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Newest Updates

HOW AUTHORITIES AND "ADVOCATES" WRECK HOMES AND LIVES IN ITASCA COUNTY, MINNESOTA
The Steve Samuelson Files

     The Steve Samuelson Story
     "Third World" Jailing Practices Now in Minnesota - 05/25/10

    The Steve Samuelson Papers - 05/25/10
     This is a link to actual documents, in .pdf format, referenced in the Steve Samuelson Story.
      These documents provide a good look into the Itasca County system, and they include Kelli Samuelson's
      affidavit -- damning evidence which attests to subornation of perjury, committed under the most stringent
      of duress and coercion, by Grand Rapids' "Advocates for Family Peace".

    An Open Letter To President Obama - 05/29/10
      Re: The Samuelson Matter and Right To Speedy Trial

Killing Cats Is Important To The City of Bemidji - 05/25/10

CONSUMER CORNER
THINGS THAT JUST DON'T WORK - 03/06/10
    MAXELL VCR Cassettes
    ZINWELL DTV CONVERTER BOX

IRAQ
The New Video Game - 02/07/10

Expand Your Word Power - 02/07/10
Northern Herald's Continuing Dictionary - This installment: Hypochristians

CONSUMER CORNER
Beyer's Auto Center, Inc. - Road Charlatans In Hoffman, Minn. - 02/06/10

Market Update - 02/05/10

Rep. Atkins Comes To Bemidji - 01/31/10
But Bemidjians' Apathy Dominates Legislators' Listening Session

CONSUMER CORNER
YOU FIND IT ALL AT THE MART OF WAL
• Wal-Mart Introduces New Cell Phone - 12/17/09
Straight Talk offers more minutes, better coverage, for less.

CONSUMER CORNER
• Has Google's Time Come And Gone? - 12/17/09
New MSN Search Engine, "Bing", Appears More Thorough, More Current

• Bemidji Criminals At It Again - 12/13/09
Joan Goranson, BSEA Treasurer, Suspected of Embezzlement

• Special Notice To Educators re: our 10/26/09 issue - 11/22/09
 

All Updates

HOW AUTHORITIES AND "ADVOCATES" WRECK HOMES AND LIVES IN ITASCA COUNTY, MINNESOTA
The Steve Samuelson Files

     The Steve Samuelson Story
     "Third World" Jailing Practices Now in Minnesota - 05/25/10

    The Steve Samuelson Papers - 05/25/10
     This is a link to actual documents, in .pdf format, referenced in the Steve Samuelson Story.
      These documents provide a good look into the Itasca County system, and they include Kelli Samuelson's
      affidavit -- damning evidence which attests to subornation of perjury, committed under the most stringent
      of duress and coercion, by Grand Rapids' Advocates for Family Peace.

    An Open Letter To President Obama - 05/29/10
      Re: The Samuelson Matter and Right To Speedy Trial

Killing Cats Is Important To The City of Bemidji - 05/25/10

CONSUMER CORNER
THINGS THAT JUST DON'T WORK - 03/06/10
    MAXELL VCR Cassettes
    ZINWELL DTV CONVERTER BOX

IRAQ
The New Video Game - 02/07/10

Expand Your Word Power - 02/07/10
Northern Herald's Continuing Dictionary - This installment: Hypochristians

CONSUMER CORNER
Beyer's Auto Center, Inc. - Road Charlatans In Hoffman, Minn. - 02/06/10

Market Update - 02/05/10

Rep. Atkins Comes To Bemidji - 01/31/10
But Bemidjians' Apathy Dominates Legislators' Listening Session

CONSUMER CORNER
YOU FIND IT ALL AT THE MART OF WAL
• Wal-Mart Introduces New Cell Phone - 12/17/09
Straight Talk offers more minutes, better coverage, for less.

CONSUMER CORNER
• Has Google's Time Come And Gone? - 12/17/09
New MSN Search Engine, "Bing", Appears More Thorough, More Current

• Bemidji Criminals At It Again - 12/13/09
Joan Goranson, BSEA Treasurer, Suspected of Embezzlement

• Special Notice To Educators re: our 10/26/09 issue - 11/22/09

• An Editorial on the Bailouts - An Open Letter To Collin Peterson, and President Obama - 05/04/09

DON'T LET YOUR MONKEY LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT IT
• U OF M Researchers Find Compound That Resists AIDS Transmission in Monkeys - 03/07/09

• Solving The Budget Crisis - An Open Letter To The Minn. Legislature (Editorial) - 02/23/09

• THE DUMBING DOWN OF AMERICA - 12/07/08
   Including a "must read" report on what's being put in your food, right now.

• THE ECONOMY - Where It's Going And What The Chosen Can
  Do To Recover Recent Losses, And Prosper - 11/18/08

         • LATE TRADING NOTES UPDATE (strictly opinion) - 11/25/08

         • PLAYING TO WIN -How to Trade The Market, and biggest common mistakes - 01/27/09

         • MARKET UPDATE - It's Buying Time - 02/24/09

• Consumer Corner updates

       About Ray-O-Vac Rechargeable, And Other, Batteries - 07/13/09

           Localnet.com "Losing" Customers' Email - 04/29/09, 05/03/09
           Problems, also, with "BasicISP" and "Copper.net"

           Where to Go for Dependable Auto Service in Bemidji - 04/02/09

           A GREAT Sunday Brunch for TWO in Bemidji for $11.95 - 03/12/09

           Update On The DTV Mess - 02/12/09
            What Washington has done,
            What seems to be a good VCR-compatible converter box,
           Where to get it before your coupons expire

           YOU FIND IT ALL AT THE MART OF WAL!
           Jimmy Dean's All Natural Sausage - 02/12/09

           Investigation: Did you get a HEADACHE after eating TURKEY? - 11/30/08

• Advertisements & Coupons

          Free Money!  Get a $1,000 IRA for only $350.

          Great Pizza - in Grand Rapids - Madden's

May 25th, 2010

"Itasca County - Come on vacation, leave on probation"
         -- an Itasca Co. jailhouse saying, as quoted by Steve Samuelson

GRAND RAPIDS -- Every now and then Americans hear stories about how others in third-world countries and Mexico have no civil rights - that they can just be picked up off the street or in their homes, arrested, and held in jail, unable to make necessary outside contact, for long periods, without proof of any crime. In flat defiance of the U.S. Constitution, that sort of rightsless "justice" has come to Minnesota and is firmly entrenched in Itasca County.

In this remote Northern Minnesota burgh, the courts and law enforcement, closely tied to and directed by a women's advocacy group known as the "Advocates For Family Peace", operates on the premise that they can bring charges, based upon flimsy, or no, evidence; and if they hold the subject, without bail, long enough, he'll eventually plead guilty in order to be released. It's a funny system: if one is guilty, they're out; but if they're not guilty, they're held. When they finally plead guilty, though, the release is with strings; this enables them to be picked up again later. That's what keeps the system in business.

The Steve Samuelson Matter -- assault without a victim. Itasca County authorities say that, on Thanksgiving Day, 2009, Steven Samuelson, 44, assaulted his fiancee, Jennifer Bardine, at his home just north of Nashwauk. But the fiancee says that never happened.

Moreover, Bardine, who has steadfastly stood by Samuelson through this ordeal, has adamantly stated that Samuelson, a particularly mild-mannered disabled Navy man, has never abused or assaulted her in the two years they've been together.

Charged with two counts of domestic assault (case no. 31-CR-09-3704), Samuelson has been held in the Itasca County jail since Thanksgiving 2009, without trial, (which would likely end in a hasty acquittal, given Bardine's testimony).

"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial . . . "
So reads the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But the Minnesota Courts have a couple of ways of getting around that inconvenient right; and a 1990s amendment to federal habeas corpus procedure now generally denies the accused timely recourse to the federal courts to invoke this right; particularly when one is without substantial cash assets and so their attorney is the public defender, who has other things to do besides invoking their "clients'" rights in court.
". . . and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence." -- last clause of the Sixth Amendment

Making matters worse, even though neither party asked for one, the court immediately put a no-contact order in place. Bardine would be unable to write to Samuelson during the 7 months (so far) that he's been held; and although jail detainees are generally allowed to make telephone calls, telephone contact, either direct or indirect, with Bardine was thusly prohibited. As Bardine was the only responsible party in his life, this effectively cut Samuelson off from contact with the outside world, precluding his ability to effectively hire private counsel, receive and sign over his military disability benefit checks to pay them, and to have done what was necessary to maintain his home and property (or even ascertain the status of same) during his jailing.

Bardine, who had lived with and had been supported by Samuelson, was left homeless and penniless. Herself on probation for a DWI, Bardine said that her probation officer told her that if she remained at, or went to Samuelson's home; or even attended his hearings, the probation officer would have a warrant issued for her arrest. She subsequently found temporary lodging with a relative.

The necessities of household life requiring same, and it being a time, through the winter, when pipes freeze and household maintenance is necessary, Bardine and Samuelson tried to communicate on necessities. Again, she was his only responsible person on the outside. This resulted, by January, 2010, in there being brought against Samuelson, 34 additional felony counts of violation of a no-contact order, and attempting same, to be added to Samuelson's charges (case no. 31-CR-10-169). He said that a charge of "attempting" resulted from things like an unsent letter to Bardine being discovered in his cell; and contact with others which authorities interpreted as disguised attempts to contact Bardine. Eventually, Samuelson's telephone privileges were revoked. He is presently not allowed to call anyone from the jail, or to receive messages.

As no one (neither Samuelson, nor Bardine) asked for the no-contact order, it patently violates First Amendment rights of freedom of speech, and to associate, at a time when contact is most important.

Also in his charges is an allegation of a probation violation, by way of Samuelson allegedly having had a few drinks in his home (though not intoxicated, as it is usually understood - he blew .086) that Thanksgiving Day. This is the charge for which the court has refused to set bail, resulting in Samuelson's being jailed pending trial. It is likely that he did have a few drinks, but that is all he appears to have done. If he was guilty of this, the jail time for consumption of alcohol while on probation would likely be far less than he has already served awaiting trial.

Probation? For what? Samuelson's past is not lily-white, but what he did was about 15 years ago, when he was much younger, and he recognizes that it was inappropriate, and has not repeated the type of act since. In 1995, when his then-wife's 14 yr. old sister, Tina, was visiting, after she'd been showing off her endowments (above the waist) to a neighbour, Samuelson became curious, and while Tina was retired on the couch, Samuelson copped a feel. Samuelson writes that he immediately recognized that what he was doing was wrong, and so stopped. Tina woke up, and then went back to sleep. In the years that followed, Samuelson's folly became common knowledge in the family, but was not regarded as any serious matter. Not, anyway, until about 2001, when Samuelson's wife, Kelli Samuelson, decided to break their holy vows -- that she didn't want to be married anymore. That was the start of Samuelson's troubles.

Charges were brought against Samuelson for his errant feel (case no. 31-K5-01-531, filed 03/19/01). He was charged with 2nd degree criminal romance. Not having a prior felony record, and given the nature of the offense, Samuelson was offered a short jail term, with a stay of adjudication on the criminal charge. -- If he remained law-abiding, it would be dismissed and removed from his record. He agreed to this and was sentenced Sept. 5th, 2001.

That would normally have disposed of the matter. But an odd turn of events, propagated by Grand Rapids' misnamed "Advocates For Family Peace" and Itasca Co. Deputy Greg Snyder (now serving time for having unnatural acts with his stepson - see NH of 10/26/09) happened.

Games married people play. During Samuelson's marriage to Kelli, they had liked to play bedroom games. The kind that involved bondage and restraints and such, and some dramatic fantasy acting. They liked this so much that they did it frequently, and so to enjoy the incidents even when not participating, they made a number of videos that they could look back on.

Per Samuelson, in 1999, Samuelson's mother-in-law, Donna Christensen, made a CHIPs complaint against Samuelson and his wife, that they were arguing in front of the children. Without any investigation, the children were removed from the Samuelsons' home, and placed, for paid foster care, with Christensen, the children's grandmother. (Later, Steve Samuelson explains, when the foster payments stopped, Christensen no longer wanted the kids.)

And, in 2001, Samuelson states, Donna Christensen broke into his car, and stole the videotapes of Steve and Kelli playing in the bedroom. According to Steve Samuelson's recount, Christensen turned the tapes over to the "Advocates For Family Peace", presumably to gain leverage for Kelli in the pending divorce action, and a single tape was selected to be given to the Itasca Co. Sheriff's Office (which works closely with the "Advocates" - Sheriff Pat Medure is on the Advocates' Board of Directors) and investigated by Deputy Snyder for criminal charges against Samuelson. Although, again, no complaint had been initiated by the alleged "victim", Samuelson was soon charged with 2 felony counts of 1st degree criminal romantic conduct, and 2 felony counts of kidnapping (case no. 31-K5-01-2263, filed 08/01/01) based upon the videotape. The other tapes would have tended to exonerate Samuelson, by showing that the acts were frequent and voluntary; but his then-attorney, Chad Searle, told him that they had been destroyed by the "Advocates".

Kelli was told, by the "Advocates" to not impede the investigation, and to go along with it, if she ever wanted her kids back. She has since provided her affidavit indicating that all of the acts on the videotape were consensual, and that the "Advocates" attempted to coerce her into givng false testimony.

(For Kelli Samuelson's full affidavit of subornation of perjury by the "Advocates" under this threat, click here to see "The Samuelson Papers" (this is a .pdf file. It is recomended to right-click on this link and open it in a new window or tab)).

Also, Steve Samuelson has volunteered to take a polygraph test regarding the consensuality of the acts shown on the videotape.

And Kelli, who had voluntarily participated in the acts and the videos, couldn't, honestly, testify at trial that the acts were nonconsensual. So it became important to Itasca County that the matter not go to trial.

Samuelson was held, without trial, for about 8 months, until he was, finally, on 04/09/02, willing to plead guilty to a reduced charge -- a single count of First Degree Criminal Romantic Conduct --  in order to get out. He was sentenced to a fine, and costs, and 30 years' supervised probation.

But his guilty plea to this Romantic Conduct (from the videotape) charge, carried another string attached to it: the previous stay of adjudication for his copped feel was rescinded and sentence imposed. Although it was for fines, costs, and a term of 25 years supervised probation, it also carried conditions of probation, including a 25 year no-drink order (in Northern Minnesota, this is a commonly imposed condition, whether or not the crime was caused by alcohol; it is also a common ground for violation of probation) and that Samuelson register as a romantic offender. That sentence was ordered, by Judge Maturi, on 05/14/02.

It was these terms of probation that, eight years later, Samuelson is alleged to have violated Thanksgiving Day, 2009, by having drinks in his home, and also by the alleged assault, which the alleged victim denies; and for which he has been held in jail, without bail set, since then.

The arrest. On that Thanksgiving Day, Samuelson and his live-in fiancee, Jennifer Bardine, were having a heated discussion at Samuelson's home north of Nashwauk.

Bardine's daughter, Ashley Garmaker, of Onamia, called and Samuelson hung up on her. The daughter called Bardine's niece, Elizabeth W. Noel, in Keewatin, and Noel put in a call to law enforcement, who came to Samuelson's home.

Bardine told authorities then and there that there had been no assault or abuse, and refused to make a complaint against Samuelson, but, per Bardine, a deputy was overheard to say, "I think we can make a case."

Samuelson was then arrested for the alleged assault, and the alleged probation violations by way of  having the drinks, and the suspected assault.

"Excessive bail shall not be required . . . ." -- Eighth Amendment, U.S. Constitution.
The court set bail at $25,000 for each of two counts of alleged domestic assault (both allegedly against Bardine), but ordered Samuelson held, without bail, on the probation violation.

Although the report, filed by police, is convincing and damning, Bardine has stated that it is fabricated as to what she told police at the scene. It is not known why Itasca authorities wanted to make a case of this, but Bardine responded, for example, to the statement in the police complaint against Samuelson, that Bardine had told police, at the scene, that she was "punched in areas that would not leave marks," by saying, "That is a total lie -- he's never hit me!" A transcript of a law enforcement tape made at the scene discloses someone saying over the police radio "We'll see if we can put the grab on him."

Did you think this couldn't happen in America? Do you think it can't happen to you? As of May 10th, 2010, Samuelson remained in the Itasca County jail; he has been in jail for over 7 months, without bail being allowed, without trial, and without being allowed contact with Bardine, his only responsible contact on the outside. He is in jail simply because certain Itasca County authorities and organizations (such as the misnamed "Advocates for Family Peace") want him there and want to destroy any life he may have in Itasca County. Samuelson has said that, over the years, the "Advocates" have interfered with any meaningful romance that he has tried to develop; his former girlfriend, Jamie Boos, has stated that they were together for 6 years, and that Samuelson never abused her in any way; but outside pressures and harassment finally resulted in her inability to stay with him. She has offered to come forward and help in his current struggle.

The no-contact order has effectively prevented Samuelson from retaining effective counsel, both for trial, and to work on getting him out of jail. With Samuelson in jail, Bardine has to be able to receive his checks and cash them; pay household bills, get Samuelson an attorney and pay him, and do other things on Samuelson's behalf. Effectively, Bardine is Samuelson's only responsible contact with the world (including potential legal counsel); but the court order impedes her doing what has to be done to keep up Samuelson's home, and keep an attorney retained for him, while he is in jail. As of May 10th, Samuelson's former private counsel (whom Bardine had found and hired) quit because he claimed that communication problems with the Samuelson family had resulted in his not being paid, and Bardine, who could have paid him, reported that the attorney, Thomas Nolan, Jr., Esq., of Minneapolis, had told her that because of the no-contact order, he could not tell her how much was owed so she could pay it. Nolan denies that conversation, but has been otherwise uncooperative with the press and refused further comment regarding his curious withdrawal from the case at a crucial time.

We become a police state. Prior to Nolan's withdrawal, and on March 29th, there were scheduling proceedings, before Judge Maturi at Grand Rapids. Bardine, and Samuelson's family -- his brother and grown daughters - attended the hearing. Bardine, still with Samuelson, despite that they have been prohibited from communicating since he was jailed, wanted the court-imposed no-contact order modified so to allow limited communication which would enable her to maintain Samuelson's house which has fallen into disrepair over the winter, and pay his necessary household bills while he is in jail.

Authorities, Judge, make it as tough on Samuelson as possible. So Nolan Jr., as Samuelson's attorney, brought on the motion to allow the limited contact between Samuelson and Bardine so to allow Bardine to perform necessary household maintenance, receive checks, pay bills, and act, as necessary, on Samuelson's behalf. Samuelson's married daughter, Sarah, testified that due to her own family obligations, she alone could not keep the house maintained in Samuelson's absence, and that it had fallen into disrepair. For no apparent good reason, the motion was opposed by John Muhar's (the County Attorney's) office, and also by the Itasca County Sheriff's Office who claimed that jail staff didn't have time to monitor the limited mail, or visits, that allowing the contact would entail [this is patently ridiculous - that's what the jail is supposed to do, and routinely does with inmates' mail and visits. -- Ed.]

Judge Maturi denied the motion, leaving the no-contact order in place.

That bothersome right -- in Minnesota. In Minnesota, defendants are not given the right to a speedy trial unless they formally demand it; and  most, of course, don't know that they have to do this. Samuelson states that, initially, he was assigned Grand Rapids public defender Anne Marcotte. This was an obvious conflict of interest, as Marcotte sits, along with Sheriff Pat Medure, on the "Advocates For Family Peace" Board of Directors. Samuelson stated that he asked Marcotte, early on, to make a demand for a speedy trial, but she refused. Prior to his withdrawal, however, on April 9th, 2010, attorney Nolan, Jr., did file the demand for a speedy trial. Under Minnesota law (M.R.Crim.Proc.) Rule 11.10, an accused person must be tried within 120 days of the demand, or, generally, must then be released pending trial upon nonmonetary conditions.

On May 10th, 2010, at the pre-trial conference scheduled for that date, Nolan Jr., appeared in court to announce his withdrawal. Judge Maturi re-appointed Anne Marcotte as Samuelson's public defender, and continued (postponed) the hearing to May 17th.  On May 17th, Marcotte was out of town and failed to appear. The case was again continued to May 25th, at which time the pre-trial conference was had, and jury trial was scheduled for June 8th, 2010 commencing at 8:00 a.m. at the Grand Rapids (Itasca Co.) Courthouse before Judge Maturi.

Home broken into. Here in Northern Minnesota, we live on the Edge of the Frontier, amidst all of the frontier crime and corruption, and frontier justice, that goes with that. When it is known that someone is in jail for a while, thieves come out of the trees and steal their stuff. So, with Samuelson's home unattended because Itasca authorities (unlawfully) prohibited Bardine from living there, on May 10th, Samuelson's daughter, Sarah, reported to Northern Herald that the home had been broken into and gone through, with belongings stolen from inside.

This has gotta stop. Any attorney interested in bringing a massive federal suit -- possibly a class action -- against Itasca County, the "Advocates For Family Peace" and organizations that support them, and Deputy Gregory Snyder (the Itasca Co. Sheriff's crim sex investigator who likes to have romance with his teenage stepson, and now resides in a large building in St. Cloud) for the many Constitutional violations involved in this case, and others; is asked to contact this newspaper at 218-759-1162. The Grand Rapids based "Advocates For Family Peace" is said to be funded, in part, by grants from The Blandin Foundation, The Bush Foundation, and the U.S. Dept. of Justice.

Coerced “plea bargains” have made criminals out a lot of innocent people and have denied them their civil rights (due to “conditions” imposed). Plea bargaining, under threat of a lofty and unreasonable sentence that would otherwise be sought, amounts to extracting a confession under coercion and duress, which, presumably, is not to be allowed under our Constitutional and judicial systems. Seeking an unreasonable sentence for the crime (used as the threat in plea bargaining) amounts to the threat of a cruel punishment, prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. The same rationale applies to a judge imposing, firstly, an unreasonable sentence, and then suspending it if certain “conditions” are agreed to, which conditions waive civil rights. Additionally, the practice of county authorities and the courts of bringing bogus charges against people, and then stringing out the proceedings so as to keep them in jail until they'll plea guilty (to get out of jail), and accept conditions waiving their civil rights, is patently unconstitutional. Finally, the Minnesota courts lack jurisdiction to impose a "no-contact" order where neither of the parties has requested same, and such imposition violates the First Amendment. But, unfortunately, the persons affected by this are usually people of limited means, and so cannot afford to challenge the application in federal court, as would be appropriate; hopefully, someday, someone will. -- Ed.

May 29, 2010

Greetings, Mr. President:

It has been a while since we've corresponded. It has been really busy here. I understand that you've been doing a few things there in Washington, too. Kudos on the credit card thing - that really needed to be done so people would stop getting ripped off that much. And the health plan shows promise too; we'll have to see how it works out, but it's a good first step.

In the course of news reporting, something has come to light here that should be of federal executive interest. In short, the right, of accused persons, to a speedy trial, as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, simply isn't being observed by Minnesota state courts, and it is even contradicted by Minnesota state judicial policy.

This is an important right, because ANYONE CAN, by an unscrupulous district attorney, BE CHARGED WITH MOST ANYTHING, whether or not the evidence supports the charge. When the right to speedy trial, together with the right to reasonable bail, is maintained, the false charges can be quickly disposed of, with minimal inconvenience to the accused. It is reasonable to presume that the Founding Fathers anticipated the ease of false charging and the damage that it can bring, when they wrote the Sixth Amendment into the Constitution as a safeguard against malevolent government officials, and those sometimes harbouring ulterior motives.

The injustices of a representative case, when the right to speedy trial is NOT honoured, can be seen, entitled "The Steve Samuelson Files", at http://northernherald.finalhost.net/chosen.html

This case, where a man has been held by authorities for almost eight months, for an alleged "domestic assault" where the alleged VICTIM HAS SAID from the start that NO CRIME OCCURRED (and will testify to same at trial) is not unique in Minnesota, it is routine. This is particularly so here in Northern Minnesota, where government tends to be a bit more "clannish" and a great deal of power is vested in the local sheriff or county attorney who may be highly corrupt (see "Volcano of Corruption Erupts in Itasca Co. Sheriff's Office", Northern Herald of 10/26/09, at northernherald.com)

If the local authorities have a bone to pick with someone, a charge can be fabricated, and the person may be held at length, without bail, until he is either 1) exonerated at trial after many months in jail, or (often) he is coerced by the lengthy, continued, and indefinite incarceration, "pending trial", to plead guilty to a crime that he did not commit. Extracting a false confession by these means is tantamount to what we saw at Guantanamo. It may (or may not) be appropriate when we are dealing with foreign terrorists; but it is definitely inappropriate when we are dealing with domestic U.S. citizens.

The Samuelson case also is of note, because, as the above-referenced article ("The Steve Samuelson Files", ante) explains, during Samuelson's incarceration, the court has also cut him off from contact with his closest contact "on the outside". This has resulted in his inability to have effective counsel, and damage to his real and personal property. Again, this case is not unique. It is common with those who have fallen out of favour with certain local authorities, and causes them to lose substantial portions of their lives for no good reason.

HOW THIS HAPPENS: As far as the right to a speedy trial goes, Minnesota is an "opt-in", rather than an "opt-out" state. In other words, in some states, the right to a speedy trial is presumed, unless it is waived. In Minnesota, conversely, by the rules of practice and actual administration of the courts, a defendant is not entitled to a speedy trial unless he overtly demands one, either in writing, or in open court. Needless to say, most defendants don't know that they have to do this. And if they are represented by a public defender, they're usually not told this.

Once the demand is made, the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure (Sec. 11.10) provide that the accused must, generally, be tried within 120 days (on felony accusations) or be released on nonmonetary conditions. But there is another catch:

Under Minnesota legal procedure, the demand for a speedy trial (even if the defendant knows to make it) cannot be made until after a plea is entered. A plea cannot, generally, be entered until an hearing known as "omnibus" (this is the time that certain constitutional rights may be asserted) is held. Omnibus may not be held for many months after the arrest (about 4 months is common), pending which the accused remains jailed. A defendant, wanting a speedy trial, may waive omnibus, but if he does that, he also waives the issues (civil rights) that would be raised at omnibus. In other words, he gives up certain constitutional rights in order to assert his right to a speedy trial. I don't think this is what the framers of our U.S. Constitution had in mind.

The end result is that, here in Minnesota, a person whom certain corrupt authorities simply want to take out of circulation for awhile, can easily be framed and held in jail for many months, sometimes over a year, before the trial, where the charges are shown to be groundless, occurs. During this time while he is in jail, his property is often plundered, looted, and laid to waste (again, see "Samuelson", ante).

Now, in the old days, where the state court system did not uphold the 6th Amendment right, one had recourse directly to the federal courts, which would. The federal District Court would, on application, require that the person be released, on reasonable bail, pending trial by the state court. This procedure was known as federal "Habeas Corpus". But a few years ago (1996, if memory serves), this recourse to the federal courts was gutted by an amendment requiring that before one could approach the federal courts on Habeas Corpus, they had to, first, exhaust all state remedies. This was so, even where the defendant knows that attempting state relief will be futile (such as, in Minnesota, where the state rules are written to "go around" the 6th Amendment right). And the procedure of bringing habeas corpus through the local (i.e. state) district court, and then if denied (which it would be), appealing to the (state) court of appeals, and then taking certiorari on that denial to the state Supreme Court; before being able to go to the federal District Court, is a lengthy and expensive one. In dealing with such things as a speedy trial, the time required for this procedure defeats the purpose of the Writ of Habeas Corpus sought, and defeats the 6th Amendment right to a speedy trial. Further, the cost of these interim procedures is high enough that if a defendant could afford them, he probably wouldn't be in jail in the first place (see post).

So, if you have a moment, it would be great if the U.S. Dept. of Justice could look into the possibility of enforcement of the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial, here in Minnesota. Certainly, any further federal funding of the Minnesota state judicial systems, and its courts, should be predicated upon compliance with this fundamental civil right; and further investigation, and acts, by the U.S. Executive Branch, to ensure compliance, may be indicated. Also, it might not be a bad idea to see if an Executive Act can restore the right of Habeas Corpus, in a practically exercisable manner, before the federal courts.

I realize that, politically, this is a hard-sell. People, generally, don't really care too much about the rights of people behind bars, because we don't really see ourselves as ever being those people. Politically, we just don't think we have a dog in that fight. But here at the Northern Herald, we have seen, in reporting, that this can happen, without warning, to ordinary people who are not, and never thought of themselves as, "criminals". It really can happen to anyone, so it should be important to everyone. Unfortunately, up here, it usually happens to people of lower socio-economic means - people who don't have any way of fighting it in the courts. As you know, from American history, it is precisely these people that, more than any other, the Bill of Rights was meant to protect. These are the people, like Steve Samuelson, who are sitting in jail in defiance of their rights as Americans.

Nothing herein should be regarded as legal advice or relied upon for any legal purpose. I am not an attorney; I make an honest living.

Onward!
A. Steele, Editor
Northern Herald newspaper
Bemidji, Minnesota

May 25th, 2010

BEMIDJI -- Notwithstanding overwhelming opposition to a new dog and cat ordinance, expressed by residents in public hearings at the second reading of the proposed ordinance, during April and early May; the Bemidji City Council, on May 17th, 2010, passed the new law on a 4-2 vote with one councilman absent.

Among other things, the ordinance prohibits cats from being let outside, except on leash or otherwise restrained; and although they must now be kept inside, all cats must be licensed, with an annual license fee. Cats found "at large" (outside, unrestrained) are subject to impoundment, impoundment fees, and execution.

Also, under the new ordinance, all "neighbourhood cats", even if they are being fed and cared for by someone, will be rounded up and executed.

Further, the ordinance establishes a limit of not more than three cats, and not more than three dogs (but not to exceed an overall limit of four animals, total) per household.

Voting for the cat-killer ordinance were:
Councilmen Ron Johnson (now a candidate for Bemidji Mayor),
Jerry Downs (also an agent for Farmer's Insurance Group, Bemidji), and
Greg Negard; and
Mayor Richard Lehmann (now a Republican candidate for State Rep.).

Voting against this increased regulation were: Councilwoman Barbara Meuers, and Councilman Kevin Waldhausen. Councilman Roger Hellquist was absent.

The ordinance is scheduled to take effect June 20th, 2010.

A petition is already being circulated by a group of Bemidji residents known as Going To Bat for Dogs and Cats!  to, under the referendum provision of the Bemidji Charter, suspend the new pet ordinance before it takes effect and call for a citywide referendum vote on it. Persons interested in signing the petition may contact Going To Bat for Dogs and Cats! at 218-759-1162.

March 6, 2010

MAXELL VCR Cassettes
The 8-hour blank video cassette (T-160, UPC# 25125 21301) released under the Maxell brand, when used in a standard VCR, "skips" frequently (as much as every 15-30 seconds) greatly reducing the fidelity and intelligibility of the recording. The fact that Maxell has released this magnetic media product without necessary quality control warrants particular caution when buying any Maxell product, and if any other brand is available, it may be preferable. Given that Maxell doesn't mind dumping inferior and defective product on the consumer market, if one is considering using the Maxell brand, it may be just as well to simply buy a bag of steer manure, and push that into your electronic device. The results may be comparable, as that is the quality that Maxell seems to be selling these days.

ZINWELL DTV CONVERTER BOX
Most of these were sold during the Great DTV Farce of 2008 and 2009, which was a design by Congress and the President to take a little more money from average working people and give it to the multi-millionaires of the electronics, TV manufacturing and sales, and cable and dish industries; and, for many, bring an end to one of America's last traditionally free entertainments. They say you can steal a little from a lot of people as long as you don't steal too much from any one.

What a joke. Next thing, they'll be taking your money to give to bankers and insurance companies.
Why we keep electing these politicians is beyond us. What is needed is an executive order from the President declining to enforce the DTV Act, and allowing stations to return to analog if they so choose. If it's not broke, don't fix it.

Anyway, one of the products that made a lot of money as people got ripped-off for it in this Farce was the Zinwell ZAT-950A converter box. This was one of very few boxes that had a timer (albeit a female canine to try to use) for VCR recording. True to form, Washington approved this box for coupon use (and thus opened the cash flood gates for its manufacturer) even though it was only warranted to work for 90 days. Did the FCC think we'd only have digital TV for 90 days? In our testing, the sample box failed after a little more than one year. It developed a condition where, when it was turned off (necessary, for some daily, in order to use the analog pass-through function), and then on again, it lost the audio on one of the digital stations. To get the audio back, it is necessary to have the Box fully rescan all channels. Of course, when one does this, all timer settings are lost. You have to reenter them, if you remember them. And you have to do this drill every time the Box is turned off, and on again.

What a piece of junk (our opinion), from ZINWELL aka ZINNETusa, and brought to you by the FCC, Congress, and the President.

February 7, 2010

Hypochristians: A funny and odd cult of humans who believe that it's perfectly fine to [make love] over people, if done for the sake of their religion, which, primarily, attempts to teach them not to [make love] over other people.

February 6, 2010

Motorists traveling through the West Central Minnesota area near U.S. 59 at I-94, and near the towns of Barrett, Elbow Lake, Alexandria, and Ashby, are cautioned to avoid the fraudsters and/or inept mechanics (our opinion) who operate under the name of Beyer's Auto Center at Hoffman, Minn., and, having one of very few tow services in the area, apparently prey on motorists disabled on U.S. 59 and other roads in the region.

Beyer's Auto Center, Inc. is operated by the Beyerses - a father and son - and is a NAPA Auto Service facility and NAPA parts dealer..

In the reported incident, on Oct. 26th, 2009, a car lost it's brakes, due to a burst front brake hose, at a stop near the junction of U.S. 59 at I-94. Beyer's was called for a tow to their shop for repairs. Beyer's towed the car to their facility, and in the yard outside the shop, Mr. Beyer, Sr. performed a precursory "inspection", walking around the car (on the ground) and looking under it, without bothering to put the car on a hoist and light the lines and hoses, as normally would be done by a competent mechanic. Had this been done, the burst hose would have been very obvious. Beyers told the driver to pump the brakes, and when there was no "pedal", told him that he needed a new master cylinder. Beyers had not bothered to bleed the master cylinder, another routine procedure; a competent mechanic would have known that the master cylinder would have gotten air in it from the broken hose, and would have to be bled in order to function.

The driver told Beyers, Sr. that, on the road, the brakes did pump back up right after the failure, but then went to the floor (as they would have done as fluid oozed out of the broken hose), but Beyers simply replied that that's the way the master cylinder goes out.

The customer authorized the recommended repairs. The new master cylinder could be ordered, to be received and installed the next day. The motorist, who lived about 150 miles distant, made arrangements to pick up the car the following day when repairs were completed.

The following afternoon, the customer called Beyer's to ascertain that the car was ready to go, and was told that the master cylinder was installed, but the car also needed a brake hose, and that would take another day to get. The customer, now suspecting that something was amiss, told Beyer's that he was taking the car that day, and asked if the broken hose could be clamped off, so there would be, at least, some brakes for the return trip. At first, Beyer's refused to do this, but later, called back and said that they'd applied a small Vise-Grips to the hose and bled the system and there was some brake. Beyer's said that there would be an extra $40 charge for that. All in all, the charges were $70 for the tow, $127.64 as parts, labor, & misc., for the master cylinder, and $40 for the temporary hose clamping, totaling $237.64

When the driver got in the car, however, he found the brakes almost to the floor - about the same condition as before the repairs. He also observed that the radiator, which had held water before the incident, was now leaking and empty. He bought a can of stop-leak from the Beyer's NAPA store, installed it, and took the car.

Back home, the motorist brought the car to his regular mechanic there, who ascertained that the reason there were no brakes was that although Beyer's had claimed to have bled the system along with the emergency hose clamping (and charged for same), they had not done so. There was again air in the master cylinder. In about 15 minutes, the mechanic bled the new master cylinder, and the brakes returned to about 50% of functionality. He also properly diagnosed the problem as being a burst brake hose and replaced it, which returned the brakes to full function.

Following this, the customer asked his mechanic to bench test the old master cylinder that Beyer's had removed. The mechanic reported that it was holding pressure and was fully functional - there was nothing wrong with it. In fact, due to an interval before picking it up from the mechanic, it had held pressure, on the mechanic's bench, for about a month.

When the consumer contacted Beyer's, reported these findings, and demanded a refund, Mr. Beyer (Sr.), initially, negotiated a compromise settlement for $130; but then failed to send it. Recontacted regarding this, Beyer (Jr.) then told the customer that they were still deciding whether to pay it. The consumer has indicated that he will file a conciliation court suit for a full refund, as well as court costs and punitive damages for fraud (by way of Beyer's saying that, in making the temporary clamping repairs, they'd bled the system, and charging for same, when, in fact, that had not been done).

In instances such as these, although compensation is sometimes available (see HOW TO SUE THE BASTARDS, in The Library, Vol. 7 at northernherald.com) a lot of time and trouble can be saved by simply not dealing with disreputable merchants, and Northern Herald will continue to let readers know who they are, right here, and in Consumer Corner in our print edition.

If one breaks down in the area of U.S. 59 at I-94, they should be aware that there are other nearby auto service facilities at Barrett, Ashby (the CENEX), and Elbow Lake. A different towing service is available at Elbow Lake, and the CENEX auto repair shop, at Ashby, though not having a tow truck, can pull a car in off the road using a truck and chain.

February 5th, 2010

Although there may be some minor short-term upward fluctuations as the Dow jostles with support at the 10,000 line, The Chosen should anticipate further strong setbacks in the Dow. Should it decline into the low 9000s, or farther, the resultant strengthening of the dollar may be expected to bring down the price of gold, once again making it a good buy. In an again crippled market, gold may then be the investment of choice, as well as being a hedge against inflation, and another weakening of the dollar. But it's important to wait for the right price, to buy gold. Look for 800s or lower.

January 31st, 2010

BEMIDJI -- If a hard-working legislator arises in a sleepy Northern Minnesota town, and no one bothers to come and hear him, does he make a sound?

Well, in the case of State Rep. Joe Atkins (DFL-So. St. Paul), he certainly did. Atkins is Chairman of the House Commerce and Labor Committee, and also sits on the Energy Finance and Policy Division, and Higher Education and Workforce Development Finance and Policy Division, committees.

As part of a legislative outreach to take public input to guide the new legislative session, Atkins came the 225 miles to Bemidji, January 28th, 2010, to convene the public session, co-hosted by Rep. John Persell (DFL-4A), at the Bemidji Public Library conference room. Regarding this legislative outreach to Greater Minnesota, Persell, in the meeting notice, explained, "We are a long way from St. Paul, which makes it difficult for my constituents [to] travel to the Capitol for meetings."

But, although amidst a lot of public talk and criticism over state budget and business issues, and although the listening session was well publicized a few days before the event, only 5 Bemidjians bothered to show up for it. Of those 5, two were with organizations which had interests in possible funding this session, and one was a lead figure in the local Republican Party; the average Bemidjian just didn't bother to be there at this opportunity to have direct input to one of the key legislative figures, just before the 2010 session.

The selective attendance though, didn't slow down the well-organized and enthusiastic Rep. Atkins. He immediately launched into an informative hour-and-a-half session, telling those there, as well as the press, the key issues that will come before the legislature this session; and taking whatever public opinion was offered.

Although initially slated primarily for business issues, Atkins used the extra time to tell of many diverse topics facing the legislature and asked the attendees for their thoughts, if any, about a wide spectrum of issues ranging from bonding (capital projects - land acquisition and building) and taxes, to health insurance, how the economy has affected Northern Minnesota, the nuclear power ban, the Headwaters Science Center, state park funding, what to do about the Vikings stadium, and whether cell phone use in cars should be restricted.

Always a complaint. John Carlson, a sometimes spokesman for the local Republican Party and head of their candidate search committee, opened the meeting by complaining that area Republicans had not been adequately notified of the session. This, despite that the session was well-publicized in the Bemidji Pioneer of Jan. 24th; that Carlson obviously knew of it, so to be there, and that he could have asked the other Republicans to come if he had wanted to.

December 17th, 2009

In a little-advertised move, and in collaboration with Tracfone Wireless, Inc., Wal-Mart has now substantially lowered the cost of quality, broad-range, cell phone service. Entering a market previously dominated by higher priced, or lesser-range carriers, as they have done in so many other product lines and services, Wal-Mart's expansion into this line is expected to bring high quality service to the average person for a reasonable cost, and it's available at Wal-Mart Stores now.

The product is the Straight Talk® cell phone and prepaid cell service. Straight Talk® is operated by Tracfone, using the broad-coverage Verizon network; and is marketed exclusively thorough Wal-Mart. A map of the coverage area is generally available at the Wal-Mart store.

Straight Talk® offers two monthly plans: Up to 1000 minutes for $30, or unlimited minutes for $45. Both plans also include texting and data transfer, and free directory assistance.

As with so much else that they have done, this move is representative of how Wal-Mart has empowered the average shopper, giving him or her a voice in the previously closed manufacturers' marketplace; and resulting in better products at more reasonable prices.
It's American as Apple Pie!

December 17th, 2009

Can't find it on Google™? You might want to try Bing™ (http://www.bing.com) - for that matter, you may want to try Bing first. Bing is MSN's new search engine which looks a lot like Google, but in Northern Herald's testing, seemed more effective in finding what was being sought. In one test, using the same, very specific, search criteria, Google returned only one result; Bing returned three. In another search, for new, recently posted info, on a recently updated page, Google didn't appear to have it; Bing did.

And besides, it brings to mind the fine old days of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Google doesn't do that.

December 13th, 2009

Bemidji has been known as the Crime and Corruption Capital of the Midwest. Saloon shootings are becoming rarer (though, still, not unheard of) here, and the trend, now, has been toward more sophisticated governmental and white-collar crime. So when someone puts a Bemidjian in a position of trust and responsibility, well, they sometimes get what one would expect.

A letter, dated November 11, 2009, which purports to be from the Minnesota School Employees Association (MSEA - the labour union comprised of paraprofessionals, secretaries, food service workers, bus drivers, custodians, and technicians who work in the schools), and specifically from their Executive Director, Christina Clark; and directed to members of the Bemidji School Employees Association (BSEA), discloses:

" . . . MSEA became aware . . . that BSEA treasurer Joan Goranson might have been withdrawing money for her own personal expenses . . . . When she realized that MSEA was looking into this possibility, [on Sept. 24th, 2009] Ms. [sic] Goranson came forward and informed me that she had in fact used BSEA funds for her own personal expenses. Ms. [sic] Goranson submitted her resignation as BSEA treasurer."

The letter continues, " . . . on September 28, 2009, Ms. [sic] Goranson appeared before the BSEA board and again stated that she had used BSEA funds for her own personal expenses. She apologized and said she was fully responsible for her actions. She also promised to repay the funds."

The letter continues that, "the next day", Goranson submitted a check in the amount of $5,000 and has promised to repay the rest of the money, which has been agreed to amount to $1,000.

The letter states that BSEA Secretary Karen Tank will serve as Secretary/Treasurer for the remainder of Goranson's term; and discloses more stringent cash management policies upon which the BSEA Executive Board has agreed to put into effect.

The (Bemidji) Pioneer of Dec. 9th, 2009 reported that, as of that writing, no criminal charges had been filed in the case.

Northern Herald attempted to contact Mrs. Goranson for her statement, but she has not yet returned the call.

November 22, 2009

With the current (10/26/09) issue, this notice is made available to all teachers and other educators participating in the Northern Herald Schools Program in order to avoid potentially awkward situations. Whenever an issue of Northern Herald contains some material that might not be suitable for school students, this type of notice is provided when we deliver the school copies, so the teacher can remove the inappropriate parts of the issue before allowing students to see it:

The current issue (10/26/09) of Northern Herald contains certain Biblical references and a mention of “Providence”; so that portion of the paper may be unsuitable for use in the public schools. These references may be easily found on page 6 at the end of the “Batchelder Charges” piece. Accordingly, to avoid conflict with the way certain judges interpret our Constitution, and keep our schools god-free as the courts say we must, educators may wish to strike out these offending Bible references, with a bold Sharpie® or similar marker, before exposing students to the paper.

Also, as it involves common decency and wholesome ways to live, the entire editorial part of that article may meet with some parental criticism, particularly by certain single parents who happen to be women of ill repute trying to raise the next generation of women of ill repute; so, to avoid catching some flak, some educators may want to simply tear out that portion, which is italicized on the page.

Conversely, the lead stories (pg. 1, cols. 1 and 2), which describe abhorrent and perverse acts committed by the Itasca Co. Sheriff’s staff and former staff upon various minor boys (in one instance the deputy’s 13-year old stepson) contain no such offending references. God and The Bible have no part in these stories; and so they are perfectly wholesome and OK for consumption by public school students. Some might even find the conduct reported to broach upon “diversity”, which, these days, is very politically correct to promote in the schools.

May 4th, 2009

This addresses President Obama's statement, in February, that the bailouts are ultimately for the benefit of consumers, not the corrupt bank execs, and not the fattened up auto execs, dropping from their private jets wafted by golden parachutes; and the following could be important steps in the President's continuing de-Bushification (which is going very well, from what we've seen so far) of U.S. domestic policy and economics:

1. Any further bank support should be advanced only on the conditions that:

a) the institution (bank) receiving said support:

i) reduce all customers' credit card balances to what would be owed applying to all charges thereon the interest rate which was agreed to and in effect at the time the purchases (charged on the card) were made.

Rationale: The notion of buying something, on a card, at one interest rate, and then having the credit card company arbitrarily raise the rate that will be charged on the resultant balance is absurd. Technically, the term, in the small print, may have been agreed to (if the customer read and understood it), but it is what attorneys call an "unconscionable" term. It is as if I stood outside a bordello, and offered to loan working guys passing by a $20 bill, with an agreement that next payday, they'd pay me back $80 (mind you that, in Bemidji, the amount loaned could be somewhat less);

and

ii) In all instances of foreclosure on residential owner-occupied housing, the institution provide the homeowner (i.e. the bank's borrower) the right of first-refusal to repurchase the home at its present market value (this is the most the bank could get for it at foreclosure auction anyway), on a 30 year standard fixed rate mortgage at present market interest rates.

Rationale: This would stop a lot of foreclosures, and keep people in their homes, without any greater loss to the banks than they would otherwise sustain; and this would also tend to prevent acceleration of the current housing market slump, by preventing augmentation of the glut of foreclosed homes now on the market.

As you no doubt know, there is presently a major public outcry over the bank bailouts. If bank aid were conditioned on these things that benefit the distressed American taxpayers, and not just the distressed banks, the public view of it might be a little more positive.

and

B. The passage of a national usury rate for interstate commerce.

Rationale: This may go back before your time, but for many years banks and credit companies were governed by state usury rates. Still, they did OK. A few years ago, it was decided that those state laws didn't apply to interstate commerce. That's when rates skyrocketed, and the institutions were given lassiz-faire to increase those rates at will. So now, a national usury rate is needed to protect the consumer in those transactions that fall through the "interstate commerce" crack in the state laws designed to protect those consumers.

2. Any further support for any automaker should be conditioned on that automaker's immediate introduction of the plug-in hybrid car that the industry has been promising for years but just can't seem to do. The Chinese (BYD Motors) were able to do it last January; U.S. auto makers should be able to do it too. Otherwise, if they can't produce a car, at a
reasonable cost, that Americans want to buy, then it's just as well that GM and the others went by the wayside.

The American firm of Tesla Motors has produced an electric car, and, despite its high cost, they are backordered for some time - selling more than Tesla can make. IF GM, Ford, and Chrysler can't make the grade, it's time they moved over and let a firm that stays in business without subsidy by producing cars that people want to buy, like Tesla, take the forefront.
                  -- Adam Steele, C. P. A., and Editor, Northern Herald

To this letter, we add that there would be wisdom in permanent consumer protection legislation establishing that, proactively, consumer interest rates be limited to the rate agreed to at the time the debt was incurred (when the goods were purchased, money was advanced, or balance was transferred); and that "fees" be limited to a reasonable percentage of any delinquency on which they are charged. The assessment of a $29 fee on a $20 late payment amounts to usurious interest.  -- A. Steele

March 7th, 2009

A team of researchers at the University of Minnesota (U of M), led by Dr. Pat Schlievert and Dr. Ashley Haase, has reported that their testing has shown that a common food product* has impeded the transmission of the AIDS virus in monkeys.

These new findings come as a boon to people, worldwide, who own pet monkeys, particularly outdoor ones which tend to be promiscuous; and may be good news for other pet owners, as it may later be found to also work on dogs, cats, and other animals.

Certain other experimental topical preparations have also recently claimed to block the virus, but to a lesser degree.

The Schlievert-Hasse study used the compound, glycerol monolaurate (which is already approved by the FDA, commercially available, and is a common ingredient in foods and cosmetics), mixed with KY^®Warming Gel.

The U of M has filed for a patent, and a preparation (a gel, which is applied in the female area) containing glycerol monolaurate is expected to soon become available to the public.

It is not known whether the researchers will eventually come to Bemidji to see if it works on humans; but if they do, any Bemidji bar would make a good test site, and the Bemidji State University campus, with its co-ed dorms, would also serve.

* Ladies: The food product involved is NOT a cucumber, carrot, or any such thing. Do not try these, they will not work.

Editor's Note: Contrary to secular thinking, and what is taught in the schools, we did not come from monkeys; although, looking around at people here in Northern Minnesota, it's easy to see how that notion got started.

The following was provided to Minn State Reps Howes and Persell, Rory Koch (House Republican Caucus), and the Governor.

Greetings, sirs:

It is my pleasure to now solve the budget crisis.

The following solutions are provided as a public service, without charge, and are worth every penny of it.

It was a pleasure speaking with you all yesterday [Feb 20th, 2009 at BSU], on the budget matter.

There were some suggestions, dealing with the budget crisis, that time did not permit to be brought up. For what good it might do, those are addressed here.

It must be considered that we are in a depression. A depression is fun, because prices come down. For a depression to best be enjoyed, we must be very thrifty. So let's save some money, make the most of this depression, and Party Like It's 1999!

Areas:

1. Specific oversight of agency grants - get more bang for the buck.
2. Put a hold on the Bemidji Events Center and similar unneeded projects.
3. Fair taxation for all - Cut back the Working Family Credit.
4. Reduce court expense by reducing or eliminating grants and loans to agencies that produce baseless cases.
5. LGA

1. Specific oversight of agency grants - get more bang for the buck.

Les Duly, former BSU President, used to speak of "Doing more with Les"

And that's what we're talking about - what we need to be talking about - here.

Some people in this community have been doing so much for so long with so little, that they're now qualified to do the impossible - with nothing.

But that's not where our state money is going - to back those very cost conscientious, and efficient public organizations that give people more bang for the buck. A lot of state money is being, instead, wasted on what should be small organizations that have mired themselves in bureaucracy and needless spending.

A picture of Bemidji's "Ours to Serve House of Hospitality" can be seen [in NH of 10/26/09, available at northernherald.com]. [The picture is in] . . . an article there about the House of Hospitality, which recently received an earmarked $1 million grant from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency. The article also discusses Bemidji's People's Church, which actually houses most of the homeless here. Although they do the job much more efficiently, they receive no state help.

The House of Hospitality used to be a homeless shelter - still claims to be, but it actually turns away most of the homeless that come there, regardless of space. Director Rebecca Hoffman has turned it into a "family-only" shelter. That excludes most of the itinerant homeless that it was created, years ago, to house.

There was a picture in the Bemidji Pioneer, August 9th, 2008, of the homeless awareness volunteers who came through here last August. The picture was taken in front of the People's Church, which is where they stayed in Bemidji. What The Pioneer didn't tell you was that they first tried to stay at the House of Hospitality, as Bemidji's official homeless shelter; but were turned away, like so many others are. Fortunately, they found their way to the People's Church, which actually does the job of housing most of the homeless in Bemidji. They never turn anyone away.

In [NH of 10/26/09, available at northernherald.com; in the article "A Facade of Hospitality"], there is a picture of the People's Church. You can see that the bunks are crowding the pew area. This is because while the House of Hospitality was recently awarded a $1 million state grant, the City of Bemidji is doing everything it can to shut down the People's Church; and the City forced them to move the bunks from a sensible bedroom dorm area, to the chapel where people come to pray.

And the People's Church was going to put in a free parish health services facility. Redid a room for it, had medical professionals - doctors and nurses, lined up to volunteer; so people who needed medical services could get them without cost to the State, or anyone else. But the City and STATE HEALTH DEPT. put the keebosh on that real quick. I guess we'd rather they went to the emergency room where we'd have to pay medical assistance for it.

Have we lost our minds?

Finances: Per their 990, in 2007, the House of Hospitality raised about $187,000; much of it by public money. Their 2007 expenses were $147,663; of which $102,526 was employee expense  (including the Director, Mrs. Hoffman). Hoffman has eight employees, to run this little 2-family shelter house.

The People's Church houses more, and is staffed primarily by volunteers.

Where would our State support go farther to serve more people? The People's Church or "Ours To Serve" House of Hospitality? "Ours to Serve"? What a joke!

As mentioned, House of Hospitality (HOH) received a $1 million grant for a new building (total cost is expected to be $1.75 million). People's Church also wants to build, but they are fund-raising to do it for $150,000 - a far cry from the $1.75 million HOH wants to spend.

Who reviews these state grants that are awarded all over the state? Do they ever look into what applicants are actually doing, in the flesh, and not just award millions of dollars to organizations with bloated payrolls and little to offer, that just put a nice song and dance on paper?

It's just a million dollars here in Bemidji, but these types of grants are made all over the state. To paraphrase the late Sen. Everett Dirksen, you take a few million here, a few million there, before long, you're talking about real money.

So, particularly in these money crunching times, this is an area that deserves the legislature's attention: Is this public grant money really being put to the most worthwhile causes that efficiently serve the public? And if not, what can be done to better the review and granting process?

Are we getting the most bang for the State buck?

2. Put a hold on the Bemidji Events Center and similar unneeded projects.

This is a depression - money is tight. So why are we spending $90 million to build an events center that about half of Bemidjians, at least, don't want?

$90 million - for an events center for a city of 12,000 people. That's $7,500 per person. Not per household - but $7,500 for every man, woman, and child in Bemidji.

Have we lost our minds?

That's what, with the state legislature's blessing, and funding assistance, the City of Bemidji is doing. The City could not do this without the legislative OK.

This, and similar unneeded projects should be stopped for now; maybe until such time as the State of Minnesota wins the Powerball lottery.

3. Fair taxation for all - Cut back the Working Family Credit.

At the public hearing . . . [2/20/09], . . . a lot of people spoke in favour of raising taxes. If this is going to be done, it should be done not on the high tax rate that most Minnesotans already pay, but where a lot of people, inequitably, now pay no tax - many even get money back where none was withheld. This is welfare for the middle class, wrapped in a tax return. It is known (misnamed) as the "Working Family Credit". It has little to do with families - it benefits many single mothers with incomes up to $38,600. For people who actually are families (married, filing joint return), they can qualify with income up to $41,600. The determining factor to get this refundable credit is whether they have kids. Again, welfare for the middle class. There is no reason that people with kids shouldn't pay their fair share of tax like anyone else. Tax is a zero-sum game. Any subsidy comes at a greater expense of the taxpayers who fall outside of the subsidized group. There is no reason why the State should be subsidizing having kids - it is not in the State's interest. Kids are expensive; those expenses are the sole responsibility of the people who made those children. There is no reason other people, including singles and seniors, should be forced to pay other people's child rearing expenses.

So if taxes are to be increased (actually, just equalized a little) this a good place to start. People with kids already get up to $5,000, or more, benefit on their federal returns (Earned Income Credit, Child Tax Credit, Exemptions, Child Care Credit); reduction or elimination of the misnamed Working Family Credit would provide substantial budget savings. People with kids need to pay their fair share too.

4. Reduce court expense by reducing or eliminating grants and loans to agencies that produce baseless cases.

Also at the public hearing, there were many people from the court system [including Judge Benshoof] who stressed the high cost of running the courts. This cost is not generated, primarily, by people with little problems that the courts are there (and should be) to solve. Conciliation courts, for example, are necessary (although a Plaintiff with a consumer matter who brings a case before Judge Benshoof, against an established Bemidji merchant, is likely to be screwed, anyway).

A lot of the expense is generated by "public" agencies and organizations who bring very expensive baseless actions, often on perjured documents. Tax money shouldn't be used to suborn perjury. Some of the organizations involved include the Beltrami County women's advocacy organizations, and Itasca County's "Advocates for Family Peace" (also a grant recipient), as well as various county social services agencies.

A good example of how much expense these agencies can generate is an Itasca County CHIPS case we reported a few years ago. It involved a Mr. Graber, his estranged (very strange, really) ex-fiancee, and their two kids. The . . . [three] . . . reports of the bringing of this case, and it's eventual dismissal, can be found in our Library, Vol. 10, at http://northernherald.finalhost.net/libv10.txt They're under the headlines DEER RIVER COUPLE BATTLES FOR PARENTAL RIGHTS (issue of 10/25/04), GRABER HEARING GAINS LITTLE GROUND (issue of 12/20/04), and GRABER CASE DISMISSED (issue of 03/07/05).

The case should be of interest to the State, because, though (like so many others, statewide) a baseless attempt by the woman to gain leverage in visitation and custody matters, which was eventually dismissed; it resulted in phenomenal public cost. The costs included at least two attorneys (each CHILD required appointment of a separate attorney, to avoid "conflict of interest"), as well as guardians ad litem, a psychologist, publicly paid county social services agencies, counselors and social workers, and, of course, the judge, court reporter and other court staff. We're talking cost here; never mind that the State system denied the man (Graber) visitation with his kids, without cause, for many months while this was pending. Neither child had ever complained of their father.

In the end [see http://northernherald.finalhost.net/libv10.txt "Graber Case Dismissed" in issue of 03/07/05], the . . . attorney [for one of the children] told the court that . . . [the child] . . . had said that . . . [she was] . . . never afraid of their father, and . . .  [that she] . . . wanted unsupervised visitation with him resumed.

[Case worker Amy Bestland also submitted a report that "Neither child expressed discomfort or fear in the company of either parent," and recommended that the case be closed, as did the psychologist.]

After all that money.

Again, have we lost our minds?

Hopefully, the power of these agencies to bring baseless claims, and their funding to do so, can be fixed legislatively. With these expensive, needless, and wasteful things removed from the court system, court personnel might be able to get by on the appropriations given them.

5. LGA

Finally, it must be remembered that Local Government Aid is money that city councils use for their pet projects that the voters would never approve. Accordingly, LGA should be cut to the bone. If a project is worthwhile, the City can (and should) put it up to the taxpaying public at referendum.

Here in Bemidji, one of the council's most recent projects was to ruin our best city park (Diamond Point), and spend lots of money doing it. A city's main function is to provide sewer, water and essential services. If city councils would concentrate on this, and otherwise, here in Bemidji, devote their remaining time to simply assuring that we have the right proportion of "po" to "dunk", we'd all be better off.

Enjoy the Depression;

Party like it's 1999!

-- Onward!
Adam Steele,
An Official Minnesota Taxpayer,
also C.P.A., and Editor, Northern Herald newspaper

December 7th 2008

Would it be possible for food manufacturers to quietly slip something into food that seems to make it taste better, so as to cause people to buy and eat a lot of it; and which at the same time kills neural (as well as retinal (eye)) cells? If that happened, we would expect to see, within a course of years, an increase in the incidence of neural disorders such as Bi-Polar,  A. D. D., and Alzheimer's which would exceed the rates of population growth and aging. And as has happened.

Now, A.D.D. and Bi-Polar¹ are stylish these days, which may account for some of their recent popularity, but probably not all of it.

For The Chosen, and other people concerned about poison being legally put into their food, the largely ignored report, by Dr. George E. Shambaugh, Jr., MD, regarding the effects of MSG in food is a must read. It is at http://www.nutrition4health.or g/nohanews/NNS96DangerTasteEnhancers.htm.

Now, there are a lot of quacks out there that would get people all riled up over nothing. So it is good to know that Dr. Shambaugh is a well-established and well-respected doctor, researcher, and Professor (Emeritus), among his colleagues and his students at Northwestern University, where he taught for many years. No wacko here. But his well-documented findings went against the interests of the big-moneyed corporate food processing industry, so you may not have heard of them before now.

Reading Dr. Shambaugh's paper, one arrives at the inevitable conclusion that America has been duped into, for two generations, eating chemicals that have resulted in mass neural and retinal degeneration. This would tend to explain the results of the last few elections.

And to think that the tobacco companies had to pay billions for selling something the risks of which people knew full well about.

On the Fifth Day, Providence created just about everything necessary, both nutritionally and medicinally, to sustain and healthily nourish that which He would create on the Sixth Day. People were so designed to eat (and smoke, if they want to) what Providence thusly provided. These days, we can create things that we can eat too, but we weren't designed to eat those things. And then, you take a guy that can create the heavens and the earth in six days, well, He probably wouldn't have left out anything important; and it is hard to imagine that we can improve on His work. 5700 or so years have shown that He gave us all of the things that are good and healthy for us to eat. The Chosen will do themselves well by ensuring, as much as possible, that the foods they eat and feed their families contain only those things given by Providence.

MSG² is only one of many food additives which are known to have significant detrimental side effects, but are nonetheless allowed in food in this country. And, even if one reads the ingredients label, it may not tell all, as these things are often called by other names, such as "natural flavourings", hydrolyzed vegetable protein, mono and diglycerides, "spices", etc. A good rule of thumb is that if one doesn't understand exactly what something in the ingredients list is, the product should not be trusted. It would be well if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and USDA rendered a better assurance of consumer protection, but really, these days, they provide almost none, particularly against additives, and genetically-altered foods. Those agencies, after all, are run by people appointed by officials who were elected by people who had eaten a lot of MSG; so it is up to the consumers to protect themselves and their families by making sure that what they put on the table is wholesome.

Hopefully, at some time, instruction on food additives will become a part of the high schools' domestic arts (i.e. cooking and sewing) programs which, importantly, prepare young ladies to become good and capable wives and homemakers, and hence, make for a better and stronger America. It's certainly more important, and appropriate, than the classes now in the schools that teach them how to make love, which they'd find out at the appropriate time, on their honeymoon night, anyway. But don't look for this any time soon. The school administrators have, mostly, eaten a lot of MSG.

Could MSG have anything to do with the kids' low test scores?

FOOTNOTES:
¹ This disorder used to be known as "manic-depressive schizophrenia" but has become much more in vogue since they renamed it "Bi-Polar". It just sounds like something you'd want to have now. People who have it should, to avoid aggravating the condition, avoid flying around with Arctic Terns, and other bi-polar species.

² Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, actually, is a naturally-occurring vegetable substance. That is why it can be disguised on food labels as "natural flavourings" or "hydrolyzed vegetable protein". But it is found in nature (like, in seaweed, where it was first discovered) in minute quantities, not the concentrations sometimes found in today's processed foods; also, as its use is very prevalent in the processed foods (including snack foods) industry, the consumer may eat a number of different products containing it in a day, resulting in a relatively large aggregate intake.

but if you happen to, instead, be a Nazi, or a "friend of Dick Morton", or other non-chosen who know who they are, well, you can still read it, but this won't work for you; and if you try to use it, what's left of your wealth will turn to ashes and dust, and you will be visited upon by warts.

So, if you're not sure if this is meant for you, you might try it, and if you find that you lose everything and your body becomes covered with warts, well, then you'll know.            -- A. Steele

All right, the economy is going through a correction, and your 401(k) or personal portfolio isn't looking as good as it was a few months ago. Here are some things you can do to speed recovery.

Understanding What Is Happening. The news analysts (like on TV) are great at coming up with detailed explanations, after the fact, for what has happened. Hindsight is 20-20. But actually, their explanations have only comic value. The impending recession could have been seen two years ago. It was foreseen and mentioned, including the stock market effect, in your Editor's campaign material in both 2006 and 2008.

A good example of the funny news analysis is when the broadcasters told us that crude oil was down because after the September market crash people were using less.

Bull Corn! People are driving about as much as they did before, and they're still driving pickups and SUVs to take two kids to the grocery store; if anything, with gas prices temporarily down, they're driving a little more - taking those weekend trips that they'd put off. And they're still heating their homes this fall to about the same temperature. Don't those broadcasters even think about what they're saying ?!!?

The reason oil is down is plain and simple. The oil barons, whether in Saudi Arabia or our own domestic oil companies, didn't want people worrying about gas prices when they went to the polls. So, just as they did in 2006, they flooded the market so to start dropping the oil price just before the September primaries, bringing the price at the pumps to about the lowest level on election day (at Bemidji, on Election Day 2006: $2.09 a gallon; Election Day 2008: $2.16). That's why oil is down. Now the elections are over, so OPEC is having meetings on "stabilizing" the price. And, as in 2006, they may be expected to string it out a bit (yes, it is still going down a little) to avoid being too obvious.

If gas & oil follows the 2006 pattern, it won't rise all at once; it will ease upward a little through the winter, then much more in the spring (about March - May), reaching high prices by Memorial Day when people start their summer driving. The price may even exceed the prices of the previous summer. OPEC and the oil companies have to recoup, in the summer driving frenzy, the profit reduction they sustained by keeping prices down over the election season.

The Market - It's All About Oil. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is comprised of many (30) companies. Some are garden-variety manufacturing, retail, technology, financial and similar issues, and some are in energy (i.e. the oil companies). When the non-oil "industrials" are flat, or their daily fluctuations offset each other (a lot of time), the oil companies drive the Dow. To see an example of this, look at a one year chart of Conoco Phillips, next to a one year chart of the Dow. (Conoco is not part of the Dow average, but is exemplary because the energy issues move together, so the same things that affect Exxon Mobil and Chevron, which are part of the Dow, also affect Conoco Phillips.) As you can see, the two charts are almost like a mirror image, with all of the peaks and valleys, and even small detail, replicated. Except that the Conoco chart is more bumpy. That's because, percentagewise, the swings in the oil company stocks, when gas went up, and when it went down, are much larger than the overall swings in the Dow, which is diluted by the other "industrials" which comprise the Dow average. As an example, on November 13, 2008, Conoco went up 5.01 points, or 11.25%, the Dow closed up 552.59 points, or 6.67% Again, the day trading charts are almost mirror images. One might mistakenly guess that Conoco is moving with the Dow. But the larger magnitude of Conoco's moves tells otherwise. Right now, the energy issues, due to their inherent volatility (BIG daily moves, compared to other stocks), are driving the Dow.

In short, in the current market, when Crude Oil is up, the energy stocks, and the Dow, will usually be up, and vice versa. On November 13th, 2008, for instance (market figures above), Dec. Crude Oil settled up by $2.08 a barrel. The percentage change in the oil stocks may magnify that of the oil commodity itself. That's because the change in the price of oil has two effects on the oil company. It, of course, increases profits in the refining chain leading from the well to the gas pump; but mostly, because oil companies' foundation assets are their ownership rights to proven reserves of oil in the ground, a small increase in oil, by the barrel, significantly raises the net asset value of the oil company, upon which the stock value is based. Additionally, there are psychological factors, unrelated to earnings and profitability, that move stocks and move the Market.

In summary, Although there are 30 components of the Dow, the oil issues (i.e. Exxon Mobil, and Chevron) are presently the most volatile members (and highly so), so when the other issues, in the aggregate, are flat and/or offsetting, the oil issues, with their sharp swings, and which move together on the price of oil, move the Dow; though to a lesser degree, percentagewise, than the oil stocks themselves move. This movement of the Dow, which many regard as a “barometer” of the market’s health, can then have a (generally) lesser psychological effect that, for a time, continues and magnifies the market effect, which extends to the oil companies. A chart of the recent Dow, thusly, looks like a dampened version of the charts of the oil companies themselves, over the same period.

Understanding The Crash. The media told you it was the sub-prime mortgages; but again, really, it's all about oil.

Oils and Non-Oils. To better understand what happened, let's then, think of the Dow not as a single average, but as two separate components: 1) the oil-based issues (including not necessarily just Exxon and Chevron, but also other companies that are either linked to, or invested in, oil interests), we'll collectively call these the "Oils"; and 2) all of the other Dow stocks, including retail sector (e.g. Home Depot and Wal-Mart*), manufacturing & technology (e.g. Microsoft and Merck), entertainment (e.g. Walt Disney), banking, and others. We'll collectively call these the "Non-Oils".

* Wal-Mart, by the way, held it's own pretty well in the recent market foray. Although down a little since Oct. 1st, over the past year, it has performed far better than the market, generally, and is one of relatively few stocks that is trading substantially higher (about 17%) now, than at this time last year.

In fall, 2007, the economy was booming. The Non-Oils were doing well, and, following the high gas prices of summer 2007, the Oils were reporting record profits, sending their stocks to record highs. Given this combined effect of both sectors, the Dow hit it's all time high, a little over 14,000.

But the high oil prices, while initially accelerating the Dow, have a secondary effect that, in the end, would be more profound. Like when oil went up in the late 70s, producing the recession of the early 80s; over time, the higher energy prices, and uncertainty as to future increases, caused business to delay investment and expansion. Many, in fact, downsized and laid off workers. American business was between a rock and a hard place. Due to the price of heating oil, diesel fuel, and gasoline, it had higher operating and transportation costs. But, at the same time, businesses were faced with a consuming public that had less disposable income to spend on their products. The results were reductions, layoffs, business failures, and unemployment. Even major manufacturers like General Motors (a Dow component) were in trouble.

For the consumer, with less disposable income, now, anyway, it meant inflation - having to pay more at the grocery store and everywhere else. Less (if any) was left for discretionary spending, so for many, their standard of living dropped. And it was becoming harder to make the mortgage payment, which, due to ARMs, was, for many, going up.

By July, 2008, the business effect on the Non-Oils was becoming profound. The Dow sank to 11,000; actually, the market crash would have happened right there and then, were it not for the Oils. They were having record earnings on record crude (up to $143 a barrel) and record gasoline prices (over $4 a gallon, in places). The oil stocks were soaring. That's what kept the Dow buoyed up, last summer, in the face of the Non-Oils' losses. This buoyed-up Dow, for many people looking at the economy, masked what was actually happening in the Non-Oil business sector.

Then September came, and the decision, as two years before, to start reducing gas prices for the election. OPEC began flooding the market with crude and the oil companies reduced prices at the pump. That's all it took. With the value of their reserves diminished, plus the secondary, psychological, effect; the Oils plummeted, and by early October, with crude oil still falling fast, removed all support from the Dow, prompting the sell-off that swept the market. The Dow quickly sank below 9000, and then, in late October, close to the election, with oil and gasoline prices near their bottom, hit its year's low (as of then) of 7882.51

The September banking & investment firm failures were a sideshow. They induced a temporary panic and momentary sell off, but were a symptom of the depressed economy, not the cause. The market continued to drop well after they were resolved. September’s major banking, insurance, and investment company failures were brought about, in part, perhaps, by having made bad loans (some of which may have been gone bad due to the effect, upon households, of a year and a half of high gasoline and heating oil prices, as well as the layoffs and inflation, also resultant of energy prices, discussed earlier); but were largely brought about by the effects (ante) of higher energy prices upon the Non-Oils, the diminished market for their products, their having less need for the services of the financial sector, and the resultant lower value of their shares, many of which were likely held by the institutions that went under. Additionally, some of the insurance companies and banks that went under may have been invested in oil-based securities, which, sinking now, would have exacerbated (not a dirty word) the effect. Once again, it’s all about oil.

So, What Is One To Do?
The election is over. What do think oil and gas prices are going to do now?

Do you think you'll pay less at the pump next Memorial Day than now?

Well, history says no. If this mirrors the 2006 election effect, crude oil, and gasoline, prices will begin to rise very gradually over the winter, and then hike big-time between March and the end of May, 2009. But we don't know exactly when the hike will happen, so if one is going to make some money on this, it is well to be positioned as early as possible. As you recall, when oil prices are down, the oil stocks will have reacted (dropped) more than the market generally. This has produced some real bargains in oil company stocks that may not last. Investment now will result in one's being well-poised for the (probable) coming oil hikes. This is something to tell your 401(k) plan administrator, so to maybe make back the money you lost, and then some, by next fall. Although the Dow will likely be up some next year, the oil stocks may be anticipated to recover much faster than the market generally. More details on one of the best (our opinion) investments, post, after the next section.

Where the market is going. The market generally, is still very unstable. Maybe more so now than in October. And it is moving wildly on relatively low volume. Investors are being cautious and watchful, and are generally reluctant to change their position (whether it’s presently in, or out of, the market). This results in a relatively quiet trading floor where a momentary small surge (either buying or selling), based upon the day’s news, (or, for that matter, the weather) can produce major price changes. The single-day range of the Dow, on November 13th, 2008 was 911 points, one of the biggest one-day price swings in history. As long as the Dow is swinging over 400 points on an almost daily basis, the market, generally, is something to be stayed away from by most prudent investors. (Some day-traders can play, and even wait for and favour, these periods of volatility; but they are prohibitively speculative for most, and are not advised - we like almost sure things, that don’t have to be micro-managed, better; no stock investment is totally “for sure”, mind you, but if you play the table only where and when the odds are on your side, in the long-run, you’ll probably win.)

Also, the Non-Oils (and most U.S. businesses generally) are still in trouble from the effects of a year and a half of high energy prices, poor sales, and uncertainty as to where the energy price is going. This is going to keep most of the Non-Oil sector of the Dow (and the broader Market) down for some time. We look for the Dow to settle into the mid 7000s, before it is buoyed up again by the rising Oils. Needless to say, the Non-Oils, right now, generally, shouldn't be looked to as a profit-making investment, for the short to moderate term (like, maybe for a year or two, or until the energy price shows long-term stability), although a few of them, such as Wal-Mart, have shown noteworthy stability and overall good performance, even when confronted by a very adverse market.

Particularly, Citigroup (Citibank) should be absolutely avoided (our opinion). A look at their last quarter earnings (negative) and long-term stock performance curve shows that they could be a very likely candidate for the next major bank failure. If Citigroup went under, we're not sure that the FDIC could bail their depositors out. And that could be a major economic calamity.

In the Oils, however, although the possibility of small further downside movements should be anticipated in the very short-term, they will probably move up significantly over the next year as crude oil rises, producing substantial potential for capital gains over the current prices.

We like cheap gas, but if it's going to go up anyway, you may as well have a piece of the action to offset your losses, and more than cover future energy costs. One could, of course, invest directly in the Crude Oil commodity; but, unless you happen to be Warren Buffett or Bill Gates, the wild swings, whipsaws, and margin calls of the futures (commodities) market would wipe out the average investor before they made a profit. For most, that’s not the way to go. Because the oil company stocks react to the oil commodity, and the stock trading is more versatile (more volume, which makes for easier limit order fills and greater liquidity - particularly on very long-term options; a position can be taken and maintained without risk of margin call, etc.), and more comfortable and familiar for most investors; this is a safer, more conservative way to go that, properly managed, offers about the same potential for gain. No, we don’t like the oil companies, but we also don’t cut off our nose to spite our face. Investing in oil stock for a little while (when it goes up, you’ll probably sell it, anyway) isn’t really siding with the enemy, it’s just making a little money off of them, maybe to recoup previous losses.

So, of the various oil stocks (which tend to move together), which, then, offers the best profit potential? Well, Standard & Poor's recently rated Conoco Phillips a five-star "strong buy". This may be why: Among the major U.S. oil companies, the smaller Conoco Phillips has, dollar for dollar, the strongest oil asset reserve. According to Bloomberg (10/21/08), Conoco owns more oil in the ground (proven reserves), per dollar of share value, than any other major U.S. oil company. The ratio is about $8 of stock value per barrel of oil (or, put differently, a currently priced $50 share represents about 6 barrels of oil) (for comparison, Chevron came in second, at about $12.84 of stock value per barrel). This gives the Conoco stock a very sound underlayment. Not at all a candidate for bankruptcy. Conoco Phillips, though, was affected more (possibly because of it's large oil holdings) by the recent oil downturn than some of the other oil stocks. In short, right now, it's a bargain. Conoco's severe downturn, on the price of crude, gives it, also, one of the greatest upward potentials for gain (percentagewise) when oil again rises. Conoco traded last summer (when gas was up) as high as 95.96, but, despite having just turned in a record Third Quarter 2008 earnings report (up 41% over last year), and due to market and, particularly, crude oil market conditions, hit its year's low of 42.15 on November 13th, 2008, and closed that day at 49.55 - still quite the bargain.

To illustrate, think of the various oil stocks as a line of helium-filled balloons. Now, they’re all presently held to the earth by the same sandbags (the low crude oil price). But, due to it’s underlying asset security, and earnings and profitability, Conoco can be said to have a somewhat larger volume of helium (in a bigger balloon, of course) than the others. When the bags are released, they’ll all go up. But (again, in our opinion) Conoco will go a little faster and a little higher.

What The Smart Money Is Doing. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway recently increased its investment in Conoco Phillips by 24.3 million shares to bring its total Conoco holdings to almost 84 million shares. According to StreetInsider.com, Conoco is now among Buffett’s eight largest stock investments, and the only oil company among them. Now, we’re not saying that Mr. Buffett’s lead is infallible, but he doesn’t usually do real stupid things in the market. We'd guess that he’s planning to make some money here.

The ratio of Conoco's stock price movement to that of gas at the pump is roughly about $1 of stock movement to 4 cents at the pump. Conservatively, we look for it to be trading, at least, in the 70s (equates to gas at about $2.90 a gallon) by summer 2009.

Long positions. Buying Conoco Phillips shares outright has an income advantage. In addition to the potential for capital gain, it should not be overlooked that it pays a dividend which amounts to, at the Nov. 13th, 2008 closing price, 3.79% annually; somewhat more than the bank, or a lot of stocks, will pay, these days. Again, for 401(k)s or other retirement plans, this is not too bad a rate of return, given the current money market.

Additionally, an old rule of thumb, when evaluating stocks, was to look for those that had a price/earnings (P/E) ratio of 6 or less. In the recent market, with P/Es as high as 150 or more, this rule has been, of course, mostly discarded as impossible. But due to it's low price, Conoco Phillips now has a P/E that has been, appropriately, called "ridiculous" (in a very good way). It's P/E is presently 4.06, well below the old 6.00 benchmark, on earnings of $12.22 per share!

Other options - the options market. People familiar with, and comfortable with, trading stock options may find some real opportunity here for moderate-term capital gain. (For newcomers to this game, we may discuss options basics and strategies in a future print issue of Northern Herald, if we can find someone to sponsor the column.) As most know, the leveraging effect of options often produces a better percentage gain, with limited risk. However, with options, depending upon how they are positioned and managed, and market movement, the investor runs a greater risk of losing his entire investment than if he just bought the stock long. For this reason, options are only for those who fully understand them and know exactly what they are doing.

If one chooses to go this route, because the major oil move may not come 'til late spring, one would want to select  long-term calls far enough out (like, for instance, calls expiring January, 2010) so as to have substantial time value remaining (exit strategy) by early summer 2009, should the desired move not occur by then.

For the sophisticated investor, a vertical bull spread on the calls over a short range near the money, further limits the risk, allows maximum leveraging, and maximum profit potential, even on a relatively small move of the underlying security. Additionally, because one is actually on both sides of the market, for the moderate-term capital gain potential, this strategy cushions any short-term move and saves hair follicles when the market goes against you on day-fluctuations (which can, now, be large - 10% or more in a day - particularly in oil stocks). But if you don’t know what the first sentence of this paragraph means, or have to have your broker explain it, you shouldn’t do this - just buy the long shares, then, and you’ll probably (our opinion) do OK, and get dividends, besides!

All financial information presented herein is solely the opinion of the author, Adam Steele, Editor of Northern Herald, who is a Certified Public Accountant, but is not a Certified Financial Planner nor a Certified Financial Advisor.

The following  is solely the opinion of the author, Adam Steele, Editor of Northern Herald, who is a Certified Public Accountant, but is not a Certified Financial Planner nor a Certified Financial Advisor. Opinions are like coffeemakers; everybody has one.

November 25th, 2008

The Dow has now reached lows well within the 7000s, as anticipated, and Citigroup has sent up its "white flag"; and like other banking concerns, appears to looking toward government support, maybe the largest measure of same so far.

The recent lows prompted the high volume two-day bargain-hunting rally that we've seen Friday and Monday, bringing it to 8,443.39 at close Monday, and said by some to be the largest 2-day gain since 1987 (this has not been independently corroborated). On Monday, Nov. 24th, however, although there was high upward volume at the start of the day, by the end of trading the rally appeared to be losing steam. As a result, the Market is likely to be very uncertain and erratic now and for the next day or two; caution is advised. Those who plan on selling may want to do it early in the Nov. 25th trading day; those buying may well see better prices later in the day. The Market is still highly volatile, and it is very likely that the Dow will return to the 7000s and trade in and about that range for an extended time, so, for buyers, they may well get another shot at bargain-basement prices.

All financial information presented herein is solely the opinion of the author, Adam Steele, Editor of Northern Herald, who is a Certified Public Accountant, but is not a Certified Financial Planner nor a Certified Financial Advisor.

January 28, 2009

Buy stocks like you buy tomatoes. Most people are conscientious shoppers when they're at the grocery store. But when they call their broker, it's something else again. If they apply the same common sense to buying stock as buying tomatoes, they usually come out OK.

• Mistake 1: Thinking that a stock bought will go up. Don't think that just because you buy the stock, for some reason, it will go up from there. Yes, it's a silly notion, but a lot of people unconsciously do this. For every investment, have sound reasons why it should move in your direction (whether up or down), and how far you expect it to go (your "target") and when you expect it to get there. And in evaluating the investment, don't ignore factors that would tend to push it the other way. Make an informed decision to invest after weighing the pros and cons of any issue. And, very importantly, analyze the chart of the last 3 months of trading in that stock (and it also helps to look at the charts over shorter and longer terms - some of the Internet search engines' finance sections (e.g. Yahoo, Google) have those charts readily available with a click), establish what the current trading range is, and buy near the bottom of that range, preferably when it's still moving down (to avoid time crunches & pressure, and the possibility of missing the market; also, on calls (we'll maybe discuss these in a future print issue of NH), the premiums will be depressed at that point). In selling, or taking short positions, sell on an upslope near the top of the then current trading range.

• Mistake 2: Sailing by the wind. In sailing, novices sometimes try to sail relative to the wind. If the wind stays behind them, they think they're on course. This is wholly wrong. The wind changes. So does the market. In lake sailing, one sights a fixed location, and keeps it in line with the bow, to get there. The bow may bob around a little in gusts, but the pilot ensures that it stays, basically, on course, relative to the target - not the momentary wind. Similarly, in the market, before entering, the investment should be assessed, and a "fixed location" - that is, where the price may be reasonably expected to be at a certain future time (the term of your investment - that is, when you expect to sell), determined. No investment should be made until this has been done, and, as the daily gusts of the market blow the price this way and that, it is this target that should be kept in sight. It should be reasonably determined, periodically, whether the investment is still basically on course for that target. If not, the fundamental reason for the investment no longer exists, and a non-panic strategy of exiting should be considered. Regardless of where the issue is, it will have a trading range - some daily up and down fluctuation.  Preferably an exit should be formulated to occur when the issue is high in its (then) trading range, even though that trading range may be well below the target, or where you bought the stock.

Although some stocks may sometimes go up, and up, and up without retracement, this is not common and one should resist the temptation to buy into a stock that has just had a strong up move, even on high volume. It will probably be near the top of its trading range, then, and the likelihood is that it will go down from there. If the stock has potential, determine the current trading range and wait 'til it's near the bottom of it to enter. If tomatoes spiked to $4 a pound, even if you thought they were going to go higher, would you be buying a lot of them then? Or would you be looking for some other veggie to put in your salad for awhile?

• Mistake 3: Putting all of one's eggs in one basket. We're not talking here about diversification. We're talking about being fully invested one one side of the market - either long or short. If tomatoes were $2 a pound, and you thought that was a good price, would you spend all of your grocery money on them right there and then, or would you keep a few bucks in your wallet, in case there's another good buy around, or in case tomatoes were even lower the next day. Your portfolio is like your grocery cart and your wallet. If your grocery cart is full, and after checkout, there's nothing in your wallet, you can't take advantage of another deal that comes along, no matter how good it is. And if your milk goes sour, well, that's it. You are only on the long (buy) side of the market.

Still many people keep all of their investment cash invested most of the time. A better, safer, strategy that will better adapt to the market winds that blow, particularly in today's volatile market, is to usually maintain a cash position for part of your portfolio. In other words, if one has $50,000 to invest, no matter how good the deal seems, only use $25,000 for the buy-in. Why? Well, here's the strategy: having 1/2 of your portfolio in cash (which is usually earning interest) puts you on both sides of the market, rather than just on one (the long) side. If, after your buy-in, in short-term day-to-day fluctuation, your stock goes up, you can take your profit on it, and your other $25,000 is safe (cash doesn't change value - much - in the short-term). However, if it goes down, but you still think it's a good buy in the moderate to long term, you are in a position, now, to get a better deal on it using the $25,000, or part thereof, that you kept in cash to buy more shares at the lower price. This gives you a lower average cost on your shares, and, mathematically, increases your probability of gain if the stock goes back up. The strategy is known as "averaging down". Although this strategy (halfing-in; keeping 1/2 your cash in reserve) wouldn't make as much if the stock went straight up right after you first bought it, this happens rarely - one seldom gets in at the absolute bottom; so this strategy often will maximize the probability of overall profit, and minimal losses, in usual markets.

Similarly, if an investment seems to be going sour, is near the bottom of its trading range, and one is worried that it may tank, but is uncertain about whether it's really a good time to get out; consider liquidating only half of the stock, converting it to portfolio cash. Again, this puts you on both sides of the market. If it continues down, and so, becomes a good deal (like when the truck had a few too many tomatoes on it for today's demand, and those veggies won't keep - the price goes down, but not for long), you can average down - buy back in there, and then, on a short-term uptick, maybe sell then and reduce your loss; conversely, if the stock goes up after your half-sale, you can then liquidate the other half; taking your profit (or minimizing your loss). Either way, by being on both sides of the market, you're prepared to better your position whichever way it goes. This is especially good strategy in volatile markets.

You can't control which way the market will go. That's always a gamble. But if you maintain some liquidity (cash)  in your portfolio, what you control is how much you bet, and when. This is enough to put the odds in your favour. Consider a card-counter in Vegas (these guys do so well, the casinos throw them out). He can't control which cards will come up, all he controls is how much he bets, and when. And that's enough to put the odds in his favour. If he bets his whole roll, though, he can't then "double-down". Being unable to do that reduces his odds of winning, so he doesn't do that. And if he were to bet it all and lose, he can't recover - he'd have to walk away from the table. That's how people lose money at blackjack, and in the stock market. In the market, keeping some chips in your pile (i.e. off the table play area) betters your probability of eventual gain.

Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Remember that history is the most sound indicator of what will happen under reasonably similar market conditions. Although it is not wholly an inferential measure, and somewhat new market conditions do evolve (although many are actually old conditions, with the details changed a little) what has happened to stocks (and sometimes, the whole market) in times of volatility; or when interest rates have gone up, or down; or taxes have gone up, or down; or at times of little change; are usually a pretty good indicator of what will happen in the future.

We have recently seen a major downturn of the entire market; there was one of those in '87, too (that, like the current phenomenon, was actually a "correction"); but the then market stabilized and went on to new heights in a strong, steady, uptrend. Within a relatively short time, about 3 years, investors had fully regained their lost ground; and their investments then saw new highs far surpassing their pre-'87 peaks. There was also a recession in the late 70s and early 80s. But that too, turned around. And when it did, the people who wisely and prudently invested then, when the market was down, made good money.

Don't forget your IRA or other retirement plan. When the market stabilizes (not quite yet - and it may be well to wait for the Fed's next interest rate announcement, under the new Obama administration - that could sharply affect the Dow, as well as bonds and bond funds) there will be some deals to be had. And at depressed prices, some stocks are paying dividend yields that are much better than one usually gets as interest. But a lot of people are short of the cash, to get these deals, right now. They may want to consider a self-directed IRA that lets the owner invest retirement assets in the market. Most stock brokers offer self-directed IRA accounts to which money in regular IRAs can be moved. For more info on setting up one, and what investments are allowable (most), a stock broker should be insulted.

All financial information presented herein is solely the opinion of the author, Adam Steele, Editor of Northern Herald, who is a Certified Public Accountant, but is not a Certified Financial Planner nor a Certified Financial Advisor, nor a Registered Investment Advisor, nor a stock broker. This is not a solicitation to buy or sell any shares or securities.

February 24, 2009

People, particularly investors, often wring their hands when the market is down sharply. But prudent investors know that's not how to look at it. Now, if Macy's had, the night before, hung out a big sign that said CLEARANCE - 50% OFF and then, this morning, opened its doors, one wouldn't wring their hands - they'd more likely be ecstatic and run to be among the first in line for the bargains. Monday's market close was that big sign. Tuesday morning's opening bell was like Macy's opening it's doors with that big sign up. And the sale, we expect, may last for a few days; still, The Chosen who want the best bargains won't tarry too much. The market has reached a low point in the trading range where it will likely settle (we forecasted settlement in the 7000s four months ago - see THE ECONOMY, above). It probably won't get any better than this. Although there will be other, later, buying opportunities, they may not be quite as sweet. For the best and richest deal, The Chosen will do well to position themselves right now (in keeping with prudent trading rules - see PLAYING TO WIN, above) for the market upturn and recovery. The full recovery will likely take three years, but that doesn't matter if one is making money hand over fist all along the way. Some roller-coastering of the Dow should also be expected, particularly in the short-term, and particularly if Bank of America has problems. But if one is in now, at what we perceive to be the ground floor, that won't matter that much either.

There are many bargains on the market now. We continue to expect great things from ConocoPhillips, as an investment. As of Monday, Feb. 23rd, Deutsche Bank joined other analysts in upgrading it's rating of Conoco (source: forbes.com), acknowledging that the company (ConocoPhillips) was well-leveraged to benefit from the (expected, per Deutsche Bank) coming summer upturn in oil prices. (In English: It has to do with Conoco's vast proven reserves, also as stated here, last November, in THE ECONOMY, above). And for those who get in at the current low stock price, they can lock in a generous current dividend (with the stock at $39.25, at close 2/24/09, it amounts to an annual yield of about 4.79%); much better than what most banks are paying. Of course, there is no guarantee that that dividend will continue; but even with their shares way down, Conoco officials recently expressed disfavour with the prospect of reducing (as many other firms have) the dividends paid to shareholders, and instead cut expenses in order to keep paying the same dividend. In our opinion, this reflects a sound management perspective. On paper, Conoco also shows what might be perceived as a red flag by their not having a P/E ratio, due to negative earnings on their last quarterly. But this must be taken in light of the fact that they just did a one-time write off of about $34 billion in noncash balance sheet assets, mostly goodwill that was being carried on the books. Obviously, this accounting adjustment, which, technically, produced a negative bottom line, did not affect cash flow and earnings from operations (i.e. real money things), which were otherwise positive. The company had turned in a record setting profit on their immediately previous (3rd quarter '08) quarterly, with earnings per share (EPS) at a whopping $11 and change (about 25% of the then share price); and with refinery revenues what they are now, we expect ConocoPhillips to turn in a very respectable 1st quarter '09 report, with positive EPS. This, combined with the likely upturn in crude prices this summer (which would appreciate Conoco's oil reserves), the underlying company security and assets, and the high dividend yield, make the current bargain-basement price of ConocoPhillips shares, in our opinion, a prime investment opportunity for both current income (i.e. the dividends) and moderate-term capital gain, with likely profitability in a much shorter time and greater magnitude than the overall market recovery, generally, would provide. It may be expected that the price of the ConocoPhillips shares could well languish, for a time, in its current low trading range (though probably not as low as it is now), beginning its substantial upward move by early to mid summer, following release of its 1st quarter '09 reports, and the anticipated rise in crude oil prices.

For those who are comfortable with options, there are some opportunities there too.

Be healthy, prosperous, and happy.    -- A. Steele, Editor

Consumer Corner updates
 

About Ray-O-Vac Rechargeable, And Other, Batteries

July 13th, 2009

Milliamp-hours (mAh) is the measure of the capacity of a rechargeable battery. In short, it's how long its charge will last. The Ray-O-Vac rechargeable (the AA size is marked as Ray-O-Vac's item no. NM-715-4OP). sells for about $6 for a pack of four. The price seems low. The catch: the Ray-O-Vac batteries' capacities in mAh is conspicuously missing from any of their packaging and labeling. On other brands, this is almost always shown - it's how one compares batteries. Here's why they might want to just leave it off, though: an inquiry to Ray-O-Vac disclosed that the battery's capacity is only 1400 mAh. A little more than half of the capacity of comparable brands.

Localnet.com "Losing" Customers' Email
Problems, also, with "BasicISP" and "Copper.net"

April 29th, 2009
updated May 3rd, 2009

Once an up and coming ISP, Northern Herald now recommends that localnet.com be avoided if possible. This ISP has recently had two server jam episodes within two months, where customers' emails have been severely delayed. In the first instance, customers' incoming emails (the ones they were receiving) were delayed up to several days. In the second, outgoing emails that have been sent (by Localnet customers) were delayed, and not reaching recipients. On inquiry during that jam, Localnet techs would not estimate when the sent emails would actually be processed by their server.

Additionally, previous research has disclosed that the Localnet technical staff have a tendency to be less than fully honest on inquiries about the severity of their server problems, have claimed that the same problems were being experienced by other ISPs when, in fact, an ISP cited by the Localnet tech (as also being down) was tested and found to be working fine; and generally try to "pass the buck", at times adamantly insisting that connection/transmission problems were caused by the customer's equipment (so not requiring action by Localnet) when, in fact, they were later proved to be on Localnet's end.

Further, Localnet uses a defective email filter, "uceprotect.net" to screen their customers' email. This is not a customer option that the customer can turn off; it is apparently done with all mail coming in to Localnet customer email accounts. Uceprotect is supposed to prevent spam outbreaks, but in fact it blocks a lot of ordinary non-spam email as well. Uceprotect operates by blacklisting entire ISP servers*, where some of that ISP's clients are suspected of sending spam. In plain English, even though an individual end user is not a spammer, if he is a Localnet customer, Uceprotect will block the legitimate email that he receives, if at some point it went through a server that Uceprotect has blacklisted. Legitimate email sent to the customer but blocked by Uceprotect is simply "lost". The customer cannot retrieve it. The sender gets a nondelivery message, but if they try to send it again, or send any inquiry to the Localnet customer, it will similarly be blocked by Uceprotect. The sender will then generally assume that your email address is non-working.

* The ISP (Internet Service Provider) is the dial-up or broadband service that you connect to, to send or receive email.
   Typically, an ISP has thousands of other customers whose emails go through the same server.

Spam is a nuisance for everyone. But other ISPs have found ways to deal with it that don't involve the wholesale blocking (including of legitimate email) that Uceprotect and Localnet do.

All in all, in our opinion, Localnet has shown itself to be undependable, and worse, not fully honest with its customers about it's technical problems; and, in short, with the plethora of Internet providers, Localnet is a headache most users don't need, and is not recommended.

A number of purported customer reviews of Localnet may be found at http://www.freedomlist.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14924&start=20
Northern Herald, however, has not corroborated those reviews and makes no statement as to their veracity or authenticity.

Also, the ISPs known as "BasicISP" and "Copper.net" (both are Ohio firms which list the same postal address and appear, for all practical purposes, to be the same firm) are not suitable alternatives. In testing, 1) BasicISP and Copper.net also blocked legitimate (non-spam) email from reaching the recipients, 2) they suspend accounts if, in their opinion, you send "too much" legitimate email (this can be as little as 10-20 pieces in a day), and 3) if your account is suspended erroneously shortly after opening it, and you terminate it for that reason or for other unsatisfactory service, they refuse to refund the "activation" fees paid.

Where to Go for Dependable Auto Service in Bemidji

April 2, 2009

For years, Northern Herald recommended The Auto Clinic as the place to get one's car fixed, honestly and dependably, in Bemidji. The quality of service there was due to their owner and lead mechanic, Doug Rudduck, a real, old-style mechanic who actually knows your engine, does all of the stuff that it needs (including the small stuff like checking vacuum lines, connections, etc., that otherwise might go unnoticed), and none of the expensive stuff that it doesn't need.

Then The Auto Clinic closed. There are other shops in town who are highly recommended for specialized parts of the car: for radiators, it's Scott's Radiator; for trannies, it's National Transmission; for exhaust, Kilde's Auto & Exhaust Center is absolutely the place. But for general repair - tune-ups, engine work, electrical, brakes, etc. - a motorist in Bemidji didn't really know where to go.

Now, Mr. Rudduck is back! Motorists will find him at Dondelinger's Service Dept. still doing the same good auto and truck service as before, but with more space and a better-equipped facility to better serve customers' auto service needs. And the rates are about the same as at many other, non-dealership, shops.

Doug Rudduck remains an NH recommended auto serviceman. People wanting quality, honest, auto service that fixes the problem without making new ones, can make an appointment by calling Dondelinger's (when making the appointment, one has to ask specifically to have Mr. Rudduck work on the car) at 218-751-1220

March 12, 2009

***** Green Mill, Bemidji, Sunday Buffet Brunch every Sunday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., at the Green Mill Restaurant located at the Hampton Inn, 1025 Paul Bunyan Dr. S., Bemidji.

Great food, great motif, great price. Can't ask for more.

This is a real deal on a great five-star AYCE brunch buffet. Very excellent food and lots of it. Excellent eggs & links, potatoes, biscuits & gravy, a long line of all the other breakfast stuff, outstanding bread pudding, made-to-order crepes; then go back for great lunch stuff including Caesar salad, hand-carved roast beef & ham, many other entrees, decadent desserts and, really, way more than we can list here - you just gotta see this line! It's a set up that, in The Cities, we'd have expected to pay $15.99 apiece for. But for a limited time, you can get this buffet in Bemidji for two for $11.99 total (plus tax) or less.

Great ambiance, too. Dine at lakeside either indoors, by their big waterfront windows, or outdoors, weather permitting.

The regular price of $11.99-adults, $9.99-seniors, and $7.99-kids 3-12 (under 3 are free) includes your choice of non-alcoholic beverage. That can save a couple of dollars right there.

But, better still, until the end of April, you can use a 2-for-1 coupon and get 2 brunches for $11.99 (plus tax) or less. This is a deal.

The coupon, good 'til 4/30/09, is in the current Best of Bemidji mailer (it's that one, with the coupons in it, that always has the kid on the front - you'd think that in all of the Northland they'd find something more aesthetic than a kid to put on the front cover).

For those who don't have the Best of Bemidji mailer, a downloadable coupon is available.
The coupon says "No photocopies please.", but Green Mill management said that one coupon that you print out on your home computer is OK and will be honoured.

So try it, and let's make this depression all that it can be!

Remember your waitress. When any coupon is used, anywhere, tipping should be based on what the regular (i.e. without coupon) cost of the meal would have been.

February 12, 2009

Owing to a President and Congress that listened to America, for a change, the Digital Television conversion mandate has been pushed back to June. It's a fortunate thing. Here in the Northland, if one is going to be fuddling with antenna on his roof, June is a better time to do it than February. But some stations have already converted to digital, and some plan to do it well before the June deadline, so for those who don't use cable or satellite TV, converter boxes are needed to keep all of one's channels.

Last summer, (issue of 6/16/08) Northern Herald alerted readers that the DTV conversion could render VCR recording obsolete. That's because timed VCR recording often requires changing the channel to the one the user wishes to record, something the DTV converter boxes just didn't do. Since release of that article, however, 4 new products have come on to the market that do that. They are the Echostar TR-40CRA, DTVPal Plus, Zinwell ZAT-970A, and Zinwell ZAT-950A. Curiously, the Zinwell ZAT-950A is the later model of the two Zinwells, and Internet reviews indicate that its only major difference from the 970A is that the 950A has better tuning capabilities to better "lock in" the channel. Likewise, the primary difference between the TR-40 and the DTVPal Plus (both marketed by Dish Network) is enhanced tuning in the DTVPal Plus.

The TR-40CRA sells for about $40 ($0 after coupon) plus shipping; the other 3 sell for about $60 ($20 after coupon) plus shipping (about $10).

Comparison (from our independent testing; and also from published manufacturer's claims, and consumer reviews):

Timers: All four products have "event timers", to change the channel for VCR recording. The TR-40 and DTVPal Plus have only 5 timer settings. The Zinwells have 8 timer settings, which is compatible with the number of timed recording slots most VCRs allow. This would tend to make the Zinwells the items of choice for people who like to automatically record a lot of their TV programs for viewing at their convenience. (Note: to watch one program while recording another, you need two converter boxes, but only one of them needs to have an events timer.) But the Zinwell timer design has a few rough areas - see "Ease of use and functionality", below.

Program Guide: The Zinwells, however, have only a basic (what's on now, and on next) program guide; the TR-40 and DTVPal Plus have up to a 7-day guide, which has been said to be the best in the business.

Picture & Sound Quality: In other reviews, all four units are said to have acceptable (better than analog) picture and sound quality. In short-term independent testing, Northern Herald  found the Zinwell ZAT-950A to offer excellent audio and video quality for viewing; and excellent video and very acceptable audio for recording. When installing the Zinwell, if coaxial (antenna-type, also known as "RF") cables are used to connect to the antenna and TV or VCR, it is very important to, using the "menu" function of the remote control, enter the Zinwell's Setupmenu, and change the audio setting from "Line" (the default setting) to "RF". When recording, the Zinwell may produce a low-level hiss (even when recording shows that don't have snakes in them) in the sound portion of the recording, but if the audio is properly set to "RF", it is not generally bothersome. At our test site in Bemidji, use of the Zinwell did not require an outdoor antenna for any of the present digital channels - the usual Ears of a Rabbit worked fine to produce a clear and sharp picture. We noticed that the Zinwell is susceptible to interference (which produces video "noise" on the TV screen) either from other electronic devices, wiring, etc., depending on the location of the converter box. Moving it a few inches corrected this. If one has diagonal lines on their TV, or other video noise, the first fix that should be tried is just to move the converter box.

Ease of use and functionality: With the overall digital conversion postponed to June, 2009, and even then, because lower-power "translator" stations are not required to convert, timed VCR recording generally will require access to both digital stations, and those which remain analog (non-digital). It is therefore important that the converter box offer "analog pass-through"; all four of the products reviewed here offer this. We have not independently tested the ease of timed (VCR) analog access in the TR-40 and DTVPal Plus, and persons thinking of buying these units may want inquire on this detail, as it is important to efficient timed recording of programs. In the Zinwell ZAT-950A, pre-setting the change from digital to analog reception, for timed VCR recording of the analog channel, can usually be achieved; but it is clumsy and not at all user-friendly.

Specifically, the Zinwell allows analog reception only when the converter box is turned off. So timed analog recording involves configuring the Zinwell's "sleep timer" in conjunction with one's VCR timer settings for that day, so that the Zinwell turns itself off (goes into "sleep mode") at the appropriate time, allowing analog reception to flow to the VCR. But the sleep timer doesn't accept a time certain to turn the unit off. It only allows settings, to enter sleep mode, either never, or 1, 2, 4, or 8 hours from when the unit was turned on (either manually, or by a timer setting), or from the last time a remote control button was pressed, if later. Although there may be up to eight program timer settings, there is only one sleep timer setting, which will be in effect until it is manually reset. Again, although for many VCR-recording situations, the proper configuration can be done to achieve the desired result, it is prone to error or accident (like using the remote, which would change the "sleep" time - i.e. the time when reception would change from digital to analog), and we would guess that many users will be unable to figure out how to use this function in all instances. A user who has trouble just programming their VCR would be totally befuddled by this configuration which involves coordinating 3 different timers, (1) the VCR's timer, (2) the Zinwell's "program timer", and (3) the Zinwell's "sleep timer". Of course, this is only necessary when using the Zinwell unit with a VCR, recording both digital and analog channels.

Another VCR functionality issue with the Zinwell is that the Zinwell's program timer (the timer that sets the converter box to the proper channel to record) selections are once, daily, weekly, or monthly. Unlike most VCRs, it doesn't allow a weekday or "daily M-F" setting. Most programs that people record daily, are, in fact, M-F; by not having this option available, the daily (i.e. 7-day) timer settings may conflict with the different settings for Sat. & Sun. The workaround to this involves disabling the daily settings each Friday night or Saturday morning, and reenabling them each Sunday night or Monday morning. Not too hard, but certainly more hassle than just programming a weekly routine into a VCR and leaving it there. Again, this feature, as it exists on the TR-40 and DTVPal Plus, has not been evaluated, and may be a proper subject for consumer inquiry before purchasing.

Sources and availability: The rush to use coupons before the short expiration period (thank the Bush Administration, his FCC, and the last Congress) has created sort of a haven and captive market for vendors of the DTV boxes, and it shows in the lack of customer service they offer. The current logjam to order boxes, before coupons expire and with some stations already digital, is also a factor and may cause ordering delays and difficulties.

Although a few "brick and mortar" retail stores across the country sometimes have a few (not nearly enough, and they're soon gone) units, for most people, it will be necessary to buy them on the Internet. The Echostar and DTVPal products are sold by Dish Network. And Internet blog and review sites are loaded with complaints from people who have had problems with the units (including the original DTV Pal, which they no longer offer) and dealings with Dish Network on them. To get an Echostar TR-40 ($40 as of this writing) or DTVPal Plus ($69.99) from Dish Network, go to http://www.dtvpal.com

The Zinwells are available from an Internet presence doing business as Solid Signal who give their address as being in Novi, Michigan, although they don't appear to have a walk-in location. They also sell the TR-40 for $44.99, and the DTVPal Plus for $59.99 (about $10 less than Dish Network). Solid Signal also offers a site where the products can be compared, http://www.solidsignal.com/dtv200 9/compare/digital/converter/boxes/ and from which the desired box can be purchased on the net. Their ordering site does not always work exactly right though. Their site has a phone number, which gives the illusion that one can place their order with a person, but it turns out to just be an answering system which puts the customer on hold for about 10 minutes and then takes a message. Although their recording says that they return calls within an hour, this is pretty much a joke, and certainly is a lie. They seem to return calls by the next day though. To their credit, in our test scenario, where a unit was ordered from the net and their site did not operate properly to get the correct order info, a representative of Solid Signal did call the next day to clear it up; and their shipping was very prompt. The unit, ordered on Monday, with shipping info clarified by Tuesday, was delivered by FedEx ground service that Friday. Faster shipping is offered at a premium. People who want to order, but don't have Internet can call Solid Signal at 1-866-374-4625; be prepared to leave a message.

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Post Publication Note: See the consumer alert on the Zinwell in "Things That Just Don't Work" of 03/06/10, elsewhere on this page.
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At this point, a person might not really want to deal with any of the vendors, but with the digital conversion approaching, and coupons expiring, they may not have much of a choice, so we list these two. Caveat Emptor. The "brick and mortar" retailers, if they have boxes at all, offer little selection and probably won't have the one you want. (Again, thank Bush, his FCC, and the previous Congress for creating this mess by fasttracking a change that was poorly thought out, mismanaged, and would require far more time in order to avoid shafting the consumers and taxpayers; and thank Obama and the current Congress for trying to straighten it out and giving us a little more time to adapt to it).

February 12th, 2009

Yep, the jury's still out on his singing, but most agree that Jimmy Dean found his niche when he began making sausage. Over the years, Jimmy Dean has become recognized as the premium sausage - the benchmark. Everyone likes sausage, but sometimes it contains flavourings and additives that a lot of people don't want in what they eat. Now, Jimmy has introduced his new All Natural product which claims to be minimally processed, and without artificial additives.

Mr. Dean is now part of Miss Lee's (Sara) corporation. He must have serenaded her on guitar or something. Contacted at their headquarters, one of Miss Lee's representatives has confirmed that Jimmy's new All Natural Sausage contains no MSG.

Jimmy Dean's new All Natural Sausage may be found at Bemidji's Wal-Mart - about $2.99, sometimes less, for a full 16 oz. pound roll.

November 30, 2008

The big holiday turkey is always a big part of the festive day. But if it makes you sick, it's no fun, and can ruin the occasion for all.

If you developed a headache, sickly feeling, or other malaise, after (i.e. within a few hours, or the next day) eating any brand of turkey containing a "solution" (this is in most commercially sold turkeys, and is generally shown on the label in smaller print), please note the brand of the turkey, and where you bought it, if known; and contact this newspaper immediately at 218-759-1162, or email: editor@nothernherald.com

Identities of persons responding will be kept confidential. Investigation results, if definitive, will be reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

This concludes today's For The Chosen. Go forth, be prosperous, and always remember Bemidji's Golden Rule: