Here’s my latest post on KELOLAND.com.

I’m sure Sen. John Thune will enjoy it.

Read: Thank the Canadians for Saving the DM&E from Ourselves

An excerpt:

Oh Canada!  Thank you from saving us from ourselves.

Had Republican U.S. Sen. John Thune had his way, the taxpayers would be shelling out billions of dollars to fix the old DM&E line so it could haul coal for power plants that add to global warming. Never mind that before he was Senator, Thune was the DM&E’s lobbyist. 

Thankfully, as reported here on KELOLAND, the Candian Pacific Railroad has provided a free enterprise rather than a governmental solution.

I thought that’s what Republicans were supposed to be all about, letting competition reign and sort out the losers from the winners without government interference—or help… .

Sen. John Thune and DM&E Chief Kevin Schieffer talk a good game about being anti-government conservatives—except when it comes to crony capitalism that benefits them.

The Argus Leader carries their pathetic excuses without rebuttal for why you and me and other Americans are supposed to foot the bill to fix the old railroad they knowingly bought. They also whine about losing the lobbying game to one of their competitors, BNSF.

These are the same guys who criticize poor people and work to keep wages low yet think nothing of asking for a massive government handout for their capitalistic endeavor.

I love conservatives who think subsidies are wrong—except for them.

As my buddies Chad and Dawnne would say, they are simply more conservative cry babies.

Wah!

The Argus’ story today:

Sen. Thune: Competing railroads fought loan
Mar. 17, 2007
Potential competitors to the DM&E played a key, albeit behind-the-scenes, role in derailing the South Dakota rail road’s bid for a $2.3 billion loan, according to Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.While most agree that one Class I railroad - the Union Pacific - stayed out of the battle, actions by the BNSF Railway bolster the senator’s claims that competition in the marketplace translated to a fight in Washington. Efforts to finance its planned $6 billion reconstruction and expansion abruptly shifted tracks when Thune secured changes in the 2005 federal transportation bill that seemed to make the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railroad uniquely qualified for a huge federal loan.

technorati tags:Thune, Senator, Schieffer, DM&E, BNSF, UP, railroads, subsidies, cronyism, transportation

Blogged with Flock

The Argus Leader wonders this morning:

Mayo Clinic’s role debated in DM&E denial
Feb. 28, 2007
In the wake of the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railroad’s failed attempt to seek a $2.3 billion federal loan for its rail reconstruction and expansion, friends and foes of that project might be poised to test an old adage - what goes around comes around.

Well, let’s just see about that.

• Mayo Clinic saves lives. DM&E doesn’t
• Mayo Clinic has been an important, stable part of the Upper Midwest for generations. DM&E hasn’t.
• May Clinic tries to reduce human suffering. DM&E seems to only try and inflict it on those who disagree with it.
  
• Mayo Clinic helps to develop technology for the 21st Century. DM&E uses a 19th Century technology to haul a 17th Century product that could end up destroying the Earth through global warming in the 22d Century.
• Mayo Clinic not run by a former Republican hack. DM&E run by former Republican hack.
• May Clinic not asking the taxpayers to fund a questionable loan. DM&E is.
  

Gee, I wonder who has the greater amount of karma points? I wonder who people think provides the greater societal good?

Just something that makes you want to go “hmmmm.”

I’m so glad I’m able to answer these questions for the Argus Leader.

technorati tags:Mayo, DM&E, karma, sdwatch, Thune, dakota, minnesota, rochester, railroads, trains

Much like Sibby, I try and ignore Dr. Newquist. I find his repeated blog bashing tiresome.

But every once in a while, the Hub City’s most famous cranky Old Guy has a gem.

Today’s Must Read is his take on what happened to the DM&E Railroad and the loan denial by the federal government.

Read:

Just how in the hell did this train get on that track?

The DM&E, which was denied a $2.3 billion federal loan yesterday, has been a Republican railroad from its outset.

Well done, Dr. Porkpie.  But don’t wait for the DM&E to send you an engineer’s hat.

technorati tags:DM&E, railroads, Thune, Schieffer, Mayo, trains, loans, dakota, Minnesota

Looks like the DM&E purchase of a U.S. Senator didn’t quite work out for them. Better luck next time, John Randolph.

DM&E denied federal loan

from Star Tribune

The Federal Railroad Administration today denied Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad’s $2.3 billion loan to build about 280 miles of new line and reconstruct 600 miles of existing track in South Dakota and southern Minnesota.

technorati tags:Thune, DM&E, railroads, dakota, minnesota

Bad news for Sen. John Thune’s former employer. From the AP via the Monterey (CA) Herald. The suit was filed today (2/20/07):

• Read: DM&E expansion critics sue for railroad’s financial information

Excerpt:

WASHINGTON - The Rochester Coalition and the Mayo Clinic filed a lawsuit on Tuesday seeking the financial records of the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad, which wants a $2.3 billion federal loan for its planned coal train project.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia asked a judge to direct the Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration to release the material, which was sought last April in a Freedom of Information Act request.

technorati tags:DM&E, Senator, Thune, railroads, boondoggles

Blogged with Flock

The blog Vox Verax has a novel analysis and approach to presenting who’s on what “team” concerning the proposed DM&E expansion that Sen. John Thune was paid so handsomely to lobby for.

Read: DM&E Update: Here’s a Scorecard to Keep Track of W…

Excerpt:

The football season ends but politics remains with us forever. For both it’s usually a simple matter of the good guys vs. the bad guys, my team vs. your team, Colts vs. Bears, Republicans vs. Democrats. Not so with the all the hoopla surrounding a proposed $2.3 billion federal loan for a struggling Midwestern railroad called the Dakota, Minnesota &Eastern, also known as the DM&E.

This issue has been well covered on Minnesota Monitor, in the mainstream media and on various blogs.

This complex issue has caused intra-party rifts, pitting Republicans and Democrats in South Dakota vs. Democrats and Republicans in Minnesota.The divide has not broken down politically but by state and economic interests. On one side is the railroad, big agriculture, the South Dakota congressional delegation and many rural communities. On the other is the Mayo Clinic, ranchers in Wyoming and South Dakota, the Minnesota congressional delegation, taxpayer watchdog and environmental groups, and the largest city along the route.

They’ve named the teams the “DM&E Coal Busters” and the “Mayo Clinic Healers.”

It’s a funny but insightful look at the issue.

Here are some additional articles on the DM&E issue from some sources that maybe you haven’t read (Source: Google Blog Search):

• WALZ BLASTED BY FELLOW DEMOCRAT OVER DM&E;
• STB Calls for Full Environmental Analysis of Rail Line Essential 
• Another Taxpayer Watchdog Group Opposes DM&E Loan
• ‘Time running out’ for DM&E mitigation plan
• DM&E Moves Closer Towards Possible Loan Approval
• The Answer Is: A John Candy Movie
• Coleman promises to fight DM&E plan in Senate
• STB + DM&E + ICE = EIS
• Senator aims to block DM&E

If Tommy D. and Wld Bill decided to have a pick up game of football (or soccer or baseball or basketball or go kart racing) against Kev and John Randolph, which team would you rather be on?

From today's Rapid City Journal:

Daschle, Janklow teammates

Former U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow’s new job as a consultant in a fight to divert a proposed Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad project away from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., puts him on the same team as his old friend, former Sen. Tom Daschle.
Read Entire Story...

Me?  I'd want Janklow and Daschle to pick me in a heartbeat rather than Schieffer and Thune.  If JRT and the Choo-Choo picked me, I'd tell them I heard my mom calling me home for supper and it was past my curfew and the sun was in my eyes and I sprained my ankle and I had a doctor's note and I had asthma.  If Tom and Bill picked me, I'd ask them when they wanted me to slide tackle Johnny from behind and put a cleat on the back of Kevy's heel.

I'll take the Heavyweights (Tom and Bill) over the Lightweights (Kevin and John) any day.  Plus, I'd get to sit at the cool kids table at lunch.

How about you?