“What rights/privledges would you like to take from me after you and the (other) million moms get the whole evil-gun situation straightened out?”

What “rights” and “priviledges” (sic) are you talking about? The right to carry whatever weapon you deem necessary to protect you and your precious loved ones, under whatever circumstances you deem necessary (like peeing outdoors)?

And exactly what part of a “well-regulated militia” don’t you understand? Why do you think its authors put that in there? Have you ever even read your Second Amendment in its 27-word entirety, or do you just take Charlton “Mixed Ethnicity is America’s Problem” Heston’s word for it?

I find it rather humorous to hear you guys whine about how you wish this would just go away so you could get back to fishing. Yet you return to post time and time again on this topic. What’s up with that? Like a stupid cur who keeps asking “Why doesn’t this porcupine leave me alone as he rams his nose into its quills one more time.”

As I’ve said before, some of the yahoos who want to carry concealed guns around so they can threaten people’s lives who dare take a urine in front of them scare me more than the criminals. For some of you, I’m sure the provocation to pull your gun would have to be a lot less (gee, how did all those road signs get shot up–from all the responsible concealed gun carriers out there?). This is precisely why most cops don’t want this law passed. And it’s precisely why not every yahoo who wants to carry a concealed gun is allowed to. There’s just too many nut cases who want to play Deputy Dawg and save the world out there–or just go shooting things up for the hell of it.

I didn’t expect to change anyone’s mind here. But for christ’s sake, if you’re tired of this discussion, why do you keep participating in it? Can’t you find the scroll button on your keyboard? Do you respond to every piece of spam you get in your email box too? Get over it–go fish! But remember to pack your gun in your tackle box. You never know when you might encounter a killer pike–or some drunks taking a whiz…

Here’s some more information on the esteemed John Lott–or is it Mary Rosh? Whatever: http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/03/02/25_Lott.html

Here’s another excellent resource on this topic: http://www.gunguys.com/

Since Jon J. has brought up the esteemed John Lott as a credible source for gun statistics, you all should read this story in today’s City Pages about this fraud: http://www.citypages.com/databank/24/1159/article11064.asp

This guy has been discredited by numerous experts, his research was paid for by an arm of Winchester (now there’s an unbiased source!), and he has stooped so low as to create a fictitious internet name to defend his bogus research. I doubt the story will have much of an impact on the “don’t bother me with the facts, my mind is made up” crowd. But if you’re hitching your wagon to John Lott’s horse, be prepared to defend the horse manure he calls research.

Redneck: You say “14 oz. of steel isn’t going to turn you into a raving madman??? And then follow it up with a story like this???

“One time my 6 y.o. daughter and I were fishing and a car with 2 rather drunk cowboys(no offense to cowboys) blocked my truck in the lot and preceeded to try to rile me up. I was kind of blowing them off till they started to urinate right in front of her—I knew it was time to stop the B.S. so I pulled my .357 from my coat pocket. I layed it on the roof of the truck as I stared at them, they called me a few names as they drove off. Now maybe kung-fu or chop-suey would have done the trick but I was looking to defend me and mine as effectively as possible.”

Redneck, you poor, misinformed and impotent little boy, you are Exhibit A for why not every yahoo who asks for a permit should be allowed to carry a concealed handgun. To think that you are going to convince us that you should be able to carry a concealed handgun so you can whip it out every time some drunk blocks your car in or takes a whiz in front of you is pure lunacy! Too bad the cops weren’t around to haul your sorry little ass to jail for pulling a gun on a couple of drunks.

You are not only a raving madman, Redneck, you are one sick puppy. I wouldn’t even give you a license to drive a car with your mentality, let alone carry a gun

Yo River Eyes! I only meant to point out that the access in question is in Lakeland Shores and not Lakeland. Just wanted to make sure people direct their concerns to the proper municipality. And no, just because you don’t live in Lakeland Shores doesn’t mean you don’t have a voice in how the St. Croix River NATIONAL Scenic Riverway is managed. By all means, speak up on this matter no matter where you live!

RiverEyes sez: “problem we have is that the land is owned by lakeland… and none of us are lakeland residents.”

Wrong. This is in LAKELAND SHORES–different city than Lakeland. Lakeland already has given up its public beach on the St. Croix to the couple living next door, Colin & Cindy Thorpe. Although the Lakeland Beach has been cleaned up, it’s still closed. And YOU, the taxpayers, have footed the $100,000-$200,000 bill for this mess even though the MPCA KNOWS who dumped it there–the Thorpes–but refuses to go after them. So here we’ve lost one public access in Lakeland already and the city of Lakeland Shores proposes to give away another public access to its wealthy citizens the Jarvis’s. It will be a cold day in hell before I ever eat at the Afton House or Catfish Saloon again–about as soon as I buy another pair of Red Wing boots!. How many more public accesses can the Croix afford to lose to rich monkeybutts like the Thorpes and the Jarvis’s??? How many more rich monkeybutts like Red Wing Shoes’ Sleazy Sweasy will try to close off access to the unwashed masses like us? Talk about class warfare, people, this is it–and YOU are on the losing end.

Gordy Jarvis, the adjacent property owner and father of David Jarvis who would get half the property here, is the owner of the Afton House and Afton Cruise Lines. Like Red Wing Shoes, you might apply a little pressure there…

Whooee! That sure brought out the bigots, religious zealots, confused cheddarheads and red-baiters. Go ahead and vote for Norm (fortunately many of you can’t). You’ll see more gated marinas on the St. Croix courtesy of Norm’s big contributors like Bill Sweasy, more mercury in your fish, more sediment in your trout streams, more big noisy polluting boats and jet skis crowding you off the river.

Sorry you don’t get the connection, but from all the misinformed, ugly and hateful talk in the responses here, I guess I wouldn’t expect most of you to. I can only take comfort in the polls that show Norm going down big time.

Well, Red Wing Shoes should be the focus right now because their CEO STILL hasn’t commented publicly about this travesty that he and his fat cat lawyers are responsible for. It’s because of jerks like William Sweasy that the DNR has to spend money fighting gates on the river and frivolous lawsuits and appeals instead of doing the things they should be doing, like protecting habitat and arresting poachers. The only message these people ever listen to is one that hits them in their pocketbook.

The world is run by those who show up, and when St. Croix River users showed up at the DNR with their complaints about Mr. Sweasy’s gate, they gave the Red Wing Shoes Gate the boot! Watch this one very carefully, though. These kind of people think they can buy/threaten/sue their way out of anything and I’d be surprised if they let this drop. My Red Wing Shoes purchase plans are still on hold…

Sometimes the best policy is to follow the money. William Sweasy of Red Wing Shoes has donated $4,000 to Norm Coleman’s Senate campaign since July 20, 2001. The Coleman campaign returned $1,000 to Sweasy on Aug. 1, 2001. But on that same day, a Carol Sweasy of Bayport donated $1,000 to the Coleman campaign. Seems our friend and Red Wing Shoe CEO Mr. Sweasy knows how to work the system…Perhaps candidate Coleman should be queried on his position on this issue, or whether he has plans for the St. Croix Riverway.

Sometimes the best policy is to follow the money. William Sweasy of Red Wing Shoes has donated $4,000 to Norm Coleman’s Senate campaign since July 20, 2001. The Coleman campaign returned $1,000 to Sweasy on Aug. 1, 2001. But on that same day, a Carol Sweasy of Bayport donated $1,000 to the Coleman campaign. Seems our friend and Red Wing Shoe CEO Mr. Sweasy knows how to work the system…Perhaps candidate Coleman should be queried on his position on this issue, or whether he has plans for the St. Croix Riverway.

Hiding behind their St. Croix Harbor Association makes no difference. The CEO of Red Wing Shoes is the prinicipal landowner in that association so it’s pretty clear who can call the shots. I’ve bought my last pair of Red Wing boots and told them so. However, I got no response. And what’s this crap about a “previously land-locked body of water?” If it were land-locked, it couldn’t be a marina, could it? Sounds like their lawyer is laying the groundwork for a challenge to the DNR’s permit denial. Seems Mr. Sweasy wants it both ways–the rights of a landowner to control access to his “previously” land-locked pond, and the rights of a riparian owner on a public body of water. Sorry, Mr. Sweasy, that water is everyone’s, not your private domain. DOWN with the Red Wing Shoes Gate!

Here’s an excellent editorial on this subject from the July 2 Duluth News-Tribune: http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthtribune/news/opinion/3585158.htm

Here’s an excellent editorial on this subject from the July 2 Duluth News-Tribune: http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthtribune/news/opinion/3585158.htm

Here are some folks to contact about this abomination. They are the ones in a position to do something about it:

Molly Shodeen, DNR Metro Region: [email protected]

DNR Commissioner Allen Garber: [email protected]

State Rep. Sharon Marko: [email protected]

State Sen. Len Price: [email protected]

House Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee Chair Dennis Ozment: [email protected]

Senate Environment and Natural Resources Chair Jane Krentz: [email protected]

And don’t forget to express your opinion and future shoe/boot purchasing plans to Red Wing Shoes CEO Bill Sweasy at: [email protected]

While you are emailing Molly Shodeen at the DNR about the Red Wing Shoes Gate, be sure to copy DNR Commissioner Allen Garber at [email protected]

Another day, another story about rich monkeybutts ruining the St. Croix. Here’s the latest on the Lakeland asbestos dumpers from this morning Pioneer Press:http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/3577299.htm

Here’s the URL for the story: http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/3567020.htm

As the story indicates, the temporary permit for this atrocity has expired and the DNR won’t renew it if they get complaints about it. Do they need to be any more clear than that??? I urge EVERYONE who fishes the St. Croix–or even if you don’t, but want to head off this stuff in your favorite waters–to contact the DNR and complain about this crap. This is yet another example of how the DNR readily caves in to these rich monkeybutts at the threat of a lawsuit. That’s the ONLY reason they granted a temporary permit in the first place–to avoid a lawsuit. Also note the culprit in all this–the CEO of Red Wing Shoes, who owns most of the property in this gated community and refused to be interviewd for the story. A letter to Red Wing Shoes expressing your disgust wouldn’t hurt. I know I’ve bought my last pair of Irish Setters as long as this guy is in charge…Hit em where it hurts–in the pocketbook. That’s all these creeps care about is the almight dollar.

River-wide no wake on the St. Croix kicks in at 683.0 (although it should be lower than that due to the extreme shoreline erosion that results from wakes at water levels that high). To track the river level, go to this website. At the bottom you can link to another site to get forecasts: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin-mpx/ahps.cgi?stlm5

Once again, I would urge you all to contact your local media–print and broadcast. Call the local papers up and down the river and call the metro dailies. Go to their websites. Most all reporters and editors can be contacted via email, and if you’re reading this, you know how to do that! http://www.rivertowns.net will get you a few of the area weeklies all on one page. [email protected] will get you the pioneer press outdoors writer chris niskanen. [email protected] will get you dennis anderson at the star-trib. Also contact outdoor news. They’re good for reporting on these kinds of resource issues. And don’t forget the fishing magazines. The best way to deal with jerks like these gate-people is lots of bad publicity. Embarrass them where they live. Turn them into pariahs–They are taking your river away piece by piece!

For reports of this and other possible violations, contact:
Molly Shodeen, Minnesota DNR, 651-772-7915

You also might check with the Corps of Engineers to see if this dock is properly permitted. In fact, if you have a question about ANY dock on the St. Croix, you should check for the proper permits. There are size restrictions and other requirements that must be met. ALL docks on the St. Croix–commercial or private residence–are required to have a permit from the Corps. Call Dan Seeman, Corps of Engineers, at 651-290-5380.

Also,you might want to contact the St. Paul Pioneer Press reporter who covers Washington County. Mary Divine can be reached at [email protected], and she’salways looking for good stories like this one.

These sons of bitches are ruining the St. Croix for everyone. They’re cut from the same cloth as the asbestos couple and that jerk developer who clearcut his property in Lakeland for his $2 million home. For the story on that one, go here: http://nl3.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=0F3BD1140E41EA2E&p_docnum=13&s_subterm=Subscription%20until%3A%2006%2F30%2F2002%2023%3A59%3A59&s_subexpires=06%2F30%2F2002%2023%3A59%3A59&s_username=1060

To keep tabs on the St. Croix levels, go here: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin-mpx/ahps.cgi?stlm5

Here’s a battery tip, and the folks here are great to work with!

http://www.powertroll.com/index.html

There isn’t a quicker way to lose fishing privileges–or respect–on private land than by being a slob angler. And AMEN about slob smokers. Take a walk along a body of water some day and try to count the hundreds of nonbiodegradable cigarette butts you’ll find. The vast majority of smokers have no respect whatsoever when it comes to disposing of their butts. They just flick them out of their boats and throw them in the water, thinking they’ll just sink and go away. Wrong. They end up on beaches and shorelines and take years and years to degrade. Ditto when you’re driving down the road–what the hell do you think ashtrays are for? A great solution would be to put a deposit on all cigarettes–to be refunded upon return of the butts. Maybe smokers would think twice if THEY were the ones who had to pick them up and dispose of them. Nuff said.

The best way to clean river scum on boats is to report their asses to the DNR! :>)

Here’s a link to this morning’s Pioneer Press article on the meeting in Lakeland. Evidently the asbestos even made its way into the river. Better hope for low spring runoff this year–flooding could really raise hell with that stuff! Hopefully they catch the criminals responsible for this. Sounds like they’ve got a pretty good handle on who it is.

http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/2895056.htm

Here’s the latest news on the Lakeland Beach situation:

http://www.stillwatergazette.com/story.asp?cat=NEW&story=5677