries for these people are more than 11% of the total city budget!

Many will recall the TV and radio commercials the St. Paul Police Union ran this past summer. They had a little jingle about St. Paul cops leaving for more money in Eden Praire. It is not a myth that EP cops are the highest paid in the area. http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7232414...

The above link tells us that Eden Praire Police Officers with five or more years experience make 74K per year. They are not only at the top of the list, they make 25% more than some local agencies pay. (The EPTA only shows cops making more that 75K).

I would like to add the the list of P's (public safety, pipes, and parks) the word parity. Parity with respect to pay that is. I've used the issue of cops to illustrate that we are paying more than we need to, for necessary city positions. I hope that both the EPTA and the BAC examine the compensation of all city postions, to identify other overly compensated employees as well. It is obvious that Scott Neal has not been doing the necessary research prior to approving compensation levels.

Six years ago the city created the position of a full-time fire chief. It would be hard to argue that we didn't need this position, but at $110K per year it's a bit pricey. The city pays 78K per year for someone to oversee the three municipal liquor stores. That's right, we are paying someone to determine how much the city can jack up prices in it's liquor monopoly before residents are forced to drive to Chanhassen or Bloomington to make their purchases.

City Manager Scott Neal who worked at the small town of Northfield, MN before coming to Eden Prairie, makes 143K per year with his car allowance. Neal's assistant makes 82K a year. That's a pretty good wage for someone to make sure the boss has a full cup of coffee.

I have not read anything from the EPTA where they are challenging the city's 20-40-15 initiative. 20-40-15 gives real numbers to taxpayers as to when they should expect to get a return on their investment. That is rare for city hall, and it's certainly nothing we could expect from the school board. The EPTA was asking for an overall freeze in spending, they didn't suggest that every line item in the budget be locked in place.

As far as local home foreclosures are concerned - do you have any evidence that local property taxes are not a significant factor? If you examine most fixed mortgates, you''ll see that the property tax portion a house payment is the only thing that keeps growing.

I'm looking forward to seeing updates on the EPTA website in the months ahead, particularly the "Golden Fleece Awards." It is not "armchair quarterbacking" to question unecessary spending by the government. A spending-freeze plan should begin immediatley. There is fat at city hall that could be cut and projects that can be postponed or eliminated.

In 2009, I expect the Eden Prairie School Board to ask for tax increases as well. I'm confident that the EPTA will be watching closely.

More cause for

William Wood — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 01:52:30 -0500

More cause for "discomfort":

Seeking Change in Law, Pastors to Endorse Candidates
This Sunday, 35 Religious Leaders Will Break the Law and Endorse Politicians
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=5886446

In his Sept. 11, 2008

William Wood — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 01:48:58 -0500

In his Sept. 11, 2008 article, Rev. Johnson tries to analyze why people fear organized religion. His article suggests that underlying people’s discomfort with organized religion “are the images of coercive, manipulative, tradition-bound, money-grubbing, empire building behavior.” He then defends religious organization against this as merely a tool churches use to accomplish their “noble mission.”

I cannot speak for anyone but myself, but Rev. Johnson’s analysis certainly does not comprehend why I am “discomforted” with organized religion.

In her 1983 book “Teaching a Stone to Talk,” Annie Dillard writes that “On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions.” Whatever does she mean?

Conditions. What ARE our conditions? Our conditions are those of being awash, buried -- DROWNING -- in sublime, terrifying mysteries. We hold up the candle of science to these mysteries, and their sublimity is only enhanced. The weight of billions of years propels us from behind into a future that holds billions of years yet to be. The (increasing! to the ripping point?) size of our universe (ours among others?) gives context to our place. Here, on this speck, squished between eternities, we live our lives. Our lives! We, our very selves, COME INTO BEING (think about that!). Our very bodies are made of what was forged in stars other than our sun. Life emerges from the inanimate! And we CEASE (think about that, too). Thoreau was right: properly seen, our lives really ARE the stuff of faery tales. And of it all, really, we know next to nothing.

Ah, but this can all be overwhelming, not to mention impractical. It’s all well and good to be sensible of the mystery that is eating (think about that!), but it sure doesn’t put food on the table, does it? And similarly, the mysterium tremendum is hardly a clear spiritual advisor on our tour of the Absolute. So, we make up stuff. We put words to what can’t be said, we name the unnamable. We draw rules around things.

We organize.

And our sensibility to our conditions dulls.

The problem with organized religion is that it makes people think they can somehow be in the presence of god one minute then out on the patio sipping coffee and chatting with friends the next. As if.

The problem with organized religion is that it leads people to believe that the words and names and rules are the Absolute itself. As if.

The problem with organized religion is that it purports to preach “the message of truth.”

As if.

The problem with organized religion is that once we organize our understanding of our conditions, honest sensibility to those conditions doesn’t stand a chance.

Bill Wood
Eden Prairie, MN

Seriously?!?! Seriously,

Jake_ep27 — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:37:06 -0500

Seriously?!?!

Seriously, this is your argument Sherry?!?! Essentially, you are saying that since the coffee shop adds to our community we should subsidize their lease by footing over 50% of the annual bill, not to mention all the other costs involved. I suppose I can understand this coming from the person who supports city-owned liquor stores, rather than private enterprise.

My only response to you Sherry is this. How much are we subsidizing every small business that provides jobs in our community (I would venture to guess that this is a major reason why Eden Prairie is such a fantastic city) or how much are you subsidizing our property taxes (since the residents of Eden Prairie are what truly make it great)?

Who chooses what is worthy of subsidization? Refurbishing an historic home is not the job of the city, rather it should be the job of the Historical Preservation Society (operated with PRIVATE) donations. It is not your job to tell us residents what is important to our community and spend our money on it...let us make that decision. It is time that you learn some fiscal responsibility! Heck, nothing like spending a cool million to fix an old home when our public schools are running $11 million in the red!

Bravo, Mr. Flaherty.

JazzOnThePrairie — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 09:38:11 -0500

Bravo, Mr. Flaherty. Bravo.

Apparently, only dollars make sense. Well, here is a different way to put that into perspective:

Yes, it’s true that a city and its council must be fiscally responsible, but you are making one big mistake: The City of Eden Prairie is NOT a business. If it were, we’d be plowing under every park and athletic field and replacing them with tax-income-producing residential developments and industrial parks. Along with them would go free concerts, 4th of July celebrations, and countless other city-sponsored community events, in favor of some type of “pay-per-view” system. Under a “responsible business plan”, every culturally and/or historically significant building (such as the Goodrich-Ramus barn on Pioneer Trail) would be seen as unnecessary liabilities and immediately torn down, regardless of the fact that the chance for their rescue comes once, and ONLY once; when they’re gone, they’re gone forever.

If, years ago, when our forward thinking City Council was considering what to do with the Smith-Douglas-More property, their only concern had been for the budget, the property would have been sold, the trees and house removed, an office building erected, and a “more appropriate” tenant would have moved in: A law firm. A bank. An insurance company. Instead, what they envisioned was the preservation of one of Eden Prairie’s most important ties to its historic past through an innovative adaptive-use program that would attract a business that, through its very nature, would offer something back to the community, while providing income to maintain what could very well be defined as a living museum. And, so it has been. Dunn Brothers Coffee has not only preserved Eden Prairie’s culture, they have been growing it.

SO it isn’t what would be considered the perfect business plan.
SO they are asking for a temporary break in the rent.
SO Eden Prairie’s 60,000-plus residents would be asked to fork over 50 cents a piece more in property taxes next year to make up for the $31,000 shortfall in order to keep this experiment going…
SO WHAT: Over the past few years, Eden Prairie has consistently ranked among the nations best places to live and raise a family. Why? What’s the term? Oh, yes, “Quality of Life”. This term relates to both the tangible and intangible assets a community provides. Assets that have set our city apart from the others, and, in turn, have increased all of our property values, and – consequently – increased property tax revenue dramatically for the city.
Frighteningly, some members of our current city council and the mayor can’t seem to see that far down the road or think that far outside the box as to realize that investing these dollars now makes good business sense… for ALL of us. And THAT, sir, is BAD business.

Tom Knauer

The City Council might be

Leah Shaffer — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:43:51 -0500

The City Council might be discussing the Dunn Bros. lease at its next meeting, Aug. 19.
Click
here to read a previous story about the issue.