‘Commentary’ Archives
Letter to community: Arsenic levels map confusing
The April 2019 Alley page 3 shows a map with a confusing description: “Childhood elevated blood lead, arsenic & asthma per 10,000 people.”  It should be clarified to show that the arsenic levels were in soil, not blood. Soil with greater than 95 ppm (or mg/kg) was removed in an extensive project by 2008.   For more information about arsenic, see https://www.mda.state.mn.us/chemicals/spills/incidentresponse/superfund/southmplsressoil My neighbor”'s yard in Seward was removed and replaced with new soil because of arsenic. I agree that children in Phillips bear excess burdens of a contaminated environment. Lead remains a major issue because of lead paint and poor removal practices that allowed lead to go into the soil. Jim Haefemeyer
Raise Your Voice: The last martyr smiled
By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar Elliot Park (1000 E. 14th St.) was host on April 6 to Sudanese immigrants, friends, and families, who had come to observe a revolutionary moment. In Khartoum, a million people surrounded the armed forces. Soldiers were leaving the compound to celebrate among the people. The 30-year dictatorship of al-Bashir was about to fall”¦ and it did! It is not too soon to begin casting the vision for a new Sudan, including the reconstruction of the historic irrigation system. Naturally, the prison gates have been breached, freeing the comrades to the democratic process. What might we take home from the heart of Africa? For all time, the Sudanese people have demonstrated the possibility of implementing fundamental change by nonviolent means. (Hey, why wait for some mythical Red Army to drop from the sky?) Anything else? We are witness to a Muslim people who have taken down an “Islamic” state. How does this square with the [...]
Frank Reflections: How much more death and destruction will we endure?
by Frank Erickson “Military interventions” are murder! They can never be trusted! How can they be trusted when the factor that puts them into motion is a smaller country”'s lack of relative defense? There is talk of United States “military intervention” into Venezuela. Here”'s an idea: the world powers come together and attack Washington D.C. by a “military intervention” to stop the U.S. from doing all their “military interventions!” Representative Ilhan Omar is strongly opposed to “military interventions” upon smaller defenseless countries. This is very encouraging. Rep. Omar”'s first months in office have been rough. How does a Black Muslim Congresswoman illicit more trouble than two White Christian male politicians who started the Iraq War murdering over 200,000 Muslims? White supremacy runs Washington D.C. and Minneapolis! The Iraq War and those that started it are no different than a war [...]
