Furst Draft

The Answer Man is a mooch

Here's a helpful note from a reader -- and I've posted a ton more reader comments on the Great Taste blog, regarding burgers and Mexican favorites.

FYI, I'm well-aware of Plaza Morena and will be grazing there sometime next week -- but the Answer Man will NOT be invited to join me. He always sticks me with the tab, for one thing.

Dear Mr. Furst,
 
When you mentioned awhile ago that you'd be looking for awesome Mexican restaurants, I immediately thought of Plaza Morena in Owatonna (369 18th St SE), but didn't know if you'd travel this far. Since you mentioned in your 'burger' article that Owatonna was the western boundary for your travels, come on over! This is the first restaurant I've been to where 'fresh' actually came to mind when describing the food. They have an extensive menu and great service.
 
I think if you mentioned this to The Answer Man, he'd be up for coming along ("A word to the wise is sufficient".) Plus, the margaritas are pretty good too, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a designated driver along. :-)
 
I'm going there tonight and will see if they have a take out menu which I can send to you.
 
Judy Peterson, Owatonna

'How can that be legal?'

In case you missed yesterday's Answer Man, take a look at this, and then I have a few notes to add:

Dear Answerer of Oddities and Finder of Facts, can you tell me why on earth semi-trailers are allowed to have rear doors polished so shiny that you could shave or apply makeup with one? While driving on U.S. 52 at night recently, I was essentially blinded by my headlight's reflection off the back of a truck. How can that be legal? I hope to see your response when my vision returns. -- Blinded by the Light

I love this question. We can all relate to coming upon trucks that have rear doors polished like surgical steel and yes, it does seem hazardous. Is there a law against it? I talked with a helpful State Patrol dispatcher this morning who checked it out and says there's not.

Dave Benson, who owns Benson Truck Sales in Lewiston, says he's not aware of any regs and hasn't heard concerns, though he says the highly polished stainless steel trailers do create a dazzling display. Some have a more quilted finish that disperses the light.

What's a trailer cost, for those of us who aren't in the market? About $35,000 for a grain trailer and more like $60,000 for a refrigerated trailer; the latter more commonly have the polished finish that could reflect headlight beams into deep space.

If you're vision impaired like Blinded by the Light, give me a call at 285-7742 and I'll read this answer to you.

The Answer Man is dazzling, but you already knew that. Send questions to P.O. Box 6118, Rochester, MN 55903 or answerman@postbulletin.com.

So I got a few calls from readers who shared this explanation for shiny doors. The first was from an elderly woman:

In regards to the Answer Man in today's paper, that man should have dimmed his lights and that would have helped a lot, and that way they wouldn't have shone in the truck driver's mirror, either. That probably blinded the driver. Thank you.

++

OK, this is concerning your article in the paper...(the shiny doors) are that way for a purpose, because if you're driving with your brights on, they'll shine in your face -- if you dim your headlights, they won't. If they do, your headlights are out of adjustment. That's the whole story of it, from an old, dying truck driver. Bye.

Assuming this is true, it seems like rough justice -- and maybe as dangerous as blinding the truck driver with your brights?

'Defenders of freedom and war heros, they are not'

Is it just me or is this note from a reader grotesquely offensive? The e-mail was addressed to reporter Heather Carlson, regarding the story Thursday on the "Red Bull" National Guard unit:

Dear Ms. Carlson,

I must admit to be suffering from Red Bull fatigue.  People comprising this unit are simply doing the job they elected to do.  Defenders of freedom and war heros they are not.  Why should this military unit receive much more press than a team of doctors that goes on a medical mission trip to Haiti or Ecuador?  Why should a military unit receive more coverage than Rotary International that is engaged in attempting to rid the world of polio?

Goodness gracious Ms. Carlson, this unit isn't leaving for another year!!!  Please give us a break and forget about them until the day they deploy.

Sincerely,

Jay Youmans

My response to Mr. Youmans:

Good morning, Jay -- Heather passed along your note.

I believe this is the first time in my 30 years of daily newspaper work that I've received a note from someone complaining that we give too much attention to a military unit.

While I'll accept it as constructive criticism (despite your often withering criticism of the paper), it's an astounding comment and I think most people would find it as offensive as I do.

Century tennis fans fire some volleys

Some Century tennis fans have taken us to task for diminutive coverage of the Big Nine tennis tournament Saturday in RST. Here's some of the feedback...we're playing catchup today in the sports section, I believe:

Please cover this tennis event -  Century has something it has never been able to do before. Here's the storyline - pls route this msg to someone in Sports:

1. Century has never beaten Mayo ever in Boys tennis (Century lost to Mayo 4-3 earlier this season in a dual meet, closest ever)

2. With the last match to go, the score is exactly tied between Century and Mayo (55-55).

3. all others matches are over except 4th court singles finals:  Jon Smet (Century) vs kevin Kallmes (Mayo)

4. Smet had lost to Kallmes earlier in the season, and on Saturday Smet lost the 1st set 6-1 against Kevin.  It was looking bleak for Century.

5. Smet comes back and wins the last 2 sets.  Century wins 63-61 over Mayo.

+++++

Hello,
I'm not sure if I'm contacting the right person, but I would just like the word to get out that I was kind of disappointed with the coverage of the Big Nine Tennis tournament. The matches were in Rochester, so someone could easily send out a reporter to watch. The competition was great and it was very close. I would just like to express it may be better to put a local story, such as Big Nine Tennis, instead of something like wrestling on the front cover of the sports. Century won closely behind Mayo, which is a big deal for the Century students; many were hoping to see the coverage in the paper. Just letting you know for future reference.

++++

Why wasn’t there more coverage of Saturday’s Big 9 Tennis Tournament?  This was a big event, the teams all train hard for it, it was Century’s first win over Mayo, and also the first time in eight years that Mayo hadn’t won the tournament.   I am a Century tennis parent, and the boys were looking forward to reading about it in the paper.     I am hoping you will assign someone to this story so we can read about it this week.

+++

'New clues to explain human existence'

I had high hopes for a story in the New York Times this morning headlined, "New Clues to Explain Human Existence," but it turned out I couldn't understand a word of it.

People like me need less complicated clues.

The yoke was on us

Hate to acknowledge this one, but we had a bad headline on this story in print...tell me what you think it said:

Yoked together with the Lord

By Mike Hopper

Each summer, the Friendship Wagon Train makes a trek through southeastern Minnesota to raise funds for children and adults with developmental disabilities who attend Camp Winnebago.

For a week, they travel across the countryside in wagons pulled by horses or mules — most of which are yoked together as teams to pull their covered wagons.

A yoke in the Lord's day was a common everyday device used to couple oxen together for plowing or hauling. The oxen were matched as closely as possible so the burden would be distributed equally. The two animals had to be trained to work together, even walking stride for stride. The yoke bound them together for the purpose of accomplishing a task, and without mutual compromise it could not be done," according to Crown Financial Ministries at CBNMoney.com.

Sometimes the challenges in life can become overwhelming and we cannot make it on our own. Maybe you feel like life has placed a heavy burden on your shoulders. There is good news for us. Jesus said, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

Jesus wants to share your yoke in life and help bear your burdens. How does that happen? Three steps are found in Jesus' words: 1) "Come to Me." Approach Jesus Christ through prayer. Call on Him. 2) "Take My yoke." Commit your life to Him. Choose to do life walking along side of the Lord — as He shares the yoke of your burdens. 3) "Learn of Me." Grow in your relationship with Him.

Learn more about God and His plan for your life as you study the Bible. As you face the challenges of life, allow Jesus Christ to share the yoke of your burdens. Trust in Him, do life along side of Him, and let Him guide you and help carry your load.


Mike Hopper is pastor of Fillmore Free Methodist Church. Pulpit runs on the Saturday faith pages and features reflections from area religious leaders.

Where's the outrage?, asks financial advisor

Note from an outraged reader:

Where's the media and the public outrage for these 2 gov't black holes? How can the public believe anything the gov't says about any fiscal matter?
 
Scott Heck, AWM
Vice President - Financial Consultant
RBC Wealth Management
Rochester, MN 55902

And here's the lead to the attachment, from WStreet Market Commentary:

FANNIE MAE & FREDDIE MAC OFF THE BOOKS (FINAL EDITION)
By Charles Payne, CEO & Principal Analyst

5/11/2010 9:25:59 AM Eastern Time

While the market was celebrating the latest trillion dollar bailout, Fannie Mae posted yet another net loss. The loss of $11.0 billion was the 12th consecutive quarter of losses from the government sponsored enterprise. Consequently, the company needs to dip into their unlimited funding pot (this gift was stealthily pushed through last Christmas Eve, and it just keeps on giving and taking) for another $8.6 billon. The tally for Fannie is now $84.6 billion, and with its smaller brethren Freddie Mac they owe the American taxpayer $145.0 billion. It's sure to continue growing. The pool of non-performing loans climbed to $224.0 billion from $217.0 billion in the last three months. Over the past two years, the Company has lost $145.0 billion, which is more than double the profits the Company made over the previous 35 years.

5.47% of loans guaranteed by Fannie are 90-days past due, and that is seen as good news because it's a slight improvement from 5.5% in the preceding quarter and was the first Q/Q decline in three years. Yes, the Street took all of this in stride and saw the good news, sending the stock up a few pennies. These GSEs are being used by the White House to manipulate the housing market, but even an unlimited capacity to tap taxpayers hasn't been enough. There were 94,000 modified mortgages, more than double the preceding quarter, but foreclosures increased to 62,000 from 47,000.

Here's the real crazy thing about all of this money and risks taxpayers are taking. It's more or less off balance sheet. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not included in the White House's budget. Despite the $6.3 trillion in liabilities they possess which could be dumped on the public, these financial anchors aren't in the budget. Just think about that the next time some official is bragging about bailouts working. TARP has become the President's personal piggy bank and Fannie and Freddie (along with Ginnie Mae, VA, and FHA) are backing all new mortgages, including very high risk stuff. Of course, if you scare the private sector out of a business it leaves it all to the government. 

A few quick thoughts:

Much has been reported and commented upon, regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Whether the outrage is commensurate to the issue is a matter of taste and political persuasion.

I definitely think Fannie Mae needs less stately digs -- makes a very bad impression on the average home owner and taxpayer.

More on World War I memorials

Former P-B writer and now AP veteran Josh Freed points out that there's a World War I memorial in Kansas City that Justice Stevens may have overlooked...though maybe the distinction is that the Liberty Memorial is not considered a federal memorial...I need to read further.

President "Silent Cal" Coolidge was present at the 1926 dedication, as was Marshal Foch and Gen. Pershing, and Congress in 2006 declared the museum at the memorial a "national museum."

Here's Josh's story, picked up by the Nevada Daily Mail.

Hope it helps even one young driver...

Note from the official who contacted us regarding the teen driving event at Kasson-Mantorville High School last week:

 
Thanks for the coverage in the P-B last week of the Mock MVA at Kasson-Mantorville H.S.
 
Great to share this awareness issue with the teens & parents in SE MN via the media.
 

 
Sincere regards -
 
Steven R. Jurrens              
Admin Officer
Kasson Fire Department

Objected to 'Another Dumb Norwegian'

This note's from a P-B staffer who says an acquaintance was unhappy with the moniker that an anonymous Answer Man writer adopted Saturday:

A friend called and I said I would check with you for a response.
He's Norweigan and was quite turned off by the Answer Man letter signed Another Dumb Norwegian in Saturday. Especially on a culturally-dependent question.
He's heard just about every Norwegian joke out there so that's not his complaint.
Anyway, I was just checking.

The Answer Man responds:

The writer obviously was being self-deprecating while asking a very good and culturally sensitive question. I don't think he was putting down his own ethnic heritage...we're all dumb to some degree about cultures other than our own...except for me, of course.