The Der Spiegel journalist who messed with the wrong small town (in Minnesota)

This week, the star reporter of the German magazine Der Spiegelwas fired after it was revealed that he had been fabricating stories for several years. Here, Michele Anderson and Jake Krohn expose the many inaccuracies in his article about their town, Fergus Falls, Minn.

In February 2017, my husband and I attended a concert at our local theater, and were sipping some wine in the lobby before the show started. Several people came up to us at separate times excitedly, and asked, ‘did you meet the German guy yet?!’

I hadn’t, but my spider senses perked up when I heard that he worked for Der Spiegel, a magazine based in Hamburg, and that he was writing about the state of rural America in the wake of Trump’s presidency.

I know I’m not the only rural advocate and citizen that is wary about the anthropological gaze on rural America in the wake of the 2016 elections, and has struggled with how or whether to respond to the sudden attention and questions, when before we really didn’t matter to mass media at all.

Suddenly we do matter, but only because everyone wants to be the hero pundit that cracks the code of the current rural psyche. There are only two things those writers seem to have concluded or are able to pitch to their editors  —  we are either backwards, living in the past and have our heads up our asses, or we’re like dumb, endearing animals that just need a little attention in order to keep us from eating the rest of the world alive.

continue at Medium

It's a long read but it perfectly encapsulates the current political climate in the US and Europe.

Atheists force Minnesota town to pull Nativity scene: residents’ response is epic

WADENA, Minnesota, December 16, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – After an atheist group forced one Minnesota city to take down its Nativity scene, residents took matters into their own hands, blanketing the town with nativity scenes in response...hundreds of them.

Wadena officials were forced to take down a Christmas display by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), which threatened to sue the city. After forty years of displaying the Nativity scene, Wadena officials sold the figures to the Wadena Ministerial Association for $25, who displayed it on private property.

The Catholic League's Bill Donohue commented, "It is entirely legal to put a manger scene on public property, as long as it is privately paid for and it is a public forum, i.e., an area that is open to art displays, concerts, rallies, and the like."

continue at LifeSite

MN Polar Plunge raises funds for pregnancy center

This Saturday, February 22, I will be doing a Winter Plunge to raise money for the Lakes Life Care Center in Forest Lake, Minnesota. This is different for me. Years ago, I ran a triathlon to raise money for another pregnancy center – and I realized that I am really not good at triathlons. But maybe I can handle freezing for a good cause. Jump in. Jump out!

I was asked by the director of this pregnancy resource center, Jill Wagner, to join her team. Jill is an old friend of mine. Actually, she’s the friend who tried to help me by driving me to my abortion appointment 23 years ago. As my roommate, she witnessed my desperation and my fear and offered me a ride to the abortion mill and spent her entire day there waiting for me. And that changed her. That is her story. She is now passionately pro-life and saves the lives of mommies and their babies from abortion every single day.

- See more at: http://www.jillstanek.com/2014/02/polar-bear-plunge-pregnancy-center-profits/#sthash.veOWDgTs.dpuf

MN Rep. Bachmann giving keynote at March for Life dinner in DC

We are very pleased to announce that Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (MN-6) will be the keynote speaker at the 2011 Rose Dinner. The event will be held on January 24, 2011 in the Regency Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001. The social hour will begin at 6:00 PM, followed by the Opening Prayer and Dinner at 7:00 PM.

Congresswoman Bachmann has distinguished herself as a pro-life leader in Congress, as attested to by her rating of 0 from the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL). First elected in 2006, Congresswoman Bachmann has developed a reputation as a "principled reformer" who stays true to her conservative beliefs while pushing for real reform of the broken ways of Washington.

Congresswoman Bachmann is a graduate of Anoka High School and Winona State University. Bachmann and her husband, Marcus, live in Stillwater where they own a small business mental health care practice that employs 42 people. The Bachmanns have five children, Lucas, Harrison, Elisa, Caroline, and Sophia. In addition, the Bachmanns have opened their home to 23 foster children, which has inspired Congresswoman Bachmann to become one of Congress’ leading advocates for foster and adopted children, earning her bipartisan praise for her efforts.

March for Life
She is the first Republican woman to represent MN in Congress.  She's Lutheran, but it would seem her star is rising.... maybe enough to challenge a certain fruitloop who could barely get elected despite Obama taking the state convincingly. 

Photo

Stanek: About that couple taking votes whether to abort…

You may have heard of the Minnesota couple whom are putting up to a vote if they abort their child.  Jill Stanek thinks it is a publicity stunt.

I got a heads up about the blog BirthorNot.com about a month ago.

A pregnant married couple is taking votes whether to abort their baby boy or carry him to term.

The last day of the pregnancy they say they can  legally abort in their home state of Minnesota is December 9, a day before the baby is 20 weeks old. And, they say, they will go however the final vote tally goes.

Although the posts appeared plausible when I perused them, the concept had “scam” written all over it. So I didn’t buy in. My thought was the couple was trying to punk pro-lifers.

Read the details at her website

Minnesota... next Somolia?

I know law enforcement has had many problems with Somalis.  The drug talked about in this article turns their tongue green and that's how cops check to see if they've been using.  ... I'm not sure I agree with the attack on Target but it is a problem and I never hear talked about in Minnesota.  Remember, this is the state that gave the US Walter Mondale.  There's no telling what kind of measures they will take.  Hopefully better than Europeans. 

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, Duluth, MN

jgardner @ Flickr

From belltower

damiendude @ Flickr

Looks like the former Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart(located in the heart of Duluth) was turned into a concert hall.  uhhhhg!   UUUUUHHHHHG!

The new cathedral is not horrible, although incredibly bland.  For example, look at the stained glass in the sanctuary.  Umm, I think I saw that same pattern on carpet in the 70s.  And white washed walls?  ..........zzzzzZZZZZZzzz....  oh sorry I fell asleep staring at them.  The good news is that it was build in a way that a minor renovation could vastly enhance its beauty.  As the episcopacy is recovered(as it has in Duluth), so will our cathedrals.

Chicago seminarian bikes through Wisconsin and Minnesota

These last couple days have been quite an adventure. Yesterday, we woke to a major rainstorm pelting our host church in La Crosse, WI.
...
We finally arrived at our host church yesterday in Pepin, WI and, to my great joy, I found fellow seminarian Dan Thelen (Class of 2015, Diocese of La Crosse, WI) waiting for me on the steps.
...
A few days off the bike really won't help the situation and would only prevent me from reaching my goal of cycling all the way across the country. 
...
[In St Paul]I suppose my favorite part about this area is not one, but TWO Catholic cathedrals (one of them is a basilica)! I haven't had time to visit either one yet, but they are enormous from the outside and tower over the whole city. It is obvious that the Catholic presence here is significant, a fact that brings me great joy.

The whole story at Onward to Holiness

Shakeup ahead for Twin Cities Catholics

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis soon will undergo the largest reorganization in its history as it deals with tight budgets, fewer priests and shifting demographics.

Catholic parishes metrowide await details of the plan, which aims to restructure the archdiocese's churches and schools.

Recommendations could include merging, clustering or closing parishes. Also affected will be the archdiocese's schools. In addition, the plan aims to create efficiencies, like consolidating office work among clusters of parishes and looking for other ways to improve business practices.

The report, completed late last month, will be unveiled this fall if Archbishop John Nienstedt approves it. The changes are expected to begin after January 2011.

"It's a monumental effort and occasion," said Dennis McGrath, archdiocese spokesman. The archbishop "wants to make sure that he gets it absolutely right."

Similar restructuring efforts have taken place across the nation. Catholic archdioceses in Detroit, Buffalo, N.Y., and Chicago have reorganized their churches and schools, or their central offices, or both.

The Archdiocese of Detroit tackled both, said spokesman Ned McGrath. The two McGraths are not related.

As part of a five-year plan, Detroit's Catholic parishes and schools evaluated themselves and decided whether closures, clustering or mergers were needed. The central-services division eliminated 77 positions, and five newspaper jobs, through a separate reorganization plan.

Whole article from Pioneer Press 

More from The Catholic Spirit

Several bishops with ties to St Thomas University

Bishop Blase Cupich, a 1971 St. Thomas alumnus who since 1998 has been bishop of Rapid City, S.D., last week was named bishop of the Diocese of Spokane, Wash.
Cupich joins a list of at least seven other men named bishops in recent years who have St. Thomas and St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity ties.

• Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis, a 1966 St. Paul Seminary alumnus
• Bishop Peter Christensen of Superior, Wis., a 1981 St. Thomas alumnus
• Bishop Arthur Kennedy, a former St. Thomas faculty member
• Bishop John Kinney of St. Cloud, a 1963 St. Paul Seminary alumnus
• Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines, a 1965 St. Paul Seminary alumnus
• Bishop Lee Piché of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, a 1980 St. Thomas and a 1984 St. Paul Seminary alumnus who is a member of the St. Thomas Board of Trustees
• Bishop Paul Sirba of Duluth, a 1982 St. Thomas alumnus.

University of St Thomas bulletin

MN "journalist" John Townsend outs gay pastor because of his religious beliefs

Lavender Magazine, in one of its rare moments of political investigative reporting, outed the Rev.Tom Brock, a Lutheran with a penchant for slamming gays and lesbians. It turns out, Brock had been attending Courage, a Catholic support group for gays and lesbians who want to be straight. But critics say Lavender violated the group’s confidentiality in writing the article, prompting some to call the ethics employed by the magazine and its reporter, John Townsend, “suspect.”

MinnPost’s David Brauer spoke with Stephen Rocheford, president of Lavender who admitted sending Townsend into the confidential Courage meeting undercover. The magazine also admitted that it knew the meeting was confidential, but published statements from the meeting anyway. 

Rocheford defended his article.

“I personally, and Lavender Magazine as a matter of policy, do not believe in outing anyone.[hmm, seems to me there must be some exception] People are allowed to be crazy and dysfunctional in their lives. There’s one exception: a public figure who says one thing and does another. This is not the first homosexual minister who denounces homosexuality in public and engages in it in private.” 

Read the whole article at The Colu.MN

So who decides who gets outed and who doesn't, the Lavender Magazine Magisterium? Maybe setup some groups and hunt them down like witches. That will make the world a better place; out everybody you hate.  A pastor finds that acting out on his homosexual desires leaves him empty and broken. Tragically, if he is not lying to people by supporting that lifestyle politically and spiritually, those who make themselves his enemies will seek and destroy. 

HT StellaBorealis

Abortion vending machines used in IA and WI coming soon to MN

For a little background.

Now that we know what we're looking for, and particularly given PP of Greater IA's Spring 2009 newsletter stating, "The telemedicine technology has expanded access to women from Iowa and bordering states," a 2009 report rementioned on PP of MN, ND, and SD's blog on June 9 is ominous. It's 2009 Rural Women's Health Report is chock full of telemed buzz phrases. Following is a snippet. On guard, MN pro-lifers:

The obstacles faced by health care providers and patients in rural areas are vastly different from those in urban areas. Economic factors... and the isolation of living in remote areas all impact rural residents' ability to lead a healthy life.

JillStanek

Aahhh, our tax dollars hard at work!

Silent No More Minnesota unveils new billboard

Today Silent No More Minnesota, whose mission is to reach out to those wounded by abortion, unveiled a new billboard, scheduled for launch July 1 for 3 months on I94 in Albertville, MN....

Timing and location were chosen to take advantage of heavy summer Interstate traffic at a site near MN's largest outlet shopping mall, which is in Albertville.

The billboard, which reads, "Abortion Hurts, There is Hope and Healing," will be the 1st of its kind in MN.

SNM MN president Ann Marie Cosgrove stated in a press release that the billboard has multiple purposes: to bring awareness to those hurting from abortion, especially the unchurched, who may not ever hear a message of hope and healing; to educate the public that abortion causes pain, which also gives the abortion vulnerable pause to reconsider; and to soften hearts of those who think poorly of post-abortive mothers.

Ann Marie would love to keep the billboard up an additional 3 months for those who find their summer flings produced more than fond memories and for college students trekking to and from school. It only takes money. Donate online or by snail mail to Silent No More MN, P. O. Box 68125 Minneapolis, MN 55418.

JillStanek

MN waking up to smell the $$$ in the abortion industry

Got this forwarded to me by some family. Rep Steve Drazkowski serves SE Minnesota.  I hope Wisconsin wises up and follows suit. 

Hello from St. Paul,

Many of you might be surprised to learn that aborted fetal cells are
being used in certain vaccinations.  More of you might be surprised to
discover that some experts now believe those vaccinations with human DNA
could be linked to autism.

Recently, Theresa Deisher, Ph.D., an internationally renowned expert in
the field of adult stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine, came
to the State Capitol to explain her findings.  She’s discovered that
epidemic regressive autism is associated with the switch from using
animal cells to aborted human fetal cells in vaccination production.

According to Dr. Deisher, studies show that there is an environmental
component, or trigger, that is required for autism and autism spectrum
disorder to occur.  Vaccines are an obvious environmental component, but
while products containing mercury have mostly been ruled out as an
autism trigger, vaccines containing aborted fetal cells cannot be ruled
out because they’ve never been tested for safety.

Dr. Deisher notes that more than 20 vaccines contain aborted fetal
cells, and there is no law requiring that consumers be informed of this,
despite the obvious moral ramifications many Americans would have using
these vaccinations.

Because of this, I am co-authoring legislation with a large bipartisan
group of lawmakers that would require product labeling of stem
cell-based vaccines and patient consent before these human DNA vaccines
are administered to them.

According to the legislation, any vaccines using human DNA must be
clearly labeled as “derived from or manufactured using electively
aborted human fetal or embryonic tissue,” and that they shall not be
administered to a patient without written, informed consent.

Let me be clear: This legislation is not being offered to scare people
from receiving vaccinations.  But it’s unbelievable to me that our
country has ignored what could potentially be a significant health risk
with aborted fetal DNA vaccines.  As the push to use more stem cell
vaccines increases, we can no longer afford to simply hope the
injections aren’t a trigger for autism.

Further, there are many pro-life residents from our area that would be
appalled knowing they’re allowing a vaccine containing aborted fetal
matter to be injected into their toddler – particularly when other
vaccination alternatives may be available. [Damn right!]

With medical studies now suggesting that human DNA vaccines could have
unforeseen consequences, patients should be aware if they’re being
injected with a product containing aborted fetal cells.  Developmental
disorders are no laughing matter, and until we receive definitive
answers regarding these vaccines, the public should be aware of the
potential risks.

Besides, there’s nothing wrong with a patient having access to all
available information before making a medical decision, especially when
it involves a specific vaccine that may have some negative long-term
impacts.

Steve Drazkowski
MN State Representative

Horrified, we found out one of our sons had been given an abortion vaccine(obviously we parents were not notified).  Found additional information on which vaccines used aborted children.