Monday, July 27, 2009
BS Alert by Brett Narloch
Issue: Property Rights
Thanks to the efforts of the NDPC, SayAnything Blog, Scott Hennen Show, North Dakota Farm Bureau, and Dakota Beacon, the mainstream media is finally picking up on the budding controversy that is the Northern Plains National Heritage Area (NPNHA). The Associated Press, Bismarck Tribune (news and editorial), Grand Forks Herald, and Fargo Forum have all recently picked up on the story. Their narrative, however, is largely the same: The NPNHA is a good thing, which will bring more federal money into the state (at a time when massive deficits haunt the future of the United States), and some kooky right-wingers are unjustifiably worried about their property rights.
No doubt, this line of thinking is what media-types are hearing from State Senator Tracy Potter and US Senator Byron Dorgan, two of the main proponents of the designation. Rather than investigate the matter further, they take Dorgan’s and Potter’s word that the kooks on the right are always worried about something, and that this designation will simply preserve North Dakota’s culture.
Let me run through a couple examples.
Here is a quote from the AP’s article: The privately funded North Dakota Policy Council has accused Potter of falsely testifying to Congress that public hearings were held.
This is more than just an accusation from the NDPC, look at Potter’s actions. It’s well-documented that Potter said the following to Congress: “In public hearings before city and county commissions the meaning of such a program has been discussed and the commissions have unanimously provided their encouragement.”
We have proven that no such public hearings have taken place. How can a professional reporter simply mention that the NDPC has accused Potter of falsely testifying to Congress? He did falsely testify to Congress.
A Bismarck Tribune article stated: The Policy Council says Potter was deceitful when he testified to Congress that public hearings were held on the heritage area, when none were. The council's director, Brett Narloch, says Potter broke federal law by using federal grant funds to hire a lobby firm and to personally lobby for the designation.
Again, we have shoddy reporting. Potter did mislead Congress.
A Grand Forks Herald op-ed suggests that the five-county designation should be reduced to the places that have cultural and historical significance.
This approach is naïve, because it assumes that the reach of this designation is only supposed to touch a couple of Indian villages, most likely because Dorgan and Potter say so. They need to be challenged on this very topic. If this was just about funneling money into a couple of Indian interpretive centers, the pork projects could’ve been funded through traditional pork processes.
The reason the legislation doesn’t narrow down the area is because they want it to encompass everything. Suddenly, everything will be culturally or historically significant. Environmentalists have been trying to stop all development along the Missouri River for decades. This is just another way to try accomplish that feat.
The Fargo Forum gave those concerned about the designation (including the NDPC) “leafy spurge,” because of our concerns about property rights. Why? Dorgan says it won’t harm property rights; therefore, it won’t, I guess. If one studies the history of journalism they might find that the reason the founders wanted a free press was because they expected the press to challenge people in power, not regurgitate their political talking points. I’m not calling for these media outlets to skew the truth our way. I simply want them to portray things accurately. Thus far, the traditional media has failed North Dakotans on this very important issue. The evidence that we’ve presented to them has been airtight. They still don’t call our leaders out on it. That’s BS.
