Editor's Column
by
Tim Benjamin
The winter has seemed like
a hard one, so hard that I looked it up. We had 18 inches of snow
during the month of December alone! January and February had some
warm days, or at least above freezing, but we had over 18 days of
below freezing, some of them making it tough for even the hardiest
Minnesotan. What makes hardy Minnesotans is the cold. The only time
from 1891 to 2001 that the Twin Cities did not have a below-zero temperature
in January was in 1990. But I’ll stop complaining soon. Now, finally, we
are really beginning to feel the end of the winter’s cold.
Alice Oden, webmaster
for Access Press, graduated earlier this winter with honors in
the Master's Degree program in technical communication at Metropolitan
State University. “[Alice] has always shown
academic excellence, intellectual curiosity and superior research
and writing skills,” said one professor. “But more than
that, she has been our teacher by demonstrating that all perspectives
are important.” Oden pursued this degree because she finds
the profession “disability-friendly,” as it allows persons
with limited physical abilities to freelance from outside locations.
Congratulations, Alice! I’m very proud to be your colleague.
But more than that, I’m proud to call you my friend. I’m
sure that everyone who sees your work, never knowing who this “webmaster” is,
congratulates you as well and thanks you for your dedication and
hard work.
Many district caucuses
will have happened by the time you read this. As many of you may
know, Paul Wellstone’s Senate seat will
be contested again this election. It’s hard to believe that
Senator Norm Coleman has been in the U.S. Senate for only one full
term and that Paul Wellstone has been gone since that tragic day
in October 2002. When his plane crashed, so many of us lost a person
we knew not just as a senator, but as our friend. Some polls say
that 50 percent of Democrats consider Coleman a little iffy when
it comes to their vote. Wellstone served two terms, twice as long
as Coleman. Has Coleman been a good replacement for our incredibly
missed Paul Wellstone?
In 2006, after hurricane
Katrina and a failed Supreme Court nomination, Coleman stood up
against the present administration, standing strong in his conviction
that the current administration had a “tin
ear” and they needed to re-organize. I have my own opinion,
obviously, but of the other three candidates, which would best pursue
Wellstone’s legacy? As you make your own decision about which
senate candidate to support, recognize that whoever does get the
nod to run against Coleman will definitely be the underdog, because
Coleman has raised twice as much money as the leading Democratic
candidate. The cost of getting elected is another conversation entirely,
but it goes without saying that the best candidate doesn’t
always have the most money.
I’d like to congratulate Jack
Nelson-Pallmeyer for being interested
enough in disability rights to come and spend an afternoon with a
few of the leaders in the disability community. He came by just to
listen to the concerns and the fears regarding some of the upcoming
federal legislation. I wonder how long it will be before all the
candidates will recognize the size of the disability community and
its voting power. Did you know that there are approximately 325,000
potential voters with disabilities in Minnesota? That’s huge!
So tell your candidates what you want and then go out yourself and
vote. No excuses! It’s easy to learn about the candidates and
their positions, even from their flyers arriving in your mailbox.
On the flyer is usually a phone number to call. If the person who
answers the phone is unable to answer your questions or concerns
adequately, ask the volunteer to have the candidate call you directly.
You’d be surprised how many of them will make the call for
just one potential vote.
And of course that one
vote—yours—is the most important
one. ![]()
