Open Forum

I would like to enlighten some conservative Republican minds! All I've heard the past day or two is, the recession we're in is the fault of the Democrats! It happened during Bill Clinton's presidency, fine! But, what the Republicans are forgetting (on purpose) is the last two years of Clinton's term and the first years of George W.'s term the Republicans controlled the House and Senate! Even though they knew the savings and loan situation was bad (so they say that now) they didn't change a thing, including any nay votes from McCain! Why? Because they were also reaping the riches and not saying a word till now! Their lies and flip-flops are now coming back to haunt them!

James Cummings

Nisswa

Welfare should be scrutinized

For the first time recently, Minnesota House Republicans leaders asked the Minnesota Health and Human Services Department to track where welfare recipients were using their Electronic Benefits Cards (EBT cards.) Each welfare recipient gets an EBT card which Minnesota taxpayers replenish each month as long as that person qualifies for Minnesota welfare and is presumably living in Minnesota.

Minnesota welfare recipients obviously love to travel because benefits were cashed in every state of the union last year, including $3,000 in Hawaii. Illinois residents who are supposed to live in Minnesota cashed $1.3 million last year in Illinois and there were 430 transactions worth $27,000 in Maine.

In a debate on 3WI radio on Wednesday, Sept. 3, State Rep. John Ward insisted that there was no fraud above 2 percent of all the claims he said were looked into in the multi-million dollar program and that all those Minnesotans were just spending their benefits out of state while visiting relatives for long weekends. Texas got nearly $390,000 from Minnesota tax dollars last year for those visits to Aunt Mary and Uncle Steve; $147,000 in California, $137,000 in Georgia. No one is suggesting that we discontinue to help those in need, but this program is a very good candidate for further inquiry. Perhaps Mr. Ward and the DFL Legislature should look at this problem harder.

A lot harder.

Anthony Bauer

Nisswa

Stick to the issues

When Mike LeMieur announced his candidacy in the Dispatch back in May, he said he'd run an "issue-oriented, positive campaign."

I still haven't seen anything from LeMieur on the issues, and certainly nothing positive has come from his campaign. In fact, they're doing just the opposite...local papers have been full of misleading negative attacks.

Let's hear something from LeMieur, and let's hear him say it himself, in his own words so we can judge how well he'd work with hundreds of different issues and groups in St. Paul. The ability to communicate with others and work with others is the only way our district won't be lost in the shuffle down there. Why would we think someone who won't communicate with his district during a campaign would suddenly learn how in January?

As for how he gets along with others, here's Tom West's editorial from Aug. 12, 2007, "It's no secret that anyone who has watched a Little Falls City Council meeting on public access TV this year could be excused for thinking they were watching taped re-runs of "Divorce Court."

Michele Caron

Little Falls

Nesheim responds to Shaw

In response to Mr. Shaw's letter of Sept. 14, 2008, attacking me again:

A person wishing to serve on the city council ought to care enough about the citizens of Brainerd to eliminate a traffic hazard that he has control over and not sue the city when requested to do so.

Lucy Nesheim

Alderman Ward 1

Brainerd