Sandra Masin's Blog

The 68th Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Legislative Conference is taking place in St. Paul this week from July 14-17.  This conference is centered around eleven midwestern states and four Canadian provinces.

The keynote speaker was Jonathan Haidt, a man who has been doing a lot of work on what causes us to disagree and he provides suggestions on what we can do to repair the divisions that are causing friction in our society and our legislative bodies. One of his books is titled THE RIGHTEOUS MIND: WHY GOOD PEOPLE ARE DIVIDED BY POLITICS AND RELIGION.  A forum that included the speaker and four  men who also have expertise in this area followed Mr. Haidt’s speech.  One thought is that we need to our extend relationships rather than only socializing with those whose philosophies are the same as ours. We need to be willing to understand differing thoughts instead of doing everything to rationalize our positions.

For additional info see Righteous Mind.

I attended a marvelous ceremony today, a Naturalization Ceremony, where 49 people became citizens of the United State of America.

It took place in a white tent out in front of the State Capitol, very close to the Veterans Building.  The ceremony started at 11:00 with Judge Donovan W. Frank presiding.  He was very cordial and welcoming, and mindful of the importance of this oath to the applicants.  He commented that America is richer because of the diversity they bring,  this tradition is America’s strength.

The event included Josh Wise leading everyone in singing the Star-Spangled Banner.

Congressman Keith Ellison gave a moving speech that included a portion of the Gettysburg Address, the part that the ground was holy because of the blood that was shed on it.  Our charge is to press forward for the freedom for which they paid a very high price.  Congressman Ellison kept emphasizing, this is their charge now , as it is the responsibility of all citizens to ensure that we continue to fight for freedom for all.

The program included a reading of the countries represented by the applicants, thirty in all.

They then took the Oath of Naturalization.

Judge Frank gave a short address and then led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.

After a video with a message from President Obama and a video of “Proud to  be an American” by Lee Greenwood, a  Certificate was presented to each individual.

The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota coordinated festivities afterwards, “Citizenship Day of Welcome,”  that included food, music, and games.  A very special day for all!

   

[click on images above to enlarge]

I attended The People’s Party last night on Harriet Island.  It was a beautiful day and a great setting to celebrate the achievements of the people that had worked hard on issues before the legislature this year, organizations  like ISAIAH, TAKE ACTION MINNESOTA, AFL-CIO and many more.  The speakers talked about strides made for the homeless, health-care workers,  job access  and the importance of networking.  Along with the speeches there was good food, entertainment, and lots of time just talking with people.

I saw the performance of  “Mercy Killers” this afternoon.  It is a very emotional story of a man who relates all that happened when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer.   That would be a traumatic situation in itself, but the strain is incredible when the family is faced with incredible financial issues.  The play was written and performed by Michael Milligan.  He does an outstanding job in both categories. Afterwards he gave some background on how he came to write the play.  Mr. Milligan said that we have the statistics and data on what happens in these instances, but this is to portray the ‘psychological damage to our national psyche” as a result of our current access to health care.  There is a benefit performance at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater on Thursday.  I highly recommend this.

Recently I was listening to an interview on the radio in which Lauren Stringer was talking about a book she had written for children.  When I heard the title, When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky, I was totally captivated.  I bought the book and highly recommend it. It is a delightful story about the collaboration of the two artists on  The Rite of Spring.  The illustrations are very colorful and imaginative. 

Former Senator Olympia Snowe gave the Keynote Address at the womenwinning Annual Luncheon on June 3rd. There were about 1200 people at the event, including Governor Mark Dayton and Speaker Paul Thisssen. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar introduced the former senator as being her mentor when she first went to the United States Senate.

Senator Snowe is a very charming woman who articulated the need for people to work together in order to accomplish the work that needs to be done. She talked about some

of the ways women in Congress banded together to make changes, like finding out that research regarding heart problems only tracked men until the women legislators said that women in this country also have heart problems and the surveys should relate to them as well. She has written a book, Fighting For Common Ground, to help promote the concept of “compromise”, a necessity if our country is going overcome the current polarization that plagues our legislative process.

Senator Snowe had lost both her parents by the age of nine. She was a young wife when her husband was killed in an auto accident. He was serving in the state legislature at the time. She was asked to run for his seat, she did, and the rest is history. In spite of these hardships, she obviously had incredible resiliency because she has had a remarkable career to date and it looks like she has a lot planned for the future.

Memorial Day is a day to honor those who have given their lives in service to our nation.  It is a time to offer our respect and gratitude to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.  Perhaps the debt can never be repaid, but we can remember the sacrifice that they made for us and for the United States of America. 

My gratitude to the families who lost their  loved ones and have to cope with life without them.  You, too, have paid a high price for the liberty and security we enjoy.

In a time when so many of our military are serving in dangerous environments,  thoughts also go out to them for the sacrifice that they are making on our behalf.  

We are truly fortunate to live in “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Just watched the National Memorial Day Concert from Washington, D.C. on Public
Television, the program has some extremely moving portions.  One is a discussion between two brothers who both were in the military and the impact on both of them.  One of the brothers and the family of the other were in the audience. There is a tribute to actor Charles Durning, a veteran of World War II, who died recently.  It includes a speech he once gave about his recollections of the Battle of the Bulge as well as entering one of the concentration camps.  In addition, there is marvelous music.

The program is being shown again.  Watch it if you can.  It truly exhibits what Memorial Day is all about.

This is the last day of session and it has been a busy one so far.  I’ll point out some of the highlights, but contact me if there is a particular item of interest to you.

First,we have had a lot of people at the Capitol for the past few days advocating on both sides of  Senate  File 778.   This bill authorizes the Bureau of Mediation Services to conduct  two separate elections to determine if certain providers want to be represented by a union, it is geared for home-based child care providers and home health care providers or PCA’s.  The final vote was  68-66.  This issue gained attention when Governor Dayton tried to do this by Executive Order.  A judge ruled that the governor did not have this power, it resided with the legislature.

The Conference Committee Report for HF 1183, the Legacy bill, was passed 77-57.  This covers a number of programs.  For our area, there is a provision that gives the Metropolitan Council $6,300,000 to spend in regional parks for the protection and restoration of  habitat for fish, wildlife and fowl.

We also passed the Conference Committee  Report on S.F. 66, which relates to campaign finance.  Amounts have been increased.  One concern is that candidates need to have more influence over messaging during campaigns. Independent organizations often spend more money and exert more influence on campaigns than do the candidates.

We passed the Conference Report  for a scaled-down bonding bill.  It includes funding for restoration on the Capitol, work that has been put off for way too long.

There is about an hour left of the day and we have to adjourn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We worked through a number of bills today.  House File 946, Medical Amnesty in Minnesota, is one that is particularly interesting because it was brought forward by students at the University of Minnesota. The bill provides that a minor is not subject to prosecution for underage drinking if they contact 911 to report that they or another person is in need of medical assistance for an immediate health or  safety concern.  The immunity may apply to one or two persons acting in concert if all requirements are met. The bill also provides immunity for the person receiving the medical assistance.  The intent is to save lives.

We repassed H.F. 779, the conference committee report for the legislation dealing with Affordable Care Act conformity and establishing rules for  the health insurance market to implement health reform.