[Rhodes22-list] Hey Slim, This News Just in from MN

[brad haslett]

Slim,

Do you know a Jeff Peck from Mankato?  I think his dad
was a Ford dealer there.  He and I flew together at
the same commuter airline 25 years ago.  The last time
I visited with him we were on a NorthWest flight from
Beijing to Tokyo, he made a cabin announcement and I
recognized his voice.  Jeff spent the whole flight
back in the cabin visiting with us.  Just curious.

Brad

--- Steve Alm <salm at mn.rr.com> wrote:

> Hilarious, Brad.  Thank you.  I don't know if you've
> ever tried lutefisk but
> I think its desecration is long overdue.  You have
> to be careful however if
> you throw it in the water, it can explode.
> 
> Slim
> 
> P.S.  I grew up in Mankato and played many a gig in
> Lake Okoboji.  8-)
> 
> 
> 
> On 5/19/05 4:19 PM, "brad haslett"
> <flybrad at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> > Newsweek Lutefisk Story Sparks Fury Across
> Volatile
> > Midwest
> > 
> > Decorah, IA - The debris-strewn streets of this
> remote
> > Midwestern hamlet remain under a tense 24-hour
> curfew
> > tonight, following weekend demonstrations by rock-
> and
> > figurine-throwing Lutheran farm wives that left
> over
> > 200 people injured and leveled the Whippy Dip
> dairy
> > freeze. The rioting appeared to be prompted, in
> part,
> > by a report in Newsweek magazine claiming military
> > guards at Spirit Lake?s notorious Okoboji
> internment
> > center had flushed lutefisk down prison toilets.
> > Newsweek?s late announcement of a retraction seems
> to
> > have done little to quell the inflamed passions of
> > Lutheran insurgents in the region, as outbreaks of
> > violent mailbox bashings and cow tippings have
> been
> > reported from Bowbells, North Dakota to Pekin,
> > Illinois.
> > 
> > Whether the violence was triggered by Newsweek?s
> > report of lutefisk desecration or frustration over
> > chronic shortages of Beanie Babies and Old Style,
> one
> > thing seems certain ? occupying U.S. troops face a
> > steep road to reestablish trust in this tinderbox
> of
> > ancient hatreds and delicious dairy products. Some
> > analysts say the latest outbreak represents the
> most
> > vexing challenge to US strategy since its invasion
> the
> > region three years ago.
> > 
> > ?It could be months before we get the area back
> under
> > control,? said Brigadier Gen. Glen Hastings of the
> US
> > Army?s Southern Minnesota Command. ?We?re hoping
> the
> > tractor pull and swap meet seasons will help calm
> down
> > some of the violent elements.?
> > 
> > ?Campground of Evil?
> > 
> > Military efforts to stabilize the violent ethnic
> > Protestantism of the region have had a mixed
> record of
> > success. U.S. paratroopers first landed along the
> > Iowa/Minnesota border in early 2002 to root out
> > extremist Uff Da militants, followers of the
> > charismatic Lutheran cleric Pastor Duane
> Gunderson.
> > Despite fears of being bogged down in the harsh
> > Mankato winter, troops encountered little
> resistance,
> > save sporadic eggings from ill-equipped insurgents
> > atop the grain elevators of local cornlords. U.S.
> > forces achieved swift success, taking as many as
> 1,500
> > Lutheran rebels into custody and bringing a
> momentary
> > measure of stability to what has long been
> considered
> > a dangerous Scandinavian backwater.
> > 
> > The initial battlefield victories, however, have
> since
> > proven to be only the beginning of the American
> > struggle here. The subsequent occupation created a
> > number of difficult challenges critics claim were
> > overlooked by the White House?s top Midwest war
> > planners. The tipping point seems to have been a
> 2004
> > incident at the now notorious Okoboji.
> > 
> > First constructed as a boredom punishment camp for
> > Midwest dissident youth, the US Military Command
> > converted the sprawling Arnold?s Park / Lake
> Okoboji
> > area into an internment facility to house
> insurgent
> > detainees. Almost immediately stories began to
> surface
> > of prisoner mistreatment, including vivisections,
> anal
> > probes by extraterrestrial strippers, and
> blackouts of
> > Viking games.
> > 
> > American military spokesmen initially dismissed
> the
> > stories, but several news organizations ? led by
> > Newsweek ? obtained a series of shocking photos of
> a
> > Texas Army Reservist, Tyffanie Cruddup, laughing
> as
> > she humiliates a naked inmate by putting a Dallas
> > Cowboys stocking hat on his head.
> > 
> > The photos sent the Lutheran street into riots as
> far
> > as Rheinlander, Wisconsin, and sent shockwaves
> > throughout the media world. The incident received
> > heavy play on network and cable news, the New York
> > Times, Washington Post, Le Monde, the Guardian,
> > Packers Illustrated, and was the subject of over a
> > dozen off-Broadway dramas during the 2004 season.
> For
> > its part, Newsweek ran a record eight consecutive
> > covers on Okoboji, along with a special
> commemorative
> > November 3 collector?s issue with pull-out
> humiliation
> > poster.
> > 
> > Luting and Looting
> > 
> > In the wake of the incident, American military
> > spokespeople have taken pains to defend handling
> of
> > prisoners at Okoboji. A series of new guidelines
> > instruct guards to ?respect the rituals and
> traditions
> > of our valued Lutheran prison guests,? including
> > ?dietary needs, Wednesday Nite Bingo, and twice
> daily
> > viewing of Wheel of Fortune.?
> > 
> > ?It is important that we remember that Lutheranism
> is
> > a religion of peace,? said Army spokesman Maj.
> Richard
> > Lehrman. ?And we need to remember to avoid
> insensitive
> > behavior and remarks that will cause these
> peaceful
> > Lutherans to go on another bloody killing
> rampage.?
> > 
> > Despite officials? claims of intensified
> sensitivity,
> > rumors have persisted of continued prisoner abuse
> at
> > Okoboji, including lutefisk desecration ? an
> > especially heinous crime under Lutheran doctrine.
> Some
> > analysts have viewed the rumors skeptically,
> pointing
> > to the Uff Da insurgent training manual ?How To
> Lie
> > About Lutefisk Desecration By Infidels.? Still,
> dozens
> > of news organizations continue to investigate the
> > charges.
> > 
> > In its May 6 ?Midwest Quagmire Wire? section,
> Newsweek
> > appeared to have confirmed the lutefisk rumors.
> > Bylined by Senior Correspondent Michael Isikoff,
> the
> > magazine cited an unidentified source claiming
> that
> > Okoboji guards had deliberately flushed an entire
> > batch of the pungent cod-and-lye concoction that
> > prisoners had been aging in a specially prepared
> > commode. ?The guard smelled it and thought it was
> > prison burrito night,? the source was quoted as
> > saying.
> > 
> > News of the desecration spread quickly from Iowa
> to
> > the Dakotas to Minnesota and Wisconsin, fanned by
> > radio soybean reports and Lutheran clerics in
> fiery
> 
=== message truncated ===



		
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