Furst Draft

'He appears to be a kind and simple soul'

Here's a letter from a Byron reader, regarding the Answer Man item on July 12:

I am writing to you in regards to a recently published article titled, "Why does that man wave?" I feel your article to be very demeaning in your description of Mr. Johnson, and also in the disclosure of his personal data. He appears to be a kind and simple soul.

Shame on you!

The Answer Man's response:

Thanks for your note regarding the man who waves along Second Street. I can understand your point of view.  

The piece was not intended to be demeaning at all – in fact, I spent a fair amount of time that day with Mr. Johnson, he was very well aware that I was writing a short item for the paper, he was aware of what the Answer Man column is about, and he clearly was aware I was taking a photo. While the item described him somewhat colorfully, he clearly is a colorful presence along the street, one of the most public places in Rochester, and he in no way seemed displeased by the attention, either on the street or as I talked with him as a reporter. 

I would hope he saw it as a way to get his message out to a much wider audience. I haven't heard from him since publication; I did get two other notes from readers who thought it was invasive.

Again, I understand where you're coming from. That was the risk of running the item. That said, it reflected something that, to the thousands of people who travel that street every day, was interesting and notable.

Best wishes,

etc.

How are those Pentagon papers looking now?

The journalistic issues raised by the WikiLeaks papers only get more interesting, as it becomes clear that in fact lives have been put at risk and the national interest has been damaged by the wholesale release of documents by WikiLeaks, if not the mainstream news organizations that first reported on the material.

As a reminder, here's what Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has served both Bush and Obama, said Thursday about the leaked material:

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Thursday denounced the disclosure this week of 75,000 classified documents about the Afghanistan war by the Web site WikiLeaks, asserting that the security breach had endangered lives and damaged the ability of others to trust the United States government to protect their secrets.

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Mr. Gates portrayed the documents as “a mountain of raw data and individual impressions, most several years old” that offered little insight into current policies and events. Still, he said, the disclosures — which include some identifying information about Afghans who have helped the United States — have “potentially dramatic and grievously harmful consequences.”

The Times of London and other British papers were reporting Thursday that dozens of names and locations of Afghan citizens who have assisted the war effort were identified in the documents released by WikiLeaks, exposing them to reprisals from militants.

The New York Times, while working with the documents turned over by WikiLeaks, has kept its distance from the organization itself, which clearly has a political agenda and a purpose for obtaining and leaking these documents, which is to scuttle the war effort. The Times put a fig leaf over its relationship with WikiLeaks, declining to link to the latter's website and calling its connection a "source relationship," not any kind of journalistic joint venture.

Good luck, Times, in trying to maintain that line. For better or worse, WikiLeaks, the Times and the other news organizations that partnered in this release are forever linked. We'll see how it turns out for the reputations of all concerned, and whether it was worth it.

Answer Man question: Why is gas so doggone expensive in Rochester?

Help out the Answer Man with this one...he's answered this any number of different times, but maybe you have a take on it:

Mr Answer Man, Why is gas always a higher price in Rochester? This past weekend I filled up in Rochester and as I traveled to central Wisc, gas got lower priced. When I got to Amery, Wi, it was cheaper than Rochester. Wisconsin has a 16 cent higher gas tax than Minn(so I am told), and my experience is that gas is always higher in Wisc than Mn. In Red Wing is was 10 cents cheaper. Last week I was in Blooming Prairie and gas was much cheaper than Rochester, so as I was filling up I said to my wife,” I can’t believe gas is that much cheaper here” . The lady at the next pump said “Gas is always cheaper here than Rochester”.
 
I called one of the executives at Kwik Trip and he gave me the story that it depends on who hauls the gas. Well at that time it was 10 cents cheaper in Red Wing at Kwik Trip, than in Lake City Kwik Trip, and 10 cents cheaper in Wabasha Kwik Trip. He could not explain how the town in the middle of the other two(15 miles to either from Lake City) had so much higher gas price. I travel a lot and I have learned you never gas up in Rochester, you stop at the first small town  after you get a ways out of Rochester and fill up.
 
Tell me why Rochester rips everyone off on higher gas prices?

'Obama machine wants to control the phones, Internet..."

Three readers weighed in on the Answer Man's column Monday regarding the anti-Obama billboard south of Oronoco on U.S. 52. That's the one that shows a guy, all but explicitly Obama, running the Constitution through a shredder.

Here are the comments:

For years I've looked forward to reading the Answer Man column and it often has been the first thing I read in the paper. That is, right up until now. Now that the Answer Man has chosen to wade into politics, his column should be moved to the editorial page just like other opinions.

Does the billboard push the limits? You betcha. Is it disrespectful? Many people across the country, including myself, don't consider this as disrespectful as the very problems the billboard references. Is it "offensive"? Not at all, I'm glad to see it. "Crazy"? Not hardly.

Please go back to your former role, focused on facts. I'll try to go back to reading your column.

Kevin Collins

++++

So a group of citizen activists believe that our current president is shredding the Constitution, and they take out an ad on a billboard to showcase their anger at the current Administration.  Now, you might not agree with their assessment of the President's actions, but in no way, shape or form does such an ad compare to likening President Obama with Hitler or Stalin.  "Probably not" doesn't cut it.  And its pretty clear that Answer Man is none to fond of the rise of new media.  I mean, how can anyone trust cable news or, God forbid, the blogosphere!  We are REAL journalists, damn it!  But more importantly, your reader needs to brush up on the Bill of Rights...Answer Fan won't find an "I'm offended clause", thank the Founders.  About the best that such folk will get is a "rating system" on various entertainment products, and laws concerning public nudity.  The aforementioned sign's message doesn't fall into either category, nor does it threaten the President's safety.  Which begs the question.  I have to wonder if Answer Fan and Answer Man found themselves all out of sorts about the way our last President was treated.  I mean, you two must have been outraged when stamps were printed depicting President Bush's caricature with a gun pointing at his head, or when he was compared to every genocidal maniac in recorded history.  Did either of you write Nicholson Baker and inform him of your disgust at the thought of writing a book condoning the assassination of a sitting President.  Oh, and lets not forget local folk hero Garrison Keillor taking to the editorial pages of the Chicago Tribune to pen a means of balancing the budget...simply eliminate all of those pesky Republicans by denying them health care.  Got to wonder which gets more exposure, a local bill-board or a nationally syndicated op-ed piece?  Hey, sounds like a job for the Answer Man...after your done shaming those evil folk who dare fund such an "offensive" bill board.
 
Frank Secreto

+++++++
I was very disappointed in the July 26 Answer Man column.  Political
figures have been skewered down through history.  While I have great
respect for the office of the President, the person holding that office
has to earn respect, just like everyone else.  I graduated from Mayo High
School in 1969 and everything I learned in Civics class shows that
President Obama IS attempting to shred our Constitution.  We in America
have free speech and the Obama machine wants to control the phones,
internet, news organizations, including newspapers, TV, radio, and
bloggers.  When you add in the financial, business,  manufacturing and
energy, it all sounds like Socialism to me.  A billboard telling the truth
should be allowed to stay.

Deb Scott,  Rochester

Breast cancer fund-raiser: 'Big or Small, Save Them ALL'

Not sure what I think of the name of this cancer fundraiser...raises awkward possibilities for the prostate or testicular cancer fundraisers coming up...but a good cause, obviously:

First annula "Big or Small, Save Them ALL: Join the Journey Breast Cancer Awareness" Fundraising event

When: Thursday, August 12th 5pm – 11pm

Location: The Wicked Moose Bar & Grill - Hwy 14 East across from Big Lots
...
Live Music 8pm-11pm by INCOGNITO

Donations at the door – plenty of amazing Silent Auction items for you to bid on, first 100 men and first 100 women get a free gift bag that is valued over $100 dollars, and you can purchase a $20 surprise jewelry bag for a chance to win one of a kind custom made jewelry piece valued worth thousands!!Only 200 will be sold!
Buy a T-Shirts for $15, Pink Bracelets $3, Dinner baskets just $10

Make a cash donation in honor of a Breast Cancer Survivor or someone who lost their battle with Breast Cancer and they will be acknowledged at the event on several Big Screens.

For more information, please contact Robin Hanson or Terri Farrell at Counselor Realty in Rochester at 507-285-9400

Should we run a mug of cartoonists threatened with death?

P-B newsroom graphic artist Rick Dahl asks a good question: Should we have published a mug in Monday's Austin edition of Molly Norris, the Seattle cartoonist threatened by Muslim websites for what they say are insulting cartoons about the Prophet Muhammad? She's under threat of fatwa, as reported in Kathleen Parker's edit page column.

Her photo is fairly well publicized at this point.

We dealt with this issue a few years ago regarding Danish cartoonists and journalists, you may recall, and we decided not to publish the cartoons that led to death threats. That just seemed reasonable at the time for all concerned. But every case creates its own ground rules.

Any thoughts on this?

The Taliban Papers

Like most Americans, I've only had a chance to skim the stories about the 92,000 Pentagon reports on the Afghan war, leaked to news organizations by WikiLeaks and published today in the New York Times and elsewhere.

Here are some quick thoughts, though:

I'm almost always more interested in the decision to publish material such as this -- leaked from a group that clearly has a political reason for doing so, and material that clearly is sensitive, classified information that affects the national interest. So the first thing I read was the Times' rationale for publishing. This type of rationale always sounds self-serving and self-aggrandizing, as in: "The Times has taken care not to publish information that would harm national security interests"

Maybe that's true. We're about to find out, I suspect.

Regarding WikiLeaks, here's how the Times describes that web-based organization. Does this satisfy you? Do you know more about WikiLeaks.org as a result? The only thing that jumped out at me as real, usable information about this group is,

WikiLeaks has a core group of about half a dozen full-time volunteers, and there are 800 to 1,000 people whom the group can call on for expertise in areas like encryption, programming and writing news releases.

Mr. Assange, 39, said the site operated from servers in several countries, including Sweden and Belgium, where laws provided more protection for its disclosures

I can understand why the Times has taken several weeks to check out the mountain of leaked information, if this organization is so sketchy that a full story in the Times reveals precious little about it.

What do you think of the story so far -- important turning point in the war? Nothing that'll change the course of U.S. policy there? Reckless disregard for national security by the media?

Why no reader comments on the Elk Run editorial?

We shut off the reader comments on the Elk Run editorial published Friday.

Why? Because the comments quickly went bad, full of allegations, insults, etc. -- the usual trouble, in other words, especially when we report on Elk Run, Goodhue County wind turbines and a few other issues. As usual, a small number of irresponsible people spoiled the deal for everyone, so down the comments came.

We should have posted a note to say that reader comments had been switched off. We'll make a point of doing that, so you're not left to wonder.

I'm not complaining, but what happened to 'shameful'?

A reader lambasted the P-B and its Answer Man for an item a few weeks ago about the guy who stands half-naked on Second Street Southwest and waves to people passing by.

Here's the note:

Dear Editor,

I am writing to you in response to an article printed recently by the
Post-Bulletin. On July 14th, the Answer Man wrote: “Why does that man wave?”
I was completely appalled at the description that followed regarding Mr.
Johnson. Not only was very personally information given, such as his full
name, age, and proximal address, but the description was insulting. If the
question had been directed toward a panhandler on 2nd St., would the same
tone have been used?

            As a Rochester native who has grown up with the Post-Bulletin, this article was in bad taste, tacky, and just plain shameful.

I responded, with some redactions:

Thanks for the note regarding that item. (The Answer Man) had a nice chat with Mr. Johnson that day and he knew, of course, that (the Answer Man) was going to do a short item and run a pic.  (We) didn't hear that he was upset in any way with the item and I haven't heard from anyone else, actually, either. I understand why you might think it was invasive of his privacy, but based on (the Answer Man's) conversation with him, he seemed completely understanding of what (he) was doing as a reporter, and I would hope he feels his message got out to an even wider audience.

Best wishes.

Then the reader responded:

Thank you your reply, I honestly wasn't even expecting one. I appreciate your time to respond and your honesty, it's always good to hear the "other" side. Have a good weekend!

This often happens; people are pleased to get a response and say, basically, never mind, when in fact the original e-mail could hardly be more caustic and insulting.

One of the hazards of e-mail, obviously.

Somebody needs to take up a collection for the U.S. Post Office in Lanesboro, which has an MIA/POW flag hanging from the pole atop the building that looks like it's been through every war ever fought by U.S. military...