SEN HEIDI HEITKAMP INTRODUCES BILL TO HELP HOUSE WOMEN & CHILDREN IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SITUATIONS (HEALS ACT)

SENATOR HEIDI HEITKAMP INTRODUCES BILL TO HELP HOUSE WOMEN & CHILDREN IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SITUATIONS:

NOT HAVING THE RESOURCES TO LEAVE IS WHY MOST WOMEN REMAIN IN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS.

THE OTHER REASON IS PSYCHOLOGICAL BECAUSE CONSTANT ABUSE CAUSES WOMEN TO QUESTION THEIR SELF-WORTH.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AFFECTS WOMEN PHYSICALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS WHEN A MAN CONTROLS A WOMAN'S MIND WITH HIS FISTS.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ABUSERS ARE VERY CUNNING AND OFTEN ACCUSE THEIR VICTIMS OF "PROVOKING THEM".

THESE NARCISSITIC MEN APPEAR TO BE "NICE" IN PUBLIC WHEN BEHIND CLOSED DOORS THEY ARE MONSTERS.

THE CYCLE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL HARASSMENT AGAINST WOMEN MUST BE STOPPED.

GREAT JOB SENATOR HEITKAMP........THANK YOU.


Sources: NTXE, WDAZ


******* Sen. Heitkamp introduces bill to help shelter victims of domestic violence

After an incident of domestic violence, many victims don't have a place to go.

But a safe place may soon be closer to home.

WDAZ's Scott Cook tells us how badly it is needed in our area.

"It's extraordinarily difficult for a woman in an abusive relationship to leave. In fact, national statistics tell us it takes seven times. And you may ask why -- why is because frequently there are no other options, there’s no place to go, there’s no housing," says Senator Heidi Heitkamp.

No housing, no place to go. That's an issue many victims face after an act of domestic violence. But Senator heidi Heitkamp has introduced a bill to fix the crunch. The Help End Abusive Living Situations Act or HEALS -- would provide more funding for 'transitional housing,' an important step between shelters and permanent housing that includes counseling, childcare, career and financial training.

"Whether people are aware of it or not, we have a huge need for housing in this community," says Kristi Anderson, CVIC Counselor.

According to Kristi Anderson with the CVIC here in Grand forks, its a problem more common than most would think.

Thirty-three families are in danger of allowing the cycle to continue, as they wait for housing.

"The clients we see coming in -- usually the biggest barrier is where are they going to stay that night. If they can't go home because of the abuse in the family, they would need to either utilize a hotel, which sometimes they don't have the funds for, so they would need to utilize shelter, which isn't always the best option especially for families with kids," says Anderson.

The HEALS Act would increase funding and create more flexibility for transitional housing programs that help victims get back on their feet. And the added funding would help with more than just the housing waitlist.

"It's not just housing, it's the whole wrap-around services that are so critically important to these families recover from a life of violence," says Heitkamp.

Some legislature that could help some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, fifty-one percent of victims who need emergency housing do not receive it.

Ed Schultz Sought For U.S. Senate Run; Another Alan Grayson

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Democrats Woo MSNBC Host Ed Schultz For U.S. Senate Run



North Dakota Democrats are actively pursuing liberal MSNBC talk show host Ed Schultz as a candidate to replace Sen. Byron Dorgan, who announced Tuesday he would not seek re-election.

State House Minority Leader Merle Boucher told POLITICO he made an official overture to Schultz late Tuesday night about launching a campaign and said he believes the TV commentator is "intrigued by the idea."

"We have to find someone that has a high profile and a national fundraising base and I can't think of anyone better than Ed Schultz in that regard," said Boucher. "He certainly didn't say no to me by any means," he added.

Dorgan's retirement announcement took state Democrats by surprise and immediately sent party leaders scrambling for a viable opponent to take on likely Republican candidate, Gov. John Hoeven. Hoeven, who led Dorgan by double-digits in public polls this fall, is expected to announce his candidacy within weeks.

"Very few people have the resources and the backing to take on John Hoeven and Ed has taken on John Hoeven before on his radio show. I don't think anyone knows John Hoeven and his record better than Ed Schultz," said Boucher.

Minutes after Dorgan's announcement, Schultz began receiving e-mails from across the country, urging him to run.

"We've gotten a ton of e-mails," said Vern Thompson, programming manager for Schultz's nationally syndicated radio show. "I think it's something he would be interested in, but it is a little early. To be honest, I don't know what he will do," added Thompson, who served as executive director of the North Dakota Democratic Party from 2001 to 2004.

In that role, Thompson tried to recruit Schultz to run against Hoeven for governor in 2004. He said Schultz seriously considered it, but passed on a race to pursue his broadcasting career.

"It was the right decision because now we have this huge voice at 30 Rock," Thompson said.

MSNBC host Ed Schultz said Wednesday during his show that he might run for the seat, and noted that state Democrats requested that he consider it.

Schultz said he's "flattered" and "honored," but "can't say that I'm even considering it right now."

Schultz said on his show Tuesday evening that he believes North Dakota law holds that a candidate would have to be a resident for the past five years to run, and he hasn't been living in the state.

State Senate Minority Leader David O'Connell said Schultz would be a strong candidate not only because of his ability to rake in cash from around the country, but due to his detailed knowledge of Hoeven's record.

Throughout Hoeven's first term, Schultz repeatedly lambasted Hoeven as "an empty suit" during his morning Fargo radio show—a characterization he repeated Tuesday on his show.

"But, you know, if I was still there," Schultz said, "I'd love to run against the empty suit, because that`s what I used to call John Hoeven, the sitting governor."

"A lot of people think he's blowing hot air, but the thing is, he never put anything on the air until he confirmed it. He'd always call about stuff and wanted to check his sources," said O’Connell.

Boucher said he didn't expect Schultz to make a snap decision and Democrats acknowledge that it might be hard for the talk show host to give up a lucrative and glittery broadcasting career for the tiring and tedious campaign trail.

"He said he would visit and get back to me and I'm going to give him all the time he needs to make that decision," said Boucher.






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Sen. Byron Dorgan Steps Down; Obama Comments

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Obama Comments On Sen. Dorgan's Retirement


From the White House, three hours after Dorgan's own statement -- in a mark of by how much this took the Democratic leadership by surprise:

Senator Dorgan should be very proud of his more than 30 years of devoted service in the United States Congress and to the people of North Dakota. From fighting for our energy future to standing with North Dakota’s families through difficult economic times, Senator Dorgan has been a trusted leader for the people of his state.

He has also been a champion for our family farmers and a powerful voice for Indian Country – particularly through his recent work to improve Indian health care services. Michelle and I extend our gratitude for his service to our nation and our very best wishes for the future for him and his family.





Byron Dorgan's Announcement Surprises Democrats


Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) announced Tuesday night that he would retire rather than run for re-election this year, a surprise move that imperils the Democrats' 60-seat majority next year.

Dorgan wasn't facing any serious opposition in what would have been a campaign for his fourth term, but North Dakota’s popular Republican Gov. John Hoeven is considering a bid and was leading in early polls.

In disclosing his decision to his staff via memo Tuesday, Dorgan insisted that he was not retiring to forestall defeat in November.

“This decision is not a reflection of any dissatisfaction with my work in the Senate, nor is it connected to a potential election contest next fall (frankly, I believe if I were to run for another term I would be reelected),” Dorgan wrote to his staff.

“But the truth is in recent months, even as I have prepared for a reelection campaign, I have wrestled with the question of whether I really wanted to make a commitment to serve another seven years in the Senate (next year plus a new six year term) following the 30 years I have already served in Congress plus the 10 years I served in elected office in the State Capitol prior to that.”

Dorgan said he made his decision over the holidays, but he appeared to catch much of his party and even his own staff off guard. With an apology for how he was sharing the news, he informed his aides of his decision through an email from his chief of staff just minutes before his office put out a statement with the announcement.

Similarly, the Senate leadership and campaign committee had little warning of Dorgan’s retirement – the first by a Senate Democrat this cycle. Dorgan had already made up his mind by the time he informed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, according to sources close to the leader. And while the White House was aware of Dorgan’s decision, the president wasn’t able to talk to his former colleague before the news broke, according to a senior Democrat.

He hadn’t given any sign before the holiday recess that he was considering retirement and he’d even been raising money for his re-election campaign.

"It caught us totally by surprise," said an aide to one top Senate Democrat. "We had no idea this was coming. Total stunner."

Dorgan’s wife, Kimberly, a senior executive at the American Council of Life Insurers, wasn’t enthusiastic about her husband's running for another term, according to a source close to the senator.

With Dorgan out of the race now, North Dakota becomes a prime pickup opportunity for Senate Republicans. The Cook Political Report has already changed its rating of the race to “Lean Republican” and is calling it one of the Republicans’ “best opportunities to pick up a Democratic-held seat in 2010.”

Dorgan, who previously served as his state’s tax commissioner and as its sole representative in the House, was still a popular figure at home. But North Dakota has been reliably Republican at the presidential level, giving John McCain 53 percent of the vote in 2008, and Hoeven could be difficult to beat should he get in.

The governor was giving serious consideration to entering the race before the incumbent’s retirement announcement, according to several GOP operatives, and Dorgan’s decision is expected to make his decision to run more likely. But as of Tuesday night, Hoeven himself was mum.

Hoeven, who is serving his ninth year in Bismarck and is the longest-serving chief executive in the country, has benefited from the state’s relative economic prosperity in the midst of the recession. North Dakota has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.

A December Rasmussen poll underlined the governor's strong standing, showing him leading Dorgan by 22 points, 58 percent to 36 percent. The same poll, however, showed Dorgan still viewed favorably by a majority of his North Dakota constituents.

“My assessment was that if Byron had run it would be been a very competitive and close race, which Byron would have won in the end,” said Dorgan pollster Geoff Garin. “North Dakotans know that they have a very effective and independent senator in Byron, and he is someone who never lost his sense of connection with the average person in North Dakota.”

With Dorgan retiring, Democrats may turn to Rep. Earl Pomeroy, the state’s lone House member, who has proven to be resilient in fending off GOP challengers over his nine terms in the House. In a statement Tuesday night, Pomeroy only offered praise for Dorgan and made no mention of his own intentions. His spokesperson didn't respond when asked if the congressman was interested in the Senate seat.

A senior House Democratic aide said that Pomeroy has indicated to staff that he’s remaining in the House, although he’s sure to receive overtures from the White House and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee urging him to consider otherwise.

Heidi Heitkamp, a former North Dakota attorney general and tax commissioner who was defeated by Hoeven in the 2000 gubernatorial race, is another potential candidate.

Dorgan, 67, has spent his career in the Senate forging his own brand of prairie populism. He is a harsh critic of free trade, blames Wall Street greed for the country’s economic woes and still touts his lonely vote in 1999 against the Clinton administration’s deregulation of the financial industry. In 2006, he penned a book that summed up his disgust with the country's economic policies: “Take This Job And Ship It.” Such positions earned him widespread support in North Dakota, where he won each of his three Senate races by double-digits.

But under the Obama administration and a Democratic-controlled Congress, Dorgan has had to toe a fine line. He opposed the administration’s cap-and-trade energy bill — almost a political imperative in his energy-producing state — but has argued for the need to cap carbon emissions. He voted for the stimulus package — but only before unsuccessfully advancing an amendment that would have required that only U.S. goods be used for infrastructure projects.

Multiple Democratic sources said Dorgan seemed tired of the Senate grind and, after decades in elected office, was ready to leave public life.

Republicans were jubilant over Dorgan’s decision, saying it underlined the difficulties Democrats face heading into the mid-terms as Obama’s approval ratings fall and concern over federal spending grows.

“This development is indicative of the difficult environment and slumping approval ratings that Democrats face as a result of their out of control tax-and-spend agenda in Washington, and we fully intend to capitalize on this opportunity by continuing to recruit strong candidates who can win these seats in November,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Brian Walsh.

And while Dorgan is the first Senate Democrat to retire, his decision comes after a group of veteran House Democrats from potentially competitive seats announced that they would retire, and one, vulnerable Alabama freshman Rep. Parker Griffith, changed parties altogether.

Dorgan’s decision makes for a bleaker picture for Senate Democrats, some of whose most entrenched members were already looking highly vulnerable this fall. Republicans are already aggressively challenging Reid, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and public polling shows them each trailing their Republican challengers.

Polls also show Republicans with a strong shot to win the two Senate seats vacated by Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. In Delaware, moderate congressman Mike Castle is a formidable candidate and has a strong shot to pick up the vice president’s old seat, even if his son, Attorney General Beau Biden, decides to run.

And in Illinois, Rep. Mark Kirk is running competitively against state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, the leading Democratic candidate, with Democratic strategists privately concerned that they will face a challenge holding onto the president’s old seat.

Democrats are hoping to make gains in five of the six states where Senate Republicans are retiring – Ohio, New Hampshire, Missouri, Florida and Kentucky. But if it turns out to be a wave year for the GOP, all could be difficult races for Democrats – and make it that much more unlikely that they retain their filibuster-proof 60 seats.



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Sources: Politico, MSNBC, The Ed Show, Google Maps

Midwest Holiday Blizzard Claims 21 Lives

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Christmas Storm Strands Travelers In Midwest


Residents across the Midwest and the Plains who made it home for Christmas were digging out on Friday after a fierce snowstorm while those who spent the night in airports and shelters tried to resume their journeys. Meteorologists warned that roads across the region remained dangerous.

The National Weather Service said blizzards would hit parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin through Saturday. The storm had already dumped significant snow across the region, including a record 14 inches in Oklahoma City and 11 inches in Duluth, Minn., on Thursday.

Slippery roads have been blamed for at least 21 deaths this week as the storm lumbered across the country from the Southwest. Ice storm warnings and winter weather advisories were issued for parts of the East Coast on Friday, but the region was largely spared.

Paul Mews, who drove from Faribault, Minn., to a relative's home in Plum City, Wis., on Friday morning, said the first 15 minutes of the 80-mile trip were clear, but a surge of heavy snowfall produced a stretch of near-whiteout conditions.

"It was snow-pocalypse. It was wicked," said Mews, 25. "We thought about turning around and going back."

They decided to continue when the surge passed minutes later.

Christmas in the truck stop

Others weren't as lucky.

Army Sgt. Mark Matthey was spending Friday night at the Flying J Travel Plaza in Sioux Falls, S.D., after Interstate 90 closed. Matthey, 26, left Fort Bragg, N.C., on Wednesday for his hometown of Spokane, Wash., in hopes of making it by late Friday or early Saturday.

Instead, he spent Friday afternoon drinking coffee, watching TV and making friends at the truck stop. He planned to find a spot to sleep on the floor or in the cab of his truck.

Matthey said he and the other travelers were in decent spirits.

"Everybody has the attitude that you have to play the cards you were dealt," he said. "No use in getting upset about something you can't control."

Interstates also were closed in North Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming. Meteorologists warned that massive snow drifts and blustery winds could cause whiteouts across the northern Plains. Officials urged travelers to stay home and pack emergency kits if they had to set out.

Rescues along Texas highways

In Texas, volunteer firefighters and sheriff's deputies rescued hundreds of people stranded along Interstate 44 and Texas State Highway 287 near Wichita Falls. The area recorded up to 13 inches of snow, said Doug Speheger, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

"It's really been horrible," Wichita County Sheriff David Duke said. "Although we live in North Texas and get a lot of cold weather, we weren't prepared for the significant amount of snow that we've received."

Only two of the sheriff department's vehicles have four-wheel drive, so rescuers used their own pickups and the heavy 5-ton brush trucks normally used to fight fires to get to motorists, many of whom ran out of gas while they were stuck in traffic stalled by the storm.

"It was exciting at first to wake up and go, 'Oh, this will be great. We'll have a white Christmas,'" Wichita Falls Mayor Lanham Lyne said. "Then it kept snowing. As the roads became impassable, then we started to worry."

Even residents in the Dallas-Fort Worth area briefly experienced a white Christmas, their first in more than 80 years. Not since Dec. 25, 1926 — when 6 inches fell on Dallas and Collin counties — had the area had a true postcard-looking Christmas.

But by late afternoon, the 3 inches of snow measured at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on Christmas Eve was all but melted.

Winds were gusting from 45 mph to 60 mph across the Dakotas and Nebraska on Friday. Crews were working to restore power to thousands of customers in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois and Iowa.

The storm also grounded flights at South Dakota's biggest airports. Sioux Falls Regional Airport was closed until Saturday morning at the earliest, manager Dan Letellier told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. Flights also were canceled at Rapid City Regional Airport and Pierre Regional Airport. The total number of flights affected wasn't immediately available.

About 200 people were stuck overnight at Oklahoma's largest airport, which closed Thursday afternoon after several inches of snow clogged runways, said Mark Kranenburg, director of the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. The airport reopened Friday morning, but only one runway was operational.

Most of the stranded passengers were gone by Friday afternoon. While some were able to catch flights, many simply went home. Kranenburg predicted it would be two or three days before all three runways were open and flights resumed as scheduled.

The 14 inches of snow in Oklahoma City broke a record for the day of 2.5 inches set back in 1914.

The previous record for Christmas Eve in Duluth, which has gotten more than 22 inches in two days, was 3 inches in 1893, said Kevin Kraujalis, a National Weather Service meteorologist. By the time the storm is over, it could be one of the 10 worst in Duluth's recorded history.

With heavy winds producing snow drifts as deep as 5 feet, "it's awful, it's just awful," Kraujalis said. "It's a big workout just walking outside to check my weather equipment."

Since Tuesday, icy roads have been blamed for accidents that killed at least seven people in Nebraska, five people in Oklahoma, four in Kansas, two in Minnesota and one each in North Dakota, Missouri and New Mexico.



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Holiday Blizzard Hits 7 Midwestern States

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Massive Storm Disrupts Holiday Travel



A blustery storm spread snow and ice across the heartland Thursday as Americans rushed to get home for the holidays, grounding flights, stranding drivers on white-knuckle highways and forcing churches to cancel Christmas Eve services.

"I don't think God wants anyone to get killed or break a hip or break a knee or something," said the Rev. Joseph Mirowski of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Transfiguration in Mason City, Iowa, where up to a foot of snow and sleet was expected.

A foot or two of snow was forecast in parts of the Plains and the Midwest by Christmas Day. Blizzard warnings were issued for Minnesota, North Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin, and drivers were encouraged to pack emergency kits before setting out during what is normally one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

The storm was also expected to glaze highways in the East with ice on Christmas.

Slippery roads were blamed for at least 18 deaths this week as the slow-moving storm made its way across the country from the Southwest.

The snowstorm also put the brakes on some last-minute Christmas shopping. At the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., some shoppers had entire stores to themselves.

"It doesn't bother me any," said Steve Burns, who was browsing for shirts and other gifts with his teenage daughter.

Dangerous Travel

High winds blowing snow across icy roads were a concern elsewhere. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol closed eastbound Interstate 40 in El Reno after numerous accidents, and the state's National Guard was activated to rescue motorists stranded by collisions or spinouts along the H.E. Bailey Turnpike, which runs to the Texas state line.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry activated military personnel to help drivers. North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven placed additional state troopers and the National Guard on standby.

The wind gusted to 40 mph in central Kansas, and gusts up to 60 mph were forecast in Oklahoma.

"The wind is killer, especially when you're empty," trucker Jim Reed said during a stop in Omaha, Neb. "Anything that's boxed, like a refrigerator trailer like I have, becomes like a giant sail in the wind."

In eastern Kansas, Tony Glaum was traveling with his wife and daughter to his parents' home north of Manhattan. He said they were thinking about staying overnight, rather than making their usual Christmas Eve trip back home.

Glaum, 43, of Leavenworth, said he didn't have any delays — until he found himself behind a plow salting the highway. He and his daughter noticed a biting chill in the air.

Still, he said, he is looking forward to a white Christmas: "I think snow would be pretty nice."

Airline Headaches

Nearly 100 scheduled flights from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport were canceled Thursday and dozens more were delayed. The Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City shut down one of its three runways and canceled nearly 30 flights. Two-hour-plus delays were reported at Houston's Hobby Airport, and Chicago's O'Hare had hour-long delays and more than 30 cancellations.

The Rev. Roger Claxton canceled Christmas Eve services at Grace Memorial Episcopal Church in Wabasha, Minn., after the area got at least 8 inches of snow. Claxton feared his congregation's senior citizens would feel compelled to attend.

"I'd rather have people stay home than do their funerals in a couple weeks," he said.

The Rev. Mark Kelm told parishioners to stay home if they didn't feel safe, though he planned to hold services even if he was the only one there at St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church in White Bear Lake, a suburb of St. Paul, Minn.

"If I have to make it on cross-country skis, I'll be here," Kelm said. "The best way I can explain it is, it's just like a pregnant woman — if the baby is coming, the baby is coming. For us, the Christ child is going to be celebrated."

Karen Scholten said her would family would conduct a mini-service at home after the Eagle Grove, Iowa, church she has attended since 1965 canceled its Christmas Eve service for the first time she could recall.

"I'm sure we will read the Christmas story and listen to some Christmas hymns," she said.

Since Tuesday, icy roads have been blamed for accidents that killed at least seven people in Nebraska, four in Kansas, one each in Minnesota and Oklahoma, and one near Albuquerque, N.M.



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