SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - NOVEMBER 20, 2016
“PIPELINE PROTESTERS may have a tight grip on media coverage of the pipeline, but they have a demonstrably loose grip on the facts.” -- Shawn McCoy, Publisher of InsideSources. McCoy continued, “The truth — as documented not by the company but by the federal court system—is that pipeline approvals were not rushed, permits were not granted illegally, and tribal leaders were not excluded. These are facts upheld by two federal courts.”
MAKING IT EXPENSIVE A video prepared by DAPL protestors said “the goal of their actions was to delay construction, raising the cost for the pipeline's developer, Energy Transfer partners, in an effort to get them to abandon the project.” A parallel goal is to cause unacceptable costs to local government for controlling the protests.
POLITICAL INTERFERENCE “The Army has determined that additional discussion and analysis are warranted in light of the history of the Great Sioux Nation’s dispossessions of lands . . .” -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced further delay in a pipeline decision. Columnist Rob Port said “what we’ve learned now the decision was to make no decision at all.” He characterized the action as “blatant political obstruction” by the Obama administration.
OIL PRODUCTION in ND is dropping about one percent a month. The state’s Director of Mineral Resources says production is trending toward 900,000 barrels a day by mid-2017. He said uncertainty about the DAC pipeline may be a factor -- the pipeline could cut oil transportation costs in half.
ELECTION DISASTER The Democrats’ election losses in ND reached historic proportions. Columnist Mike Jacobs tried to explain -- it wasn’t easy, the explanations were complicated and multi-faceted. Most Democratic candidates fell below the statewide proportion of hardcore Democrats, and the Democratic candidates for governor and U.S. senator received less than 20 percent of the vote. Jacobs views the election as part of the diminishment of the Democratic party in ND.
GRIEF COUNSELING “Victim protection campaigns . . . may actually cause the problems they are designed to solve.” -- NDSU psychology professor Clay Routeledge. He said it might be healthier for students to just learn how to deal with things that challenge or offend them. The professor’s comments were made in the context of a decision by NDSU to provide counseling to students aggrieved by the outcome of the presidential election.
SOCIAL OUTCASTS SPEAK UP “They don't know what it's like to be social outcasts.” -- A transgender woman and doctoral student in psychology at NDSU. She indicated she spent the better part of last week “comforting, crying with, and encouraging our student population.” She said she had been contacted by “over 30 ethnic, gender and sexual minority” students. This was the tone of several letters to the Forum defending NDSU’s grief counseling.
DEMS SWING LEFT Some Democrats believe the lesson of their election failure was that their party was not far enough to the left. To remedy that, Democrats are proposing U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota for head of the Democratic National Committee. Ellison, who is black and Muslim, was a Bernie Sanders supporter. A Pioneer Press headline read “Might Minnesota’s Rep. Ellison lead the Democrats out of despair.”
IMMIGRATION has mixed benefits according to a National Academies of Science report. Despite some benefits, immigrants are a fiscal drain -- Minnesota has an annual immigration deficit of $1.7 billion, mostly attributable to an influx of Somalis who have high unemployment rates. The report also indicated that ethnic diversity weakens “social capital,” i.e., the ability of citizens to trust each other.
POSITIVE NEWS Minnesota Somalis are often portrayed as troublesome and controversial in national media. Stabbings in a St. Cloud mall and terrorism ties are examples of negative references. Recently, Donald Trump called Somali resettlement in Minnesota a “disaster.” Minneapolis elections, however, provided a positive example. The Wall Street Journal reported Ilhand Omar, a 33-year-old Somali immigrant, was elected to the Minnesota Legislature. The article described her as a “rising star” who is one of the first Muslim women to hold elected office in the U.S.
DIFFERENT OUTCOMES There is little correlation between average salaries and cost to attend ND colleges. An IRS study indicates that 10 years after attendance students from the ND State School of Science earn an average of $41,000, while those from Mayville State earn $36,000. The annual cost of attendance at NDSSS is $11,000, while Mayville is $12,000.
PULITZER PRIZES have been awarded three times to ND newspapers: 1938 -- Bismarck Tribune, dust bowl; 1957 -- Fargo Forum, tornado; and 1998 -- GF Herald, 1997 flood. Disaster is the common denominator. The Pulitzer Prize celebrates its 100th year.
TRINITY HEALTH IN MINOT is planning a $275 million project believed to be one of the largest in Minot’s history. The project is expected to be completed in 2019 and includes a six-story hospital and clinic building.
DAKTOIDS NDSU President Dean Bresciani told the school to prepare for further budget cuts as much as 15 percent -- that would be on top of the 10 percent cuts already taken . . . UND is football champion of the Big Sky Conference; NDSU can earn a share of the Missouri Valley Conference football title . . . The risk of earthquakes in ND from disposal of waste saltwater from oil production is rated very low . . . Over 450 DAPL demonstrators have been arrested -- columnist Rob Port says only 1-of-5 are from the Dakotas.
MAKING IT EXPENSIVE A video prepared by DAPL protestors said “the goal of their actions was to delay construction, raising the cost for the pipeline's developer, Energy Transfer partners, in an effort to get them to abandon the project.” A parallel goal is to cause unacceptable costs to local government for controlling the protests.
POLITICAL INTERFERENCE “The Army has determined that additional discussion and analysis are warranted in light of the history of the Great Sioux Nation’s dispossessions of lands . . .” -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced further delay in a pipeline decision. Columnist Rob Port said “what we’ve learned now the decision was to make no decision at all.” He characterized the action as “blatant political obstruction” by the Obama administration.
OIL PRODUCTION in ND is dropping about one percent a month. The state’s Director of Mineral Resources says production is trending toward 900,000 barrels a day by mid-2017. He said uncertainty about the DAC pipeline may be a factor -- the pipeline could cut oil transportation costs in half.
ELECTION DISASTER The Democrats’ election losses in ND reached historic proportions. Columnist Mike Jacobs tried to explain -- it wasn’t easy, the explanations were complicated and multi-faceted. Most Democratic candidates fell below the statewide proportion of hardcore Democrats, and the Democratic candidates for governor and U.S. senator received less than 20 percent of the vote. Jacobs views the election as part of the diminishment of the Democratic party in ND.
GRIEF COUNSELING “Victim protection campaigns . . . may actually cause the problems they are designed to solve.” -- NDSU psychology professor Clay Routeledge. He said it might be healthier for students to just learn how to deal with things that challenge or offend them. The professor’s comments were made in the context of a decision by NDSU to provide counseling to students aggrieved by the outcome of the presidential election.
SOCIAL OUTCASTS SPEAK UP “They don't know what it's like to be social outcasts.” -- A transgender woman and doctoral student in psychology at NDSU. She indicated she spent the better part of last week “comforting, crying with, and encouraging our student population.” She said she had been contacted by “over 30 ethnic, gender and sexual minority” students. This was the tone of several letters to the Forum defending NDSU’s grief counseling.
DEMS SWING LEFT Some Democrats believe the lesson of their election failure was that their party was not far enough to the left. To remedy that, Democrats are proposing U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota for head of the Democratic National Committee. Ellison, who is black and Muslim, was a Bernie Sanders supporter. A Pioneer Press headline read “Might Minnesota’s Rep. Ellison lead the Democrats out of despair.”
IMMIGRATION has mixed benefits according to a National Academies of Science report. Despite some benefits, immigrants are a fiscal drain -- Minnesota has an annual immigration deficit of $1.7 billion, mostly attributable to an influx of Somalis who have high unemployment rates. The report also indicated that ethnic diversity weakens “social capital,” i.e., the ability of citizens to trust each other.
POSITIVE NEWS Minnesota Somalis are often portrayed as troublesome and controversial in national media. Stabbings in a St. Cloud mall and terrorism ties are examples of negative references. Recently, Donald Trump called Somali resettlement in Minnesota a “disaster.” Minneapolis elections, however, provided a positive example. The Wall Street Journal reported Ilhand Omar, a 33-year-old Somali immigrant, was elected to the Minnesota Legislature. The article described her as a “rising star” who is one of the first Muslim women to hold elected office in the U.S.
DIFFERENT OUTCOMES There is little correlation between average salaries and cost to attend ND colleges. An IRS study indicates that 10 years after attendance students from the ND State School of Science earn an average of $41,000, while those from Mayville State earn $36,000. The annual cost of attendance at NDSSS is $11,000, while Mayville is $12,000.
PULITZER PRIZES have been awarded three times to ND newspapers: 1938 -- Bismarck Tribune, dust bowl; 1957 -- Fargo Forum, tornado; and 1998 -- GF Herald, 1997 flood. Disaster is the common denominator. The Pulitzer Prize celebrates its 100th year.
TRINITY HEALTH IN MINOT is planning a $275 million project believed to be one of the largest in Minot’s history. The project is expected to be completed in 2019 and includes a six-story hospital and clinic building.
DAKTOIDS NDSU President Dean Bresciani told the school to prepare for further budget cuts as much as 15 percent -- that would be on top of the 10 percent cuts already taken . . . UND is football champion of the Big Sky Conference; NDSU can earn a share of the Missouri Valley Conference football title . . . The risk of earthquakes in ND from disposal of waste saltwater from oil production is rated very low . . . Over 450 DAPL demonstrators have been arrested -- columnist Rob Port says only 1-of-5 are from the Dakotas.
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