Archbishop John NienstedtArchbishop Nienstedt’s interviews with several local reporters are being published. In the PiPress Elizabeth Mohr writes, “He said, as he has in the past, that when he was appointed archbishop in 2008 he thought the issue of clergy abuse was being properly handled. Nienstedt said he relied on assurances from his predecessor, Archbishop Harry Flynn, and former Vicar General Kevin McDonough, who was the chief point person on priest sexual abuse and continued in that role from 2008 to 2013 as ‘delegate for safe environment.’ ” Buses are big. There’s a lot of room under them.
In the Strib, Jean Hopfensperger writes, “The archbishop denied that he was a homosexual or engaged in homosexual acts. ‘I’m not gay,’ he said. ‘And I’m not anti-gay.’ … When asked why Catholic priests and seminarians alleged he had same-sex attraction, Nienstedt responded, ‘I have no idea.’ ”
With MPR’s Madeleine Baran, we get this: “When asked if he thinks people will be able to trust him and continue following him in the wake of the scandal, Nienstedt said is confident that many will. ‘Well, I read all my mail and all my emails that I get, and there is decidedly a group of people who have lost trust,’ he said. ‘But I think there’s more than that number of people who have told me, ‘Hang in there, you’re doing a good job, we’re going to get through this and be in a better place.’ So I think you’re getting one side of the story, but I see both sides of the story. And I believe that what we’re going to do in the next few months is going to convince people that we’re on the right track.’ ” That sounds a lot like the classic, “Let’s move on” defense.
Another road that needs a lot of work. The AP says, “Minnesota officials have hired a contractor to start stabilizing a highway closed by flood and mudslide damage. The Minnesota Department of Transportation [says] … GeoStabilization International of Grand Junction, Colorado, has begun work on Highway 19. The east-west route that crosses near Minneapolis has been closed since June. Department officials say it’s expected to reopen to traffic by fall. The contractor will start from Henderson and Highway 169 on a process called soil nailing. It involves the insertion of reinforcing bars into the exposed soil.”
Inevitably … WDIO-TV in Duluth reports, “The Cook County Board of Commissioners voted to replace Tim Scannell as county attorney following his conviction Friday on two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. … Assistant County Attorney Molly Hicken was appointed as interim attorney.”
Contributions for the family of slain Mendota Heights police officer Scott Patrick have already passed $10,000. Joe Lindberg of the PiPress says, “As of Thursday afternoon, the fundraiser on the GoFundMe site had amassed more than $10,000 from more than 300 people. It was created about 7 p.m. Wednesday — it shows no signs of slowing down.”
The suspect in Patrick’s killing is still in the hospital. The Strib team of Pat Pheifer, James Walsh and Paul Walsh report, “Along with revealing the [serious] condition of 39-year-old Brian Fitch Sr., St. Paul police also identified the woman who was with the longtime criminal during his arrest in St. Paul and also wounded as Kelly Lee Hardy. Authorities have yet to explain the relationship between the two or whether she is suspected of committing a crime.
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The Mighty Pipers will share St. Paul’s Lowertown stadium. Frederick Melo of the PiPress says, “St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Hamline President Linda Hanson on Wednesday unveiled a 25-year partnership agreement between the city of St. Paul and the state’s oldest private university. … Over the course of the 25-year lease agreement, the university will pay roughly $1.5 million into the ballpark, with $500,000 devoted to clubhouse construction and the remainder flowing into the ballpark’s general construction budget.” That’s getting close to the city’s tab for emergency street work.
Target went outside for a new CEO. Kavita Kumar of the Strib says, “Target Corp. on Thursday named Brian Cornell, a senior executive at PepsiCo Inc., to be its new chief executive, becoming the first outsider to lead the nation’s fourth-largest retailer. Cornell, 55, will also become the chairman of the Minneapolis-based company’s board, a role played by all of Target’s previous CEOs. … Faye Landes with Cowen and Co., noted that Cornell is a good presenter and is rare among retail CEOs in that he attended business school.”
Finally … she’s still giving. Our Favorite Congresswoman is hip deep in immigration, uh, reform. At Talking Points Memo, Catherine Thompson writes, “Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) suggested Wednesday that the U.S. government could subject thousands of unaccompanied migrant children crossing the Texas-Mexico border to ‘medical experimentation.’ … Bachmann went on to suggest that putting migrant children into the foster care system would offer hospitals more subjects to use for medical research … .” The Dr. Mengele overtone I believe qualifies that one for Godwin’s Law.
Using Talking Points Memo as a news source
“Bachmann Suggests Gov’t Wants To Use Migrant Children For ‘Medical Experimentation'”
That’s a gross misrepresentation of what Bachmann said. She suggested that allowing immigrant children to be treated this way by any hospital is “sick.” She actually said exactly the opposite of TPM’s headline.
Slight agreement
I think the language is difficult to parse- at first glance, it reads as though she is advocating this (which she isn’t, though that’s how I first read it too), but she IS making the argument that allowing these migrant (refugee, IMO) children into the country will lead to them being experimented on, medically.
Misrepresentation
While I am no fan of Rep. Bachmann, your summary deeply misrepresents her position. As you state, Bachmann states America could perform medical experiments on unaccompanied migrant children in foster care. Ending there implies she supports which is the exact opposite of her position. She opposes putting the migrant children into foster care and opposes medical research on foster children. Please, better analysis and fewer snide remarks next time.
Rep. Bachmann
I abhor Bachmann’s politics but your reporting of this issue is shocking. She seems to be accusing researchers of wanting to do Mengele-style experiments, aided by Obama (what a crazy woman).
You MUST print a very prominent correction.
That is not what she said
I’m certainly no fan of Rep. Bachmann, but she did not advocate using undocumented children for medical experiments. There is a difference between “warning” that it could be done, and advocating that it be done. Her warning comes from the dark and very frightening recesses of her paranoid psyche, but it was not advocacy of anything Mengele-esque.
I agree with Mr. Slettehaugh: Fairness (at least) demands a correction, if not an apology
Bachmann is fair game on anything about medicine.
The damage she did with her anti-vaccination pose could affect public health.
Young adults are skipping vaccines for their kids.
Bachmann feeds their fear.
She is a totally irresponsible public official.
Agreed
if this was some sort of anomaly, she should be cut some slack, but she has made a habit of throwing out unsubstantiated rhetoric specifically designed to inflame her base and spur donations to her PAC. Her quote “So here you could have this institution getting millions of dollars from our government to do medical experimentation and a kid can’t even say no. It’s sick.” certainly implies that the US would fund research on these undocumented children.
Not exactly
She is a totally irresponsible public official, to put it mildly. That does not, however, make her fair game to spread untrue stories about her. That is just going down to her level.
Besides, the truth about her is damming enough. There’s no need to make anything up.
Faith healing
Shelley wants the parents to have all the rights to make medical decisions even if they go against medical science. We’ve seen enough faith healing deaths, parents denying their diabetic children the insulin they need until they die, etc. instead she’s accusing the hospital of not caring for justina and experimenting on her by removing her from her family who want getting her the proper care. Who deserves the apology and retraction?
from the article link about Justina’s situation:
“In a two-page order issued Tuesday, Judge Joseph Johnston dismissed the child-protection case against Justina’s parents, Linda and Lou Pelletier, arguing that they and others had shown “credible evidence that circumstances have changed” since his decision to place Justina in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. He also wrote that in the month since Justina was moved to a residential facility in Thompson, Conn., her parents “have been cooperative and engaged in services,” including individual therapy for Justina and family therapy.
It was a remarkable change in tone from the judge’s ruling just three months earlier, when he determined the parents were unfit and awarded permanent custody to the state. At that time, he blasted the Pelletiers for behavior he contended was erratic and had doomed numerous attempts at compromise.”
Sounds like the ones experimenting on Justina were her parents. We had a similar case here in Minnesota where the parents refused to get their child life saving chemotherapy. The judge returned the child to the family when they agreed to take him for the treatments. They fulfilled their obligations and the boy got his treatments and he is now in remission. The family has changed its beliefs with the help of the legal and medical communities and their son is alive because of their intervention. Everyone was happy with the outcome, especially his family that has a healthy living child!
Run for prez Michelle!