IN NEED OF YOUR HELP — BEYOND THE YELLOW RIBBON AND VETS SERVING

Les Bakke and Dan Hunt are helping area veterans with the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon project in assisting the families who have soldiers who are now deployed overseas. There is a plethora of areas that the wife or parent or child of a veteran serving overseas may need help, such as moving or repairing appliances or fixing something broken within a household such as an electrical outlet, for instance. Dan and Les are in charge of making certain those family members receive the assistance they need when they need it. Now there is another project they would like the public to assist them in. For Christmas every year, CARE PACKAGES are sent over to our soldiers in combat. What Dan and Les need are names of soldiers and veterans who are serving so they can be sent a Christmas Care Package. Anyone who has or knows of any soldier deployed please send their name, where the soldier was deployed from and what would your soldier like to receive in his or her Christmas Care Package? With all the social media available, not one soldier serving anywhere overseas should be forgotten. Please contact Dan Hunt at: 701-866-9547 or Les Bakke at: 701-261-2050. BYTR is a 501.3 Charitable Organization. Please call ASAP, as the Christmas Care Packages will need to be mailed very soon.

SOO vs FARGO EDITORIAL BOARD ELECTION PREDICTIONS

In the past, I have interviewed many candidates on both sides of the river who were running for a variety of elected positions, both national offices as well as many local elected offices. Many times I wanted to also print in large bold letters “DO NOT VOTE FOR THIS CLOWN” and give my reasons. I have never done that, regardless how much I wanted to. And while I may have questioned motives behind a candidate’s reasons for running for office, or even the actual benefit this person would bring to the office, I cannot think of one single time I have ever let my feelings sway me from doing an honest job in simply delivering the questions and answers to each candidate so that our readers could make their own determination on how to vote. In my capacity as a reporter who has the opportunity to interview individuals for whatever reason, my obligation is to gather information and reveal what I have learned to the public. However, as an editorial/opinion writer, I am free to give exactly that—my opinion. However, my opinions should be based on the history as well as pertinent and time-relevant facts of the day. I have NEVER, EVER told our readers to vote for a person based on what the candidate would bring in revenues to the paper my column appeared in. In layman’s terms, that means future advertising revenues. What The Extra sells and makes in profits is none of my concern. I do not sell advertising for The Extra or any other paper my byline appears in, nor will I. In my mind, that is completely and totally a conflict of interest, as it should be for any reporter who writes stories based on facts and figures and how the public is or might be affected. Editorial boards in newspapers across the country have endorsed candidates for as long as there has been printed news. Those that do, feel it is within their realm of responsibility to do so. Influence of all kinds is often corrupted – more often under the guise of “what is best for everyone involved.” Most also know the risks they take in doing so and when choosing the worst candidate—especially if it is going to be a very close election. What I find confounding about the process is that more often than not, large subscriber-based publications rarely ever pick the person who has little or nothing to offer in terms of continued advertising sales—directly or because the candidate just “ happens” to be associated with some other entity that needs continual advertising . Newspapers know exactly who is “linked” to who or what, and whether the “who’s and what’s” can benefit the bottom line of the paper in question. When the bottom line is not a major concern, then, more often than not they go with the chosen party line—usually all the way down the line.

As an example of this, the Forum chose Phil Hansen over Kent Eken. Hansen is a Republican. But even more telling than that, Hansen would be much better for North Dakotans in the long run because he has stated time and again he is not in favor of the Homestead Property Tax Credit nor is he in favor of LGA (Local Government Aid to subsidize rural cities, such as Moorhead). Phil Hansen is a washed-up football player who is originally from North Dakota. He moved to Minnesota after his football career was over. Mr. Hansen claims his reasons for running for District 4 of Minnesota State Senate is because “I want to give back to the community and state I now live in.” Really? So why not run for city council of Detroit Lakes or even the Minnesota House of Representatives before you jump in with both feet into the Minnesota Senate? Kent Eken is a native-born Minnesotan and has been a Minnesota State Legislator for ten years—that is ten years of experience fighting for the rural areas of western Minnesota. Now ask yourself, who benefits the most from Moorhead not having any edge in competing with Fargo, which is what Moorhead is left with without continued LGA or the Homestead Property Credit? Newspapers as well as radio talk shows and every other public media imaginable who endorse candidates all have a bottom line. Before following who and what any of them, no matter where, are selling you the goods for, consider what that media outlet has to gain or not by endorsing a candidate in the future.

Your responsibility as an American citizen and voter is to find out if the candidate running for any office is the candidate who actually represents you and your community first. Don’t just drink the Kool-aid being dispensed from people or media who have a major monetary stake in the game or simply want to keep the status quo.