And Democrats stand for?

We received a very nice "Thank you" note the other day from the folks at Save the BWCA. We have our doubts about the degree to which the Quetico-Superior region is truly wilderness (if cell phone service is available, is it wilderness?), but we have no doubts that it is an irreplaceable treasure. This perspective becomes important, we think, when considering the implications of allowing a major mining development near its perimeter. Would it be possible to clean up something like the Mount Polley tailings dam failure if the BWCA were affected by anything similar? Is mining, of any type, truly the "best and highest" use of irreplaceable natural resources if alternative uses are precluded in the future?

We found ourselves wondering such thoughts last night as we sat through our local DFL precinct caucus and observed the efforts that had gone into avoiding contentious issues such as resolutions for or against mining and, particularly, straw polls for congressional candidates. We're not sure if the DFL thinks or hopes the battle over copper-sulfide mining will just blow over or if the party is simply trying to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Lord knows we've been trying to persuade folks to take an alternative approach by seeing if mining can be made more sustainable, but we're becoming more and more uncertain that any sort of political compromise is feasible or desirable.

St. Louis River flowing into Lake Superior through Duluth Harbor

Photo by J. Harrington

Another example that drives our concerns: we thought that nationally, Democrats had drawn a line in the sand, that there would be no further budget votes without a vote on DACA legislation. Now we're reading that the Senate Democrats are ready to cut a deal on the budget and abandon DACA "for now." We're less concerned about that substantive outcome and more perturbed about how, in good conscience, we can continue to support a party that doesn't seem to know what or whom it stands for and supports. We had a similar experience and reaction when Minnesota's DFL Governor suddenly announced, after an extended period of opposition, that he supports the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine. If the only purpose of winning in a democracy is to gain power so your party can stay in power, what makes such a democracy better than a third world banana republic or a totalitarian state? For that matter, what makes a prospective mine in the St. Louis River watershed, which flows to Lake Superior, more acceptable than one in a location that drains to the BWCA? We haven't yet seen a good answer to that question.

If some of these issues are to be determined, as many land use and development questions are, by factoring in highest and best use, why did the Forest Service not account for the land's mineral value of some of PolyMet's needed land when working out the land swap terms? We don't recall hearing any objection from the governor on that topic.

The "leading" DFL candidate for governor, according to last night's straw poll, supports the proposed PolyMet project. His strong competitor questions whether the potential mining jobs are worth the environmental and economic (clean-up) risks. We have long recognized that it is much easier to find alternative sources for good paying jobs than it would be to try to create and alternative BWCA or Lake Superior. The Reserve Mining tailings are reported to still be in Lake Superior. Is that the kind of precedent we want to live with?

Exquisite Candidate

Denise Duhamel, 1961

I can promise you this: food in the White House
will change! No more granola, only fried eggs
flipped the way we like them. And ham ham ham!
Americans need ham! Nothing airy like debate for me!
Pigs will become the new symbol of glee,
displacing smiley faces and “Have A Nice Day.”
Car bumpers are my billboards, billboards my movie screens.
Nothing I can say can be used against me.
My life flashes in front of my face daily.
Here’s a snapshot of me as a baby. Then
marrying. My kids drink all their milk which helps the dairy industry.
A vote for me is not only a pat on the back for America!
A vote for me, my fellow Americans, is a vote for everyone like me!
If I were the type who made promises
I’d probably begin by saying: America,
relax! Buy big cars and tease your hair
as high as the Empire State Building. 
Inch by inch, we’re buying the world’s sorrow.
Yeah, the world’s sorrow, that’s it!
The other side will have a lot to say about pork
but don’t believe it! Their graphs are sloppy coloring books.
We’re just fine—look at the way
everyone wants to speak English and live here!
Whatever you think of borders,
I am the only candidate to canoe over Niagara Falls
and live to photograph the Canadian side.
I’m the only Julliard graduate—
I will exhale beauty all across this great land
of pork rinds and gas stations and scientists working for cures,
of satellite dishes over Sparky’s Bar & Grill, the ease
of breakfast in the mornings, quiet peace of sleep at night. 

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