Latest Archdiocese Lawsuit: Maryland Treatment Facility

By Brian Lambert
MinnPost
November 19, 2013

http://www.minnpost.com/glean/2013/11/latest-archdiocese-lawsuit-maryland-treatment-facility

Today in pedophilia … Richard Meryhew and Tony Kennedy of the Strib write: “Lawyers filed suit Tuesday morning in St. Paul against a Catholic-run treatment facility that cared for an abusive priest who then was sent to a new parish where he allegedly targeted a 10-year-old boy for years of repeated abuse. Jeff Anderson, the St. Paul attorney who filed the suit on behalf of “Doe 27,” said it is the first lawsuit under Minnesota’s new Child Victims Act to name St. Luke Institute as a defendant. The facility in Silver Spring, Md., has been a destination for the treatment of Minnesota Catholic monks and priests who have been accused of sexual abuse of children, other sexual misconduct and addiction. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville are also being sued in the case.”

But we need a 60-pounder to keep us stocked with leftovers until Christmas! John Lauritsen at WCCO-TV reports: “Butterball, based out of North Carolina, told retailers that orders for fresh 16-pound turkeys and larger have been cut in half. The shortage is nationwide. Woody Hunt, manager of Rainbow Foods in St. Louis Park, says 40 years ago, Butterball was like the ‘Cadillac of turkeys.’ ‘Everybody wanted a Butterball, and if you didn’t have a Butterball on your table you couldn’t brag to your neighbors that you had the best turkey,’ Hunt said. Butterball produces about 20 percent of the nation’s turkeys. That’s about 1.3 billion pounds of turkey meat a year. And the problem isn’t the production; it’s the size of the bird. Steve Olson, executive director of the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association, says turkey farmers in North Carolina may be struggling with higher feed costs.” Here in Edina we insist on “the Range Rover of turkeys” … .

You mean if you don’t supervise it people will do as they dang well please? The AP says: “Minnesota's legislative auditor is finding fault with a state program to promote sustainable forestry, saying there are insufficient assurances that participating landowners comply with program requirements. … The program was created in 2001 to encourage good forestry practices on private land. About 2,300 landowners are participating, with over 737,000 enrolled acres. The incentive payment is $7 per acre. … It also says the state does little to ensure that landowners meet the program's requirements. It says penalties are seldom imposed on violators.”

So who’s your King of Beasts now? A Minnesota “huntress” is taking serious flak for her prowess in Africa. Lindsay Abrams at Salon writes: “Melissa Bachman, a Minnesota TV host famous for her hunting prowess, hit a major nerve with her most recent kill after tweeting about it earlier this month: ‘An incredible day hunting in South Africa! Stalked inside 60-yards on this beautiful male lion...what a hunt!’ … As of this morning, over 250,000 have signed a Change.org petition calling for the South African government to ban her from the country. Started by a Cape Town resident, the petition accusing Bachman of being ‘an absolute contradiction to the culture of conservation, this country prides itself on … As tax payers we demand she no longer be granted access to this country and its natural resources.’ South African lions, although classified as a vulnerable species, aren’t illegal to hunt. Maori Conservancy, which facilitated the kill (motto: conservation through sustainable hunting)’, complained of getting ‘a lot of hate mail from all around the world.’ ”

The unemployment insurance trust fund is fat enough … to cut taxes. The AP says: “The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says Tuesday that the unemployment insurance trust fund’s $1.2 billion reserve at the end of September was enough to trigger a tax cut proposed by Gov. Mark Dayton and enacted by the Legislature this year. The fund went into deficit during the recession, and the employment and economic development commissioner says its turnaround is a sign of an improving economy. The agency estimates businesses will save $346.5 million in 2014-15.” MinnPost coverage here.

Speaking of government systems … Erin Toner of Milwaukee Public Radio reports: “Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is one of 25 Republican governors who are rejecting the health law's expansion of Medicaid. But Wisconsin's own Medicaid program, known as BadgerCare, is more generous than that of many states, and now Walker wants to transfer many people out of BadgerCare and into the insurance marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act. … Walker's plan will open up Medicaid in Wisconsin to about 83,000 poor, childless adults starting Jan. 1. They were previously locked out because of a cap on the number of people who could be in the program. At the same time, Walker announced that the state is canceling Medicaid coverage for 77,000 people who have incomes above the poverty line. Walker's maneuver is possible because the state's Medicaid program was already one of the more inclusive in the country. It allowed people making up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level to be covered by BadgerCare.”

Just because he’s Our Guy, and this is very cool. David Hagland at Slate points Dylan fans to a clever new video version of “Like a Rolling Stone”: “Bob Dylan’s ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ is, without hyperbole, one of the best rock songs ever recorded. And this music video is, again without hyperbole, one of the most impressive I’ve seen. The video has 16 channels — with plans for more, Mashable reports. You can toggle between them as the song progresses, and on each one, you’ll find people mouthing the words to the Dylan classic. There’s Steve Levy on SportsCenter singing along. There’s Marc Maron berating some poor podcast guest with Dylan’s lyrics. Drew Carey lip syncs on the set of The Price Is Right. And so on.”

Elsewhere, Stephen Colbert reacts to Our Favorite Congresswoman declaring herself and other Obamacare doomsayers … “geniuses.”

Nash Finch? Gone. Tom Webb at the PiPress says: “Nash Finch and Spartan Stores said Tuesday they've completed their merger, after shareholders of both companies on Monday overwhelmingly approved the union. And with that, Nash Finch — a $5-billion-a-year grocery distributor that has called Minnesota home for nearly a century — suddenly ceased to exist. The new company will be known as SpartanNash Co. and begin trading immediately under the stock symbol SPTN, and it will be a significant player in the grocery distribution and food-retailing businesses, especially in the Midwest. Still not disclosed: site of the corporate headquarters. Nash Finch had been based in Edina, while Spartan Stores is based in Grand Rapids, Mich.”