Furst Draft

'Gives the impression that all E. coli are bad'

Reaction from a reader about our story on Stephanie Smith and her struggle to recover good health after E. coli infection, on page A1 Saturday:

Hello Mr. Furst,

I have to note the inaccuracy and shortcomings of the story on the front page of this weekend's paper describing the experience of Stephanie Smith, a woman who ate under-cooked, bad ground beef-

From Wikipedia:  Escherichia coli (commonly E. coli; pronounced /ˌɛʃɪˈrɪkiə ˈkoʊlaɪ/, /iː ~/), is a gram negative bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded animals. Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some, such as serotype O157:H7, can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for costly product recalls.[1][2] The harmless strains are part of the normal flora of the gut, and can benefit their hosts by producing vitamin K2,[3] or by preventing the establishment of pathogenic bacteria within the intestine.[4][5

E. coli is quite ubiquitous, and as warm-blooded humans we have millions of these bacteria living harmlessly in our poop chutes.  The article gives the impression that all E. Coli are bad when, in fact, most of us will never come across a harmful strain of E. coli, especially if we properly prepare food like hamburgers.  Both articles about Stephanie Smith missed a chance to educate people about the difference between most E. coli strains and the pathogenic E. coli O157.  More unfortunately, the articles made absolutely no mention of how hamburgers and other foods should be prepared to prevent being infected with E. coli O157.  What a missed opportunity that was to help others avoid what Stephanie Smith is going through.

Regards,
Nathan Hauber

Nathan's right, we missed an opportunity to inform readers on how to handle and cook food in a way that kills off the bacteria, etc...goes without saying that any story of this kind should provide that type of information.

Not so sure we needed to get into the pros and cons of E. coli, however.

A disgusting angle

Here's a news release with a story angle I'm not interested in following:

Super Bowl Parties Can Be a Super Problem for Your Plumbing
 
Super Bowl parties can be a super problem for plumbing systems.
 
As football fans pile into homes and apartments for Super Bowl parties, they’ll be eating more pizza and chicken wings than usual. This means overtime for garbage disposals and toilets.
 
... For starters, don’t overload the garbage disposal with leftovers, which could lead to a clogged kitchen sink. Instead, throw scraps in the trash or compost pile. Avoid pouring grease down the drain and wipe off greasy plates and pans with a paper towel before washing them.
 
Be sure to tackle some precautions in the bathroom as well. Mr. Rooter service professionals suggest removing small objects from the top of the toilet tank that could fall in, causing it to clog. Keep a trash bin in the bathroom, so guests won’t flush paper towels, napkins or facial tissue.
 
Whether you’re throwing a party or just attending one, it’s always important to know how to use the water shut-off valve under the tank. Toilet overflows are messy to clean up and can damage floors and drywall.
 
While these tips should help homeowners intercept any issues, local plumbers will be ready if a problem throws a flag in your party plans.
 

Cold shoulder for postal carriers

Fair comment from a reader, that we need to do more stories on cold-weather jobs:

One of your editors wrote an article in Tuesday's edition regarding a mailman.  The comment was on how the weather affects his work day.  Every year the PB does an article on the poor mailman.  In the article it mentions he goes a bit and rolls down his window,  goes a bit and rolls down his window,  if the snow is not cleared from his mailbox or road/street,  he takes it back to the post office.  His day generally starts with mail delivery at 10am -4:30pm.  Okay,  not saying he isn't doing a good job but think about it.  My husband works for one of the large garbage haulers in town.  His day starts before 6:00am preparing his truck,  he has at least 500 stops a day,  he goes a bit and than jumps out of the truck,  it the bin is buried in snow they are expected/required to get out and dig it out.  He generally ends his day at 5:00pm or later.  Why is there never a mention on the other works that really deal with the weather.  Unlike the postman your sanitation workers/drivers are not paid by the government and we as tax payers are not paying their retirement/pension.  Maybe the PB could do an article once on the guys that actually deal with the weather.  Thanks for your time. 

How to bridge cultures and outfox the meter maids

A comment from a reader about the Dialogues event and the followup post last week:

Jay,
That's a terrific piece you wrote. I had been hoping to come but I had to pick up and watch the kids ... I really got a feel for what transpired by your article. I know many of the people quoted including Farhan Syed. A quote you used from Farhan -- "We need to break the ice and be more explorative" in our relationships with people from other cultures and traditions -- reminded me of an interesting thing that happened when I pulled up to a parking meter in front of the mosque. A young Somali man looked at me, reached in his pocket and put some change in my meter, waved and walked off. Very cool, I thought.

'Of course, Lincoln freed no slaves'

 
I can't wait for the reaction to Leonard Pitts' edit page column on Lincoln in today's paper, in which he makes such provocative and disputable comments as:

Actually, Lincoln likely would have been appalled (at Obama's election). How could he not? He was a 19th century white man who famously said in 1858 that "there is a physical difference between the white and black races, which . . . will forever forbid the two races living together upon terms of social and political equality.''

How do you reconcile that with all those cartoons of Lincoln congratulating Obama? You don't. You simply recognize it for what it is: yet another illustration of how shallow our comprehension of history is, yet another instance where myth supersedes reality.

Fact: Lincoln's comments on the races are far more nuanced than Pitts suggests -- in fact, to call Lincoln out on the basis of that one easily Googled comment is "yet another illustration of how shallow" Pitts' recognition is of Lincoln's thinking and writing on this issue. And even if you regard Lincoln as a generic 19th century white man, can we agree that he wound up, for whatever reason, on the side of the angels, and not just for military reasons?

Of course, Lincoln freed no slaves. That's the myth. His Emancipation Proclamation was a military measure to demoralize and destabilize the rebellious South; it covered states he did not govern but did not apply in slaveholding states that remained under his jurisdiction.

Not sure what Potts means by, "he freed no slaves." He didn't own any, so, check, he didn't free any. Is he saying Lincoln didn't free any in the rebellious southern states because they were no longer "under his jurisdiction"? Or is it that Lincoln didn't apply the proclamation to the Union states, a point that I'll leave to more knowledgeable Lincoln scholars than myself.

The main point, which Pitts apparently is determined to miss, is that virtually everything in Lincoln's words and actions is on the right side of the emancipation issue. Some might say he gave his life for it. The wisdom of the ages and the judgment of history on this most examined of American presidents says he did "free the slaves" and move America toward a place where we're more free of the burden of racism and discrimination.

Pitts goes on to say, "the argument is not about Lincoln's greatness."

Well, it reads that way to me, and it seems rather pointless and unnecessary in a week when the nation is taking a giant stride forward in a direction Lincoln surely would have approved of.

Schieffer would prefer to be 'a lot less liquid'

The one-time bete noire of Rochester, former DM&E CEO Kevin Schieffer, says in an interview with the Sioux Falls, S.D., Argus Leader that he'd be "very happy" with less money but leading the way on the DM&E expansion:

Although he left with an undisclosed fortune resulting from the merger, Schieffer "would be very happy to be a lot less liquid and building" the PRB project, he said.

I'm guessing Rochester officials like it better this way, with CP in charge.

Rochester City Council President Dennis Hanson also gets in a few words:

Dennis Hanson, president of the Rochester, Minn., City Council, looked back on the years battling Schieffer and the DM&E, saying, "We both started off on the wrong foot. It was very antagonistic from day one."

But he called Schieffer "a very sharp individual. If you could look back, and we could have gotten off on the right foot, you've got to wonder sometime where things would have led."

Makes you wonder what end point Hanson's imagining -- that the project could have advanced 10 years ago in a way that was acceptable to the city, county and clinic? Other than a bypass around the city, I can't imagine a different ending that would have passed muster with city leaders at that time.

Invasion, incursion, attack...what's the correct term?

After the Dialogues event at the Rochester library Tuesday night, a man came up to me with fire in his eyes and said he took exception to my one-line description of the current hostillities in Gaza as the "Israeli invasion of Gaza." He went off quickly into a heated description of Palestinian aggression, rocket attacks and other actions that precipitated the current state of affairs.

I chose my words carefully on that point -- I could have chosen a more ambiguous phrase, but thought this was the most direct and explanatory. As I told the guy after the meeting, the term "invasion" is certainly accurate and doesn't imply judgment pro or con on whether Israel was justified in its millitary response.

The news story I was alluding that night -- a local reaction story regarding events in Gaza -- apparently was considered even-handed because I've heard no complaints from readers. One of the people at the front table with me that night, Farhan Syed, is a Muslim who was quoted in that story as having concerns about the humanitarian crisis -- but wasn't quoted as criticizing Israeli policy and referred to a long history of provocations on both sides.

What do you think -- Is "Israel's invasion of Gaza" an appropriate phrase?

Notes on inclusiveness from P-B Dialogues

Considering the temp was below zero and a snowstorm was coming, we had a good crowd at the P-B Dialogues event last night at the Rochester Public Library. The theme was inclusiveness -- does Rochester live up to its goal of being an inclusive community?

Thanks to Gregory Stavrou of the Rochester Civic Theatre, Mitch Stevenson of the Rochester Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Farhan Syed, a Mayo researcher and member of the Rochester Islamic Center, who joined me at the front table and responded to questions and comments from the audience. Most of the 40-some people who attended had insightful comments and good ideas for continuing this conversation.

Which we will -- I'll get a date for the February program ASAP and we'll zero in on one piece of the bigger conversation we had last night.

Here are random notes from last night:

Defining what it means to be an "inclusive" community was a starting point. Farhan suggested that being inclusive of newcomers means that a person is "accepted as I am -- I don't have to change who I am to be accepted." He recalled his own experience of growing up in the south of India and attending university in the north, a much different region culturally than his home province.

"Do not give up who you are" to be accepted, he said.

Mitch, a native of East Texas, asked, "How many of you have ever feared for your life? I mean really feared for your life" because of race or discriminationg? He told of a transformative experience of that kind when he was a college student in Arkansas.

When he moved to the Midwest, he said, "I could not believe the difference in people in the Midwest, compared to where I came from ... there's less (racial) tension here ..."

That said, he and others talked at length about the subtle racism that lurks beneath Minnesota Nice -- "Minnesota Ice," as library staffer Katherine Stecher described it later.

As Gregory said, "Minnesota Nice as a communications style is a tactic to avoid conflict and maintain the status quo."

Mitch said his experience in Rochester as a well-connected, well-known community leader, is far different from people of color who would be considered of a more "threatening" class. "Many of you know me...I don't experience the same things" as other minority residents.

Gregory, who has led the civic theater and lived in Rochester for about a year, said, "As an artist, I've always struggled with what it means to be an artist and involved in the community," not isolated in an "ivory tower." The month-long "Celebration of Diversity and Inclusiveness" that the theater and the Diversity Council have put together is a reflection of that.

"If we're serious (about this issue), this isn't not a one-shot deal," he said. If the effort to promote a more tolerant and inclusive community is just a once-a-year exception, "it's not as much as we ought to be doing."

Theater and arts organizations "amplify voices that otherwise would not be heard," he said.

As did others, Gregory said the real hope for building a more tolerant, welcoming culture is with young people, and the arts play a vital role in reaching young people. "That's why arts curriculum in the schools is so vital," he said.

Connecting with young people was one action item from the meeting. "It absolutely starts at home," said Mitch.

As another person said, adults who are intolerant may be a lost cause in terms of bringing them to a new outlook; the community needs to focus its attention on reaching young people.

A teacher in the audience: "It comes from the home ... I see Rochester as being very accepting, but there's still some work to be done."

A reference was made to "upper echelons" in Rochester being part of the problem, at least historically. (Mitch asked if anyone in the room was aware of when Mayo first allowed black and white patients to mingle? He didn't provide the answer during the meeting but afterward said it was 1947.) I said at that point, "Thank God for some in the upper echelons," especially at Mayo, who've taken the lead on this issue for years.

Gregory noted that much of this month's diversity programming was made possible with help from Mayo.

Someone made a comment that we were "preaching to the choir" and we needed to get this message of inclusivity to a larger audience, which led a guy to say, "I'm a big believer in working with who shows up" to make change happen.

Steve Lehmkuhle, University of Minnesota Rochester chancellor, described what he called "intentional versus unintentional discrimination." It's tough to change the minds of those who discriminate purposefully and with intent; there's more potential in reaching young people and others who have discriminatory attitudes for lack of awareness and education.

Mike Podulke, an Olmsted County Board member, said discrimination is "not about race, it's about class and culture."

Farhan called for individual acts of daily courage. "We need to break the ice and be more explorative" --  in a polite and respectful way -- in our relationships with people from other cultures and traditions, he said.

A woman in the audience said, "Everyone just wants to be accepted." Another said, "One of the answers is with the youth" of this community. "It takes more of an effort for people of my age not to see something as weird," but young people are living the change that's occurring here and can be more open-minded and accepting.

An audience member named Robin: "As a community, we're very welcoming to certain newcomers ... if they look different, then it's a whole different thing."

Regarding the hiring of Rochester Schools Superintendent Romain Dallemand, an audience member said she didn't think Rochester was ready for a black superintendent at that time. "I think people are a long ways from" being accepting of it.

Gregory, after saying twice that he thinks Rochester is a great place to live, said, "This appears to be a rather segregated community ... there's a sense of closeted-ness there."

An audience member suggested a communitywide cultural festival that helps people get familiar with all the traditions and values of ethnicities represented in Rochester. (Such a festival apparently is being planned for 2012...)

I asked what the Post-Bulletin can and should do to help the community to become a more welcoming, inclusive place. There were a few ideas and I'll tell you about those in a later post.

Pass along your ideas here, and plan to join us at the next meeting.

I'll note here that some of the comments added by readers to the P-B stories about last night's event have been predictably nasty. I haven't taken them down; they speak for themselves about the need for more events such as last night's. Fortunately, the vast majority of people in the Rochester area are more enlightened and welcoming than the few people who make cruel, extreme and mean-spirited comments on our Web site.

Welcome home, Jonathan

Here's a quick shout-out to one of my loyal readers, a college friend just out of Mount Sinai hospital in New York and recovering at home in Queens: I'll try to give you more to read while you convalesce, pal!

Change at the top of Rochester Chamber

There's a big announcement coming today about top leadership (initials J.W.) at the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce. You read it here first...watch for details imminently.