Rep. Mark Olson's Liberal Lawyer

You may have heard the statement "There are no atheists in foxholes". In Mark Olson's case, it could be said that there are no right-wing, law & order ideologues charged with breaking the law.

Rep. Mark Olson has spent nearly all his political career excoriating liberals, but when he went shopping for a lawyer, he hired Jill Clark.

Who is Jill Clark?

From David Shove's Progressive Calendar December 12th, 2006:

Communities United Against Police Brutality

ONE OF OUR LAWYERS IS UNDER ATTACK-- THE COMMUNITY WILL FIGHT BACK!

Attorney Jill Clark has tirelessly and fearlessly defended people of color and poor people who have been targeted by the criminal justice system, especially survivors of police brutality and family members of people
killed by police. She often takes important cases free of charge, in order to create significant changes in police policies and practices. She is truly the people's lawyer.

Jill Clark also ran for Judge in Hennepin County a few years back. Among her list of endorsements, is Ember Reichgott Junge, Brian Melendez, and Dean Zimmermann,

Why are these two people smiling?

Excellent Coverage of Olson Trial in West Sherburne Tribune

Jennifer Edwards reported many of the nauseating details from Olson's trial the big city newspapers left out. Here's a particularly disgusting quote from the crybaby jailbird:

"Whenever physicality happened, it was my wife who started it," Olson claimed tearfully. "I just couldn't understand what I was doing wrong."

... here's Jennifer Edward's account of Olson's abuse of Heidi and her family:

Heidi Olson was married to Gemini Racing star Darcy Ewing, who died in an accident five years ago. Mark had been friends with the couple. They married shortly after Ewing's death and Olson moved in with Heidi and her five children. Olson said Heidi talked about divorce in the first week of their marriage.

Many of their arguments centered around the children, in particular, Shaun, Heidi's autistic 12-year old.

"Whenever anything happened with the kids, whatever they said, Heidi always took their part," Olson claimed.

Olson's strongly-held religious belief that as the man, he was head of the household, contributed to disagreements about discipline in the home.

For the most part, the couple got along fairly well through the first six to eight months of the marriage, Olson said. Once the arguing began, things peaked, then started to improve.

Heidi recalled three incidents in which Mark had been abusive to her in her testimony given Wednesday. She also admitted to striking Mark once on the chest and to stabbing holes in the drawer of an antique dresser Mark had given her for a wedding present.

In one case, she said pushed her to the floor in their bedroom and she struck her head. In another incident, he repeatedly threw Bibles at her, bruising her arm. On a third occasion, she told of an argument which led to Mark pulling a bookcase over and a phone line out of the wall.

Sunday After Church

On the incident in question, the couple had some dispute over the children. Heidi had tried for several days to talk about it. Mark avoided her until after church that Sunday, then called to talk to her and asked her out to lunch.

"I felt inspired by the sermon I had just heard to think we could work things out," he said. "Heidi said she had the children and didn't have a babysitter so she couldn't go."

He went out to the house and began measuring for an addition the couple had planned. Heidi came out of the house and asked him to leave. Mark put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her. She ended up on the ground. Mark claims Heidi pushed him and he responded. Heidi testified she did not touch Mark and he pushed her hard enough to knock her over.

Clark presented into evidence a sweater Mark was wearing that was ripped at the time of the incident. Heidi said she grabbed at his sweater as she fell and tore the garment. He became angry.

Her fear was so great after the pushing incidents she feared Mark would kill her, Heidi testified. He said she had taken everything from him and he had nothing to lose and Heidi feared he would kill her and then himself.

She went back into the house and watched as Mark drove down a dead end road into the woods and became afraid he would come back and burn the house down, she testified. She didn't call police after the incident, or any of the other incidents, because, she said, she wanted Mark to get help.

"You hope it's a one-time occurrence. You hope it won't ever happen again," she said.

... then the police got involved:

Heidi called her sister to talk and it was her sister who called police. Sherburne County Investigative Detective Phyles spoke to the couple and said Mark told him he never pushed Heidi without her coming at him with something and she had once thrown a chair at him.

Mark told the detective he had failed in self control in the face of a lot of pressure and he bore the greater responsibility as the man of the house. He denied trying to keep Heidi out of the house. He said he resisted her resistance in any physical altercation. Mark admitted to the detective Heidi did not strike him prior to the incident.

Mark told the jury he got tired of the fighting and feared for his life. He described finding their wedding album with pictures missing and the cover destroyed after the incident with the dresser and felt that it was an attack on him.

He said one of the blisses of his marriage was reading he Bible together every morning.

... reading the Bible escalated to Mark Olson throwing the Bible:

"Heidi would become enraged," he said. "I would just be reading and she called me a false prophet and slammed the Bible down on the table. Once I got angry about it and tried to show her what is felt like. I grabbed the Bible and threw it down, then I picked it up and did it again and again. I threw it at her and it hit her on the shoulder, although she did have time to put her arms up to protect herself a bit. She said, do I have a bruise now? Then she left the house. I was shaken to think she could call the police then. I began doing the very thing I abhorred."

Heidi asked Mark many times to leave the house and twice he came home to find his bags packed, he said. He quoted the Bible and cried often. Several times he was directed by Judge Alan Pendleton to answer questions posed by his attorney.

"We don't want to know what your pastor said," Pendleton told him. "Just answer the question."

"It is ok to just answer the questions," Clark said.

Mark cried when he recalled an incident during which, he said, he was sitting in the master bedroom and Heidi came in and slapped his leg.

"I curled up and held my hand over my legs. I remember thinking where are you and I thought about the footprints in the sand. That is where he was. I don't want to share this stuff It's not ok by my faith. I never reacted, never got upset. It was a principle I used with Shaun and it worked."

Mark claimed Heidi had once pushed him into a computer while he was working. He said the incident with the bookcase occurred after an argument which began in the bedroom.

"It was tippy and stood out from the wall at it I grabbed it when I was on the stairs and Heidi was above me. It fell across the stair rail. Heidi wasn't hurt. She chased me around the house after that," he said.

"After the first incident, whenever I saw something coming, I ran," he said "I shouldn't have. It just made matters worse."

...Mark Olson continued to tearfully accuse his wife of being the aggressor:

Mark's brother, Brian, testified he thought Heidi was truthful when describing the events of Nov. 12. Mark said his wife was a "..wonderful, wonderful woman, faithful and a Christian. I just couldn't understand why she was behaving like that. I didn't know what I had done."

When Heidi asked him to leave the property on Nov. 12, Mark testified he told her the property belonged to God and he was a steward of it too.

"She was very aggressive, verbally and actually pushed me," he said. "I escalated and tried to stop her. I put my hand on her shoulders and we ended up going down."

Olson began to cry again.

"I didn't want to hurt her. I just wanted it to stop. There was nothing I could do," he said.

Prosecutor Gretchen Ziehl pointed out Mark could have left in his own vehicle.

....Jennifer Edwards' post-trial report:

Rep. Mark Olson was found guilty of domestic assault with intent to cause fear in his wife and family after a three-day jury trial in Sherburne County Court House last week.

Judge Alan Pendleton presided as Olson's attorney, Jill Clark, declared Olson was a battered spouse who suffered years of abuse at the hands of his wife, Heidi, throughout their marriage.

"It was very devastating,' said Heidi. "Mark was not an abused husband. I felt like I was unofficially on trial. I couldn't defend myself, or even be present to hear the accusations made against me."

Olson, who ran for office on the claim of supporting family values, left court saying he was determined to continue his role as representative for District 16B, which includes Big Lake and Becker. He also said he wanted to reconcile with his wife.

"I would like to say publicly that I forgive Mark for what he has done to my family and me," said Heidi, who married Olson shortly after the death of her husband, Darcy Ewing, in 2002. Heidi and Darcy had five children.

Heidi's sister, Holly Rebney, called police to the family residence in Big Lake Township Sunday, Nov. 12, after Heidi called and told her Mark had pushed her to the ground three times during the course of an argument, leaving her bruised. It wasn't the first time she had made such a call, they said.

Olson was arrested in Blaine later that same evening and spent two nights in the Sherburne Co. Jail. Olson had the trial delayed a number of times because he couldn't be brought into court while the house was in session and because he changed attorneys.

Once on the witness stand, Olson blamed his wife for the entire situation, claiming she asked for a divorce in the first week of their marriage and that she started every argument and physical struggle the couple experienced throughout the marriage.

"That is simply not true," said Heidi. "In the beginning we were in a honeymoon phase. There is a good side to Mark. At the time we married I was very vulnerable. I am very grateful for my supportive sisters and all the help I received from them throughout this whole experience."

Heidi said she realized what Olson's defense would be before the case came to trial. His investigator came to her house and made a comment on her size. In court, Heidi was asked to give her height and weight.

"I had to say what I weighed and that I am 5-foot 101/2 inches tall," she said. "They said Mark was fairly small but that is not true. Mark is a carpenter who makes log furniture. He is really very strong."

Because Olson is a public figure, the trial, which was followed closely by Twin Cities media, drew plenty of attention. Photographers and reporters trespassed on Heidi's property, taking pictures of her home and revealing information, especially about her children, both wish could have been kept private.

"That was wrong. I felt violated," Heidi said. "It was scary. There was no privacy for my children. I worried about my reputation and if I would even be able to keep my job. I was afraid I would have to move away from Big Lake."

Heidi, who works as a public health nurse for Wright County and has a bachelors degree in psychology, raised her children in the Big Lake Township home built for her by Darcy.

Later in the marriage, the Olsons frequently argued over Mark's attempts to discipline Heidi's children, three of whom have already graduated from high school and attend college. The couple also disagreed over Mark's interpretation of scripture.

In her testimony, Heidi described three different incidents when Olson assaulted her. Olson denied assault in each incident and claimed Heidi assaulted him.

For her part, Heidi confessed to striking Olson once on the left shoulder during an argument. She also admitted to stabbing holes in the drawer of an antique dresser which belonged to Mark three years ago.

"I was ashamed of that," she said. "I had a commitment not to get violent with Mark. I didn't want to be angry with him like this. I went to counseling and anger management classes. It helped."

Still, Olson's tirades continued as he tried to establish himself as head of the household and insist on having things his way, she alleged. The household became volatile and Heidi several times asked Mark to leave, even packing his things for him on two occasions as the situation became more disruptive.

"I wasn't surprised by his defense but I wondered how he managed to turn this around from him abusing me to him being abused. It just didn't happen that way," Heidi said.

Still, Heidi insists she will not be bitter. She says Mark has wonderful parents and she enjoys a positive relationship with Olson's brothers. Heidi expects her divorce to be finalized next week.

The young man (motorist) who killed Darcy as he rode his bike home admitted to having a drug problem and has been attending Teen Challenge. He graduates this summer.

Heidi and her children have forgiven him and Heidi recently gave her approval to a number of radio spots he will read to encourage others struggling with drugs and alcohol to seek help.

.... Heidi has her own verdict on Mark Olson:

"Mark painted himself into a corner," said Heidi. "My kids have lost two fathers now. I do forgive Mark but I can't stay married to him. I have to use this as a learning experience for my children. I don't want to punish him."

"He does need to be held accountable for his actions though. The false allegations he has made against me are devastating to us, but we are choosing not to live in bitterness against him," Heidi said. "I hope Mark gets the help he needs for his personal problems."

I'm curious to see how this whining, wimpy, crybaby does in the next election.

Strib's Post-Trial Interviews With Rep. Mark Olson and Heidi Olson

From the Strib:

Heidi Olson, who had five children with her first husband, who died in a 2002 traffic accident, said Mark's false allegations hurt her kids most, especially her two older sons, ages 20 and 26. They were in the courtroom when he testified. She said she has talked about the trial with all of her kids, only two of whom still live at home.

"I don't allow them to mock Mark. We pray for healing. He is not healthy right now. I am careful about not being bitter, and I try to model forgiveness." She said her husband has some good qualities and a lot of potential if he's treated for his anger.

Mark Olson suggested that his wife also may need further anger counseling. "Anger ... is the hardest thing to respond to without anger," he said.

...way to go, Mark!... always put the blame on someone else...

After the jury's verdict last week, Heidi Olson issued a statement saying she forgave her husband. Told of her statement, Mark Olson said that he in turn forgave her, loved her and hoped to reconcile.

Reconcile? No way, said Heidi Olson, adding that she hopes their four-year marriage will end Thursday at a family court hearing. She said "it was odd" to see his response on television after the verdict:

He emerged from the courtroom "smiling like he had won an election, and wanted to forgive me and love me and take me back. I need to protect my family from Mark.

"I am sad about him using self-defense. That says he doesn't want to really deal with his [anger] problem," Heidi Olson said. "I am more sad than mad at him. I am just very sad."

A somber Mark Olson said, "I miss my family."

...earlier in the article, the reporter mentions that Heidi Olson also took offense at Mark Olson's attorney using her size against her. Olson still has a picture of him and Heidi's family on his campaign website. She looks shorter in the photo (see below). Did Mark tell his wife to stand in a hole?

Strib Says It's Up to You to Dump Mark Olson

Got my internet back, but not my computer... I'm borrowing a laptop.

The Star Tribune thinks Rep. Mark Olson didn't do enough to get expelled from the legislature.

Maybe the readers of Dump Mark Olson can help the Minnesota Legislature's Ethics Committee by providing more reasons to expel Rep. Mark Olson.

Already a reader has sent me an interesting story about a snarky land deal Olson was engaged in a while back (more on that later).

Of course there's the ongoing attempt to defraud investors and taxpayers with the PRT scam.

If you have anything else to add, send me an email at ken.avidor(at)gmail.com.

All correspondence will be kept confidential.

Rep. Mark Olson Guilty

I'll have more next week when I get my internet back... in the meantime, this from the AP:

Elk River, Minn. — (AP) State Rep. Mark Olson was convicted Friday of one count of misdemeanor domestic assault with the intent to cause fear and acquitted on a second misdemeanor assault charge.

The verdicts were returned by a jury of five men and one woman after about three hours of deliberations. Sentencing was set for Aug. 8.

The jury convicted Olson of domestic assault by intending to cause fear of bodily harm or death. He was acquitted of intentionally inflicting or attempting to inflict bodily harm.

Prosecutors alleged Olson, an eight-term Republican from Big Lake, pushed his wife down three times behind their home on Nov. 12.

Olson, 52, claimed during trial he was a battered spouse and that the Nov. 12 incident came after frequent arguments with his wife over raising her five children.

He said that in the past, she hit him several times, stabbed his favorite dresser and cut his picture off their wedding album cover with what he thought was a knife.

Olson's wife, Heidi Olson, also claimed she had been abused by her husband and feared for her life.

During closing arguments, prosecutor Gretchen Ziehl told jurors that Olson intended to scare and harm his wife when he put his hands on her and she ended up on her backside.

Ziehl rejected his theory that he was acting in self-defense.

During her closing arguments, Olson's attorney, Jill Clark, asked the jurors to find that Olson didn't intend to hurt or frighten his wife when the two argued and eventually became physical.

Olson says he won't step down... looks like he won't be expelled either...

House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher said in a prepared statement that the House can punish a member who "brings the House into dishonor or disrepute," if at least two representatives submit a complaint to her.

An ethics panel could recommend disciplinary action for a vote by the full House.

Olson's trial got a mention on Wonkette.

No Internet Until Monday

For news on Rep. Mark Olson's trial, go to the Beyond Soundbites and Headlines blog

2nd Day of Rep. Mark Olson Trial

I replaced my fried DSL router with a new one... which doesn't work.... so I'm using a library computer.

A friend called to read me a Star Tribune story about Rep. Mark Olson's pre-trial hearing today.

It had some details that had me concerned that the article could prejudice prospective jury members (I heard the jury will be picked tomorrow).

So, I won't link to it.

Rep. Mark Olson's Trial Begins

I'm using a friend's computer because my DSL modem was fried by a bolt of lightning.

The Strib said Olson is going to use a "battered husband defence" at his trial tomorrow. The Strib also said God told Olson to lie to the police.

Here's a picture from Rep Mark Olson's campaign website showing him with the woman he claims abused him for two and a half years:

Watch a PRT Snake Oil Salesman Pitch PRT in California

While we're waiting for Rep. Mark Olson's trial next week, let's watch a "PRT consultant" try to sell Irvine, California some Personal Rapid Transit snake oil:



... did Irvine buy it?:



Ken Avidor exposes the Personal Rapid Transit scam.

Rep. Mark Olson Trial Scheduled for July 9th

8 AM in the morning at the Sherburne County Court in Elk River.

Comments are open.

You can also send me an e-mail at ken.avidor (at) gmail.com

UPDATE: I thought It would be a good idea to check with the court to be certain of Olson's trial date.

A DMO reader sent me an e-mail informing me that Olson sought to postpone the trial again (on the basis that he is being treated unfairly because he is a man), but the court refused Olson's request.

Jury selection begins on Monday... testimony should begin on Tuesday.

Personal Rapid Transit Proponents Still Spreading Disinformation About Rail Transit

In an earlier post I quoted Advanced Transit Association (ATRA) President Jeral Poskey saying the following on the Transport-Innovators Google Group:

For 30 years, almost all the PRT advocates have done 
the opposite of play nice.  We have been proud of the fact that we're 
"proving the status quo wrong," "showing the ridiculousness of their 
arguments" and showing up at meetings talking about how great PRT is and 
what a waste technology X would be.  We haven't educated ourselves on the 
funding process they go through.  Very few advocates understand and can 
emphasize with the conflicting political environment most agencies operate 
in.  All in all, we haven't been very nice.  Oh, and I'd say that we've been guilty of our own level of ignorance, arrogance and sometimes even misrepresentation, albeit with the best goals in mind.

... Here's ATRA Board member Tad Winiecki commenting recently that LRT is a "well-proven failure":

As a designer and advocate of personal rapid transit I and my fellow Advanced Transit Association members have been accused of being part of the highway lobby because we would prefer new automated transport to the well-proven failure of light rail transit.

Mr. Winiecki is the "designer" of the faith-based Higherway PRT which exists (like all PRT systems) only in the realm of imagination and cyberspace.

Is PRT part of the highway lobby?

You decide!

Here's one example; the Taxi 2000 Corporation was funded by the highway engineering firm Short Elliot Hendrickson (SEH). SEH shares a lobbyist, Ed Cain with Taxi 2000. Here's Michele Bachmann's pal Ed Cain talking about PRT:


Ken Avidor blogs about Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) and other anti-rail transit scams.

Another PRT Puff Piece

The publicity barage continues. This puff piece in CNN Money.com reads like it's transcribed from the same press release as the others.

I thought this was interesting:

So why aren't cities already filled with PRT tracks and pods? "The real problem was political, not technical," recalls John Edward Anderson, a former professor at Boston University who has worked on PRT for almost 40 years. Chicago, Minneapolis, and Seattle killed PRT projects, fearing opposition from transit drivers and the embarrassment of failing with an untested system.

So, Anderson isn't saying he was a professor at the U of M anymore?

Anderson forgets a few more things. He fails to mention Raytheon going way over budget, that he was sued by his own company, that he picked three of worst politicians in Minnesota to lobby for Taxi 2000... maybe he's going senile?



Ken Avidor blogs all about Personal Rapid Transit

Rep. Mark Olson... "English First"

From Olson's campaign website:



...from his campaign lit, the ninth item:


Ken Avidor blogs about Personal Rapid Transit and other idiotic scams.

Was Rep. Mark Olson's Wikipedia Page Edited by Resident Fellow of the American Enterprise Institute?

Wikipedia user TedFrank who claims to be "a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute" has joined MN GOP 6th CD Chair Mark Swanson in whitewashing Rep. Mark Olson's Wikipedia page.


Ken Avidor blogs about politicians and others who promoted Personal Rapid Transit and other gadgetbahn scams.

PRT Conference in Minnesota in September

Will Rep. Mark Olson be at this?.... an ATRA Conference called "Standards for PRT":

A day of ATRA technical talks organized on STANDARDS FOR PRT will take place outside Minneapolis September 19. The program is in development. Early bird registration rates ($52 or $37 for ATRA members) will expire August 1. Taxi 2000 will host and unveil its new scale model network.

The Taxi 2000 Corporation which hasn't posted any news on its website since 2004, posted a little video of their goofy "Alpha system" back in April. Here's the video showing a goofy model test track with toy PRT pods bumping into each other... enjoy:



Transit Advocate, Ken Avidor blogs about Personal Rapid Transit and other gadgetbahn scams.

"Green Party" PRT Movie Premiere in Santa Cruz

From a Santa Cruz blog:

PERSONAL RAPID TRANSIT (PRT) GOES TO GREEN.

The Santa Cruz Green Party invites the public to join them at a free screening and presentation of the new Santa Cruz PRT film. This film shows all the possibilities of having PRT in Santa Cruz and answers all the questions about how and why it should happen here. The film and presentation is from Santa Cruzans for Personal Rapid Transit. There'll be a Q & A session afterwards. It happens Monday June 18, 7p.m. at London Nelson Community Center.

I checked over at the Santa Cruz Green Party website to see if they also had an announcement and discovered that the Santa Cruz Green Party hasn't posted any press releases since 2003.



Ken Avidor blogs and writes about Personal Rapid Transit and other gadgetbahn scams.

ATRA President: "For 30 Years, PRT Advocates Have Done the Opposite of Play Nice."

Jeral Poskey, the President of the Advanced Transit Association had this to say on the Transport-Innovators Google Group in response to CETA member and would-be militant PRT fanatic Mike Weidler:

For 30 years, almost all the PRT advocates have done 
the opposite of play nice.  We have been proud of the fact that we're 
"proving the status quo wrong," "showing the ridiculousness of their 
arguments" and showing up at meetings talking about how great PRT is and 
what a waste technology X would be.  We haven't educated ourselves on the 
funding process they go through.  Very few advocates understand and can 
emphasize with the conflicting political environment most agencies operate 
in.  All in all, we haven't been very nice.  Oh, and I'd say that we've been guilty of our own level of ignorance, arrogance and sometimes even misrepresentation, albeit with the best goals in mind.

I have witnessed first-hand how PRT fanatics disrupted meetings about transit:

I have encountered more of these fanatics who insist that PRT was “faster, cheaper, better” than trolleys and buses. In one memorable encounter, a deranged man interrupted a workshop my wife and I were giving at Macalester College, shouting that PRT is the “only transportation solution", threw a dozen Taxi 2000 Corporation brochures at us and stormed out.

PRT has not only been a big waste of time for public officials and citizens, it's apparently been a waste of Poskey's time as well... Poskey is working for Google now.


Ken Avidor will blog about Personal Rapid Transit and other gadgetbahn scams.

New York Times Publishes Puff Piece on the WVU PRT

In May, I predicted that Mark Olson's pals at the Advanced Transit Association (ATRA) would crank up the PRT publicity machine as a preemptive whitewash for Olson's role in the PRT scam in time for his upcoming trial.

Today, the New York Times published yet another puff piece about the Morgantown PRT... Google News has links to the others.

The Morgantown PRT is an expensive flop. I have collected stories about how students and faculty hate the Morgantown PRT because it is so unreliable and it fries squirrels.

Here's the Times article:

City’s White Elephant Now Looks Like a Transit Workhorse

By SEAN D. HAMILL

MORGANTOWN, W.Va., June 4 — During its troubled years of construction and testing in the early 1970s, the Personal Rapid Transit system that snakes through this hilly college town was derided as a fiasco and a waste of money that perhaps should be dynamited rather than finished.

...the article should have stopped there, but it continues with the traditional fluff we've seen in articles about PRT over the years... let's skip to Larry Fabian's quote in the Times:

“This is the only operating P.R.T. system in the world,” said Larry Fabian, treasurer of the Advanced Transit Association, an organization based in Virginia that promotes advanced rapid transit technologies and held a conference in May in Morgantown. “After more than 30 years, it’s still unique.”

... The Times says Fabian is the treasuerer for ATRA, but in a similar, May 31st puff piece, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, said Fabian was the "director" of ATRA:

"There are 130 automated systems worldwide, but only one like this," said Lawrence Fabian of Boston, director of the Advanced Transit Association, which deals with futuristic transit programs. "Its characteristics are unique,"

...and why is the WVU Morgantown PRT "unique"? The Times has part of the the answer:

But it is also expensive.

University and local government officials realize they are not likely to get the federal government to finance the expansion, as it did the original project. They are talking about coming up with local and state financing.

... can't get Federal money? That's pathetic when you consider that the Senator representing West Virginia is Robert Byrd.... it's probably more like hardly any transportation experts think the WVU PRT is worth expanding... the Times quotes one expert saying that:

“The infrastructure requirements are such that it is not realistic to think it could be adopted in highly developed U.S. cities,” Jonathan E. D. Richmond, a transportation expert, said in an e-mail message from Singapore, where he is advising the government.

...there's more fluff in the Times article about ridership etc. and then there's this bit of reality thrown in at the end:

Still, it does not run often enough for people who do not attend the university or work there.

“There’s a real problem,” said Bruce Summers, 64, who has lived in Morgantown for 34 years and works downtown. “When the university is not in session, it’s closed. You can’t rely on it. If you want to get downtown people to use it, you’ve got to do it another way.”

... wait, didn't the article start off by saying the Morgantown PRT was reliable? Recently, the new Mayor of Kansas City had this to say about the Morgantown PRT:

Mark Funkhouser used to ride West Virginia University's Personal Rapid Transit system, which he recalled "was broken down half the time."

Now he'll help develop a light rail system for Kansas City, Mo., population 450,000.

...Funkhouser was also quoted saying the WVU PRT "wasn't really mass transit".

So, why did the Times run this puff piece for PRT? Does all this recent PRT publicity have something to do with Rep. Mark Olson's trial?

ATRA's Larry Fabian, who is quoted in these puff pieces sent me a gloating e-mail after Rep. Mark Olson and Michele Bachmann won last November:

How is that you haven't posted the results of Tuesday's elections yet?

Bucking the Democrat thumping, Minnesota's two PRTistias were reelected, I see. Wouldn't honesty urge you to post that on your lovely website?

Larry Fabian
The One Who You So Kindly Told to %#$@ Off

Larry Fabian has a company that promotes various silly PRT projects like Higherway PRT and Ed Anderson's PRT International (no website yet).

Is it possible that Olson delayed his trial until all this favorable publicity aboout his pet project was published?


Ken Avidor agrees with professionals who say that WVU PRT isn't Personal Rapid Transit but AGT (automated Group Transport.

Is GOP 6 CD Chair Mark Swanson Attempting to Affect Olson Trial Outcome?

According to Wikipedia:

If you are involved in a court case, or close to one of the litigants, you would find it very hard to demonstrate that what you wrote about a party or a law firm associated with the case, or a related area of law, was entirely objective. Even a minor slip up in neutrality in a court-case article on Wikipedia for an active case-in-progress could potentially be noticed by the courts and/or their parties, and this could potentially cause real-world harm, not just harm to Wikipedia. Because of this, we strongly discourage editing when this type of conflict exists.

Swanson continues to defend his wiki-editing on MN Publius HERE.

Swanson may be trying to affect another high-profile legal battle .... on another thread at Mn Publius, Swanson makes this statement:

“…the attorney scandal –no scandal here…”

Hmmmm....

Former USA Tom Heffelfinger’s last corruption investigation was Gary Dean Zimmermann who worked closely with Rep. Mark Olson at Mpls. City Hall and the MN Legislature. It's very likely that Zimmermann and Olson e-mailed each other. That exchange of e-mails may have been on the computer seized in the FBI raid on the Zimmermann home back in 2005.

It's also possible that other evidence linking Zimmermann to prominent Republicans was found on Zimmermann's hard drive.



Ken Avidor writes about Personal Rapid Transit and other scams.

More About How J. Edward Anderson Stopped Rail Transit in the 1970's

A book appeared in 2000 called "The Transportation Renaissance". It was written by a PRT fan called Edmund Rydell. He describes how Anderson and his pals got legislation passed in the early 1970's that prevented the Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC) from planning for rail transit:

"...Ed and others got legislation that took away from the [Metropolitan Transit] Commission its planning function. Over 20 years later, the Twin Cities still lacks an effective transit strategy."

Read a U.S. Congressional report on how Anderson and his pals stopped planning for rail transit in the 1970's in the Twin Cities.
Ken Avidor blogs about how Personal Rapid Transit was used to stop transit for over thirty years.

How J. Edward Anderson Used PRT to Stop Rail Transit in the 1970's

The entire report in PDF form HERE.

The timeline summarizes how Anderson, with the help of his anti-transit buddies at the Citizens League and the University of Minnesota used PRT to confuse public officials about real transit choices:

1958- The Minnesota Highway Department initiated the area’s first metropolitan transportation planning effort, the Twin Cities Area Transportation Study.

1962- The Joint Program was established, consisting of the Metropolitan Planning Commission, the Minnesota Highway Department, and other planning and governmental bodies. It undertook a major transportation and land use study in the metropolitan area.

1967- In mid-1967, the Minnesota State Legislature established the Metropolitan Transit Commission. The Commission began in 1968 with a series of long-range planning studies. A few days later, the State legislature created a new regional governmental body, the Metropolitan Council. The Council set up a Transportation Planning Program to facilitate coordinated transportation planning.

1969- Upon completion of the long-range planning study done for the Transit Commission by Alan M. Voorhees, a joint Commission-Council staff report was prepared, setting forth the major components of a metropolitan transit planning program for 1970-71. The report recommended a “family of vehicles” concept that would use a variety of transportation modes, including fixed-guideway and bus service.

1970- Late in the year, the Metropolitan Council approved a Federal grant to the Transit Commission for preliminary engineering on a fixed-guideway system. The subsequent study proposed a fixed-guideway system utilizing a 40- passenger vehicle as the backbone of a regional system.

1971- The legislature further defined the role of the Transit Commission; it was to implement the development guide pre- pared by the Metropolitan Council.

1972- In the fall, the Metropolitan Council declined to review the Metropolitan Transit Commission’s transit plan on the grounds that the Council had exclusive authority to determine long- range transit plans. Meanwhile, the Council hired Barton Aschman, Inc., to study a bus approach to regional mass transit.

During the same period, further consideration of a personal rapid transit (PRT) system was advocated by University of Minnesota professor Edward Anderson.

1973- On November 15, the legislature’s Subcommittee on Mass Transit published a report called “The Metropolitan Mass Transit Need,” which favored elements of the Council’s bus proposal and the Commission’s fixed-guideway plan, as well as selective use of PRT.

1974- The legislature passed the Metropolitan Reorganization Act, directing the Transit Commission to complete by January 1, 1975, a plan for an automated small-vehicle fixed-guideway system within the metropolitan transit taxing district. The Council was to provide policy guidance.

Work began in August 1974 guided by a management committee composed equally of Commission and Council members. The consultant’s first report compared the Commission’s recommended 40-passenger vehicle
system with other alternatives.

The Commission and the Council drew conflicting findings from the study. The Commission recommended a fixed- guideway system other than a concentional[sic] rail transit, based on a n-seat vehicle. The Metropolitan Council opposed any fixed-guideway system and continued to support a regional bus system.

1975- No decision has been made on a long-range public transit plan. However, agreeement has been reached to concentrate on short-term improvements to the bus system.

PRT promoters did the same thing in Denver (PDF HERE) about the same time. In that case, a sales tax was levied to pay for the PRT:

Technically the issue before the voters at referendum was RTD’s request to levy the one-half cent sales tax. However, the tax was linked closely to a promotional campaign for the PRTs system. The RTD literature made direct reference to PRT, and a few weeks before the vote several firms displayed their PRT vehicles in Denver. In addition, the RTD board promised to consult the people again if the transit system finally selected was substantially different from PRT. The campaign strategy was successful, and on September 7, 1973, 57 percent of Denver region voters registered approval.

UMTA began backing away from its early enthusiasm for the Denver PRT proposal in 1974. Embarrassing cost overruns in the demonstration project in Morgantown, W. Va. had cast doubt on the financial and technical feasibility of a PRT system similar to the one proposed in Denver. In addition, the Airtrans System at the Dallas-FortWorth Airport—like Morgantown’s PRT, a technological predecessor of the proposed Denver system—was not performing up to specifications.

In the Twin Cities and Denver, PRT was so effective in the 1970's in blocking rail transit planning, J. Edward Anderson, Sheffer Lang, the anti-transit lobby, pro-highway legislators like Rep. Mark Olson and Michele Bachmann thought Anderson could do it again years later.



Ken Avidor blogs about the history of Personal Rapid Transit and other gadgetbahn scams.

Inmate # 12696-041's Blog Mentions Personal Rapid Transit

Zimmermann mentions Personal Rapid Transit on his prison blog.

More about Rep. Mark Olson's old PRT pal at Minneapolis Confidential.

I posted a link to the convicted felon's blog at Mn Speak.



Ken Avidor writes about Personal Rapid Transit and how corrupt politicians used it to stop real transit.

Swedes and Koreans Put a Happy Face on Vectus PRT

The Vectus PRT testing facility takes shape on Swedish television. Here are some stills:



...note the massive steel pipe at the center of the guideway:



... looks just like the Raytheon PRT guideway. Also notice that it's mounted on slim posts close to the ground. Why? Because G-forces would require heavier posts if it were up higher. Here's the Raytheon PRT guideway with the massive posts that I Photoshopped over a typical street in Minneapolis:



If Vectus is just like the Raytheon PRT (which flopped) why the heck are they doing it again? For a clue to what the Vectus testing facility is really about, look at the flag posts:



It's phony prop for the media... a futurist Potemkin village.

It won't be long before we start seeing and hearing a publicity barrage about how Vectus is Sweden's and Korea's technological answer to Global Warming and Peak Oil. In October, there's going to be a PRT Conference in Uppsala, Sweden.

The same thing almost happened here in Minnesota.

Speaking of PRT in Minnesota, what's new with the Taxi 2000 Corporation? Nothing since 2004.

Remember the breathless publicity barrage for Taxi 2000's unveiling of the Skyweb Express model at their Fridley office and at the Minnesota Stae Fair?? Watch the video of the Fridley fiasco with Rep. Mark Olson (trial in July) showing off for the cameras:

"PRT is clearly in the future of transit. It is Jetson-esque but not a cartoon. It is the Microsoft of public transit!" -Rep. Mark Olson.



Ken Avidor says Vectus will likely end up on the trash heap like all the other Personal Rapid Transit projects.

Another Delay in Rep. Mark Olson's Trial?

UPDATE: I just called the Sherburne County Court and confirmed that Olson's rescheduled for July.

A DMO reader sent me the following tip:

The trial has now been rescheduled from June 11th to July 9th.

What are all these delays costing Sherburne County?

Keep in mind that Olson is charged with two gross misdemeanor counts. Olson demanded a jury trial on a misdemeanor!!!

When Olson notified the court that he fired his attorney on Friday, the court administrator probably had to work over the weekend contacting jurors and witnesses.

After the trial, I hope we learn what Olson's antics cost the taxpayers of Sherburne County.


Ken Avidor asks; "What has Mark Olson's Personal Rapid Transit scam cost Minnesota taxpayers?"

Rep. Mark Olson Trial Scheduled for June 11

SC Times:

ELK RIVER — State Rep. Mark Olson will be back in court June 11 to face domestic assault charges.

Olson, a Republican, asked for a continuance today in his trial on charges that he assaulted his wife in November in their Big Lake Township home.

Judge Alan Pendleton granted the continuance and rescheduled for 8:30 a.m. June 11. Olson said he asked for the continuance because he is changing attorneys.

Ken Avidor blogs about Personal Rapid Transit

Rep. Mark Olson Is Getting a Divorce

The Saint Cloud Times confirms that Olson, fired his attorney and asked for a postponement of his trial:

ELK RIVER — State Rep. Mark Olson expects a judge to approve a continuance Monday in his trial on charges that he assaulted his wife in November at their Big Lake Township home.

The delay is the second in the case, which was scheduled to begin Monday morning.

Olson said Sunday that he asked for the continuance from Judge Alan Pendleton because he is changing attorneys. He said the judge approved the move in chambers, but formal approval will be necessary in court because a court reporter was not present.

“It will be just a moment of process,” Olson said of today’s proceedings.

Sherburne County Attorney Kathleen Heaney confirmed the change Sunday. Her office was notified on Friday and notified witnesses, she said.

A new date for Olson’s trial will depend on what’s available on the calendar, Heaney said.

Olson declined to name his new attorney, saying he has not yet signed the agreement with the attorney.

Olson has pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts of domestic assault. The charges stem from an incident Nov. 12 at the Olsons’ home. Olson’s wife told Sherburne County deputies that she and Mark Olson had argued and that he had pushed her to the ground three times.

Olson was scheduled to stand trial May 7, but a state law prohibits a sitting member of the Legislature to stand trial in a civil or criminal case during the legislative session. The session ended May 21.

Court records show that, since Mark Olson was charged, he and his wife have started divorce proceedings.

The House Republican caucus suspended Olson after his arrest, and some members called for his resignation. Olson vowed to continue serving his constituents in District 16B, which includes Big Lake, Becker, Zimmerman and Clear Lake.

When that divorce becomes final, Olson can resume his carefree, bachelor life:



Meanwhile GOP 6th CD Chair, Mark Swanson is still commenting at MN Publius:

What is the worry?? That people (like Mr. Avidor) distort the truth in their natural bias. You will see that Mr. Avidor himself admits his bias on the comment page and has refrained from editing the entry due to this bias.
If you believe any of my edits are untruthful or in any way change the the facts, please identify them and I will gladly edit them to correct.

As to his question above, I don’t know of the current status for Rep. Olson’s trial, maybe your politically motivated source would care to elaborate??

As far as corrections to your mis-statements, don’t worry as you have A Transportation Expert (ATE) on your trail to correct your inaccuracies (and bias) on PRT there are many of us out there to maintain the neutrality of sites like Wikipedia.

So, Mark Swanson, the GOP 6th CD Chair didn't know at 7:55 PM, Sunday that Rep. Mark Olson had pulled a fast one on the Sherburne County Court two days earlier?

That's pathetic.
Ken Avidor blogs about Rep. Mark Olson and Personal Rapid Transit.

GOP 6th CD Chair's Wikipedia User Page Blanked

Someone with the IP address (208.38.99.19) has blanked Mark Swanson's Wikipedia user page.

The IP address traces to Big Lake, Minnesota.



Ken Avidor has written about Personal Rapid Transit and other gadgetbahn scams.

Rep. Mark Olson Trial Delayed... Again?

I just received the following tip from a DO reader:

Thought it would interest you to hear that Olson has fired his attorney so his trial will be rescheduled to another date. They will be in court tomorrow morning to take care of that.

I've lost track. How many times has Olson delayed his trial?





Ken Avidor blogs about the scoundrels who promoted Personal Rapid Transit (PRT).

Mark Swanson Admits He Edited Olson's Wikipedia Page

GOP 6 CD Chair Mark Swanson defends himself in the comments at MN Publius:

"What I changed is actually the unbiased truth and more accurate as required by the neutrality rules that are well established on Wikipedia."

Mark Swanson seems to be unaware that other folks have been caught trying to whitewash their favorite politician's Wikipedia page... for instance the staff of Norm Coleman in January of 2006 :

Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia's founder, criticized the changes made by Coleman's staff. 



"It appears to be a major rewrite of the article to make it more favorable," Wales said. "If they're trying to edit in such a way to change the public record, that's a problem."

Olson goes on trial Monday, June 4th at the Sherburne County Government Center.


Ken Avidor blogs about supporters of Personal Rapid Transit in the 6th CD.

Correction: Rep. Mark Olson's Trial is Monday, June 4th

A DO reader wrote to inform me that Olson's trial is this Monday, June 4th.

It's a jury trial.

8:30 AM at the Sherburne County Courthouse.


Ken Avidor blogs about the trials of politicians who promote Personal Rapid Transit.

Big Lake's Connections to the US Attorney Scandal

Tom Hamburger of the LA Times reveals "part of the reason" why Tom Heffelfinger ended up on the DOJ's list of US Attorneys to be fired:

But newly obtained documents and interviews suggest that what displeased some of his superiors and GOP politicians was narrower and more politically charged -- his actions on Indian voting.

... in particular:

Described as a matter of "deep concern" to Heffelfinger, the issue arose from Kiffmeyer's directive in the fall of 2004 that tribal ID cards could not be used for voter identification off reservations

Kiffmeyer is now involved in a national scandal. If Kiffmeyer ran in a special election, it is likely that she would have to answer questions about her involvement in the GOP's campaign to disenfranchise minority voters.

If Mary Kiffmeyer cannot run for office because of her role in the US Attorney scandal, that may explain why the MN GOP 6CD Chair has gone from "no comment" on Rep Mark Olson to whitewashing Olson's Wikipedia page. Olson's trial for domestic assault is scheduled for June 7th (Correction: Rep. Mark Olson's Trial is Monday, June 4th)

Olson may have his own connection to the US Attorney scandal. Olson worked closely with Gary Dean Zimmermann promoting PRT legislation at the Capitol and at Minneapolis City Hall. It's very likely that e-mails to and from Olson and other GOP politicos turned up on Zimmermann's computer which was seized in a raid on Zimmermann's house only four months before Heffelfinger announced he was going to resign.



Ken Avidor writes about Personal Rapid Transit and other scandals.

New Changes on Rep. Mark Olson Campaign Website

It's got videos from the last session and it's got a picture of woman he pushed to the floor three times and her children back in November:



Mark Olson's trial for abusing his wife is scheduled for June 7th.





Ken Avidor explains what Personal Rapid Transit and other gadgetbahn scams are all about.

CD 6 GOP Chair Mark Swanson Edits Rep. Mark Olson's Wikipedia Page

Rep. Mark Olson's former campaign manager Mark Swanson made two revisions of the Wikipedia page I created for Rep. Mark Olson using the nom-de-wiki Swanny123.

Swanson changed the heading "Domestic Assault Arrest" to "Personal Legal Notes".

Swanson also changed "Legislative staff complained of being abused" to "It was aledged that Legislative staff complained of being abused by Mark Olson in his first term and again in 1997. There is no record of this in pertinent legislative administrative files."

Swanson also changed "Minnesota House Republicans voted to oust Olson" to "Minnesota House Republicans voted to suspend Olson".

Swanson's user page states the following:

Mark is an active Republican activist and is currently the Chair of the Republican Party of Congressional District 6.

It would appear that Swanson is trying to tamper with the facts to make Rep. Mark Olson look good in preparation for Olson's trial on June 7th for beating his wife back in November.

Swanson joins Seattle PRT promoter, David Gow in editing Olson's page.

Here's an article about Olson's abuse of staff that Swanson suggests never happened:



Ken Avidor says beware of Personal Rapid Transit and other anti-transit scams.

Olson's Wife-Beating Trial is June 7th... Crank Up the PRT Publicity Machine!

When Rep. Mark Olson's PRT pal Gary Dean Zimmermann got into trouble before his election in 2005, the PRTistas were there to help out with press releases about PRT projects in Dubai and Heathrow.

My prediction then:

Of course ULTra runs on batteries and will likely end up on the trash-heap like the other PRT projects, but it will serve as a reliable engine of anti-transit propaganda for many years to come.

Now, on the eve of Olson's trial... just in case any reporter asks about Olson's PRT scam, we now have this article about the ULTra Heathrow project in the Sunday Times. It's a very silly article.

The electrically powered “pod cabs” will allow users to key in their destination and be carried there automatically along special roadways at speeds of up to 25mph.

... up to 25 mph doesn't qualify as "speed". The article insists that ULTra "is already being built and has completed trials." The article also says ULTra's Heathrow debut won't be until the end of 2008... then there's this weasel-worded statement:

The pods are seen as more economical, more environmentally friendly and less prone to being stuck in traffic than existing transport inside the airport.

..."environmentally friendly"? Says who?

Martin Lowson, founder and chief executive of Advanced Transport Systems, the Bristol-based manufacturer, said it would be far more convenient for users than conventional airport transport.

... Martin Lowson? Didn't he leave ATS? I guess ATS couldn't find a suitable crackpot or con-artist to replace Lowson.

We get some specs:

The pods will be guided by infrared sensors along 7ft-wide concrete roadways.

... picture that 7ft-wide concrete roadway in front of your home or business...

For the 2.6-mile-long terminal 5 section, they will be raised above existing roads, swooping down as they near their destinations.

... "swooping down"?...

In later phases the taxis will travel along ground-level routes separated from other traffic by 8ft walls.

... so if your battery-powered, glorified PRT golf cart breaks down, you'll either be up in the air or trapped between 8-ft walls.

Also, just in time for Olson's trial, the New Jersey PRT report (PDF HERE). It's filled with the same weasel-worded baloney you find in all the PRTista-generated literature. It's main argument is that after many decades of failure we should waste even more time and money on PRT research.

And there's a new You Tube video of the ugly, automated bus on concrete guideway called the Morgantown WVU PRT.

From the memory hole... here's a vintage video of Olson riding in J. Edward Anderson's toy PRT pod... enjoy:



Ken Avidor blogs about the Personal Rapid Transit.

Lawrence Schumacher on Rep. Mark Olson & Global Warming

Lawrence Schumacher on his SC Times blog:

Caught on tape by Ken Avidor, from Friday night's House floor debate on the energy policy bill. Rep. Mark Olson, R-Big Lake, had a few choice words for those who spread the word on global climate change.

Money quote:

"I haven't even studied this extensively. I just became curious about it. And I have received good evidence that it is false ... The national media is known for wanting to tear down this country. They're known for wanting worldwide redistribution of wealth. They're known for wanting a global government. In general, not all of them. They're known for having an agenda."

This was during a floor speech in which he argued that for those who believe in the Bible, the argument of global climate change doesn't make sense.
 
There's enough of the speech there, though a note to Ken: The more you edit the clips the more it looks like you're distorting his argument.

Schumacher is correct about editing giving a biased impression (and I am biased), however, it would be difficult (and painful) to upload a complete Olson rant to You Tube.

You Tube is an example of how the limitations of a technology effects content. A complete video of one of Olson's rants would go beyond the optimum length for a You Tube video. If a video is longer than 3 minutes, it takes many minutes to convert to Quicktime and even longer to upload. Most people don't have the time to watch a 20 minute video... also nobody pays me to blog about politics... unlike some bloggers.

Schumacher mentions another blog's coverage of Olson's antics:

Tom Beckfeld summarizes the remainder of Olson's argument here, describing how Olson decided to conduct an experiment after watching An Inconvenient Truth that you really should read.

Read Beckfeld's post at the Beyond Sound Bites and Headlines blog.

The BSBH blog also has an excellent post on Rep. Mark Olson's obsession with PRT.

Here's a quote I liked:

The only thing I can tell you for sure is that Olson will continue to push this boondoggle for has long as he’s in office. It is his type of Government program. One that will never be built. He can say he’s doing something but even he must know that this is a fraud and a scam. Let’s hope that his time ends very soon.

Here's a video of Olson introducing, then withdrawing his PRT amendment last Friday:



Ken Avidor writes about Personal Rapid Transit and the scoundrels who promote it.

Rep. Mark Olson's Personal Rapid Transit Amendment

From Friday, Rep. Mark Olson introducing (and withdrawing) his PRT amendment to the energy bill:


Ken Avidor says Personal Rapid Transit is a scam.

The Moral Relativism of an Aspiring "Freelance Conservative Revolutionist"

PheistyChick on what mushy liberals think about crime:

And there are many more criminals who deny that what they did was wrong, yet they make excuses for their actions. (In my opinion, the excuses themselves unveil a guilty conscience.)  If a man has murdered a small child, and does not show any form of remorse, does this mean that he has simply  not experienced empathy, and therefore cannot tell the difference between right and wrong?  Does the empathy itself create the moral code? If there is no empathy, is there no crime?  If the jugement of a crime is based upon a person's life experiences and lack of empathy, how can we charge him with a crime?  How can we even have laws?  By your line of reasoning, that man I described would be innocent.

.... okay, let's review the facts in the case:

Mark Olson admittted to throwing his wife to the ground three times. He bruised her. He ran away and hid in a church school. He was arrested and jailed. He cried in court and refused to enter a plea.

Mark Olson delayed his trial several times, using what right-wingers like to call "technicalities".

.... and Olson blamed his wife for what happened:

TO THE EDITOR:

I am proud of my sister, Heidi Olson, and her decision not to try to influence the public by making statements about the incidents which landed Mark Olson in jail. However, after attending the latest hearing on Feb. 9, I heard Olson's lawyer tell a reporter the false story that Heidi "came after Olson and he was trying to control the situation". Perhaps a weak case has led him to apply this tactic. It is misperceptions like that which hopefully will be brought out in court, when persons testifying are under oath.

It is my hope that the people of Sherburne County will agree that physical violence is never warranted or justified. In my 32 plus years of marriage, my husband has never been physically aggressive with me. I don't think I could do anything that would cause him to act that way. Unless there is a common agreement and a standard about domestic violence, there is not much more that can be said.

Holli Rebney

Minnetonka, MN

... and here's Olson when he was tough on crime:



Ken Avidor wants to know why the major news media promoted Personal Rapid Transit.

"PheistyChick" Rethinks Her Support For Rep. Mark Olson

Pheistyblog:

So why am I supportive of Rep. Olson? To be honest, I don’t really know. Every logical thought I’ve had has told me to run from this as fast as I can, in the other direction.

... you should listen to that little voice more often, PheistyChick...

What I do know is that there are more to these stories than what the media is reporting, and that the man that I met with on Friday is a man who truly wants to do what’s right. That’s what my heart tells me. And I’m also reminded that there is more to this than meets the eye, and that I am no one (obviously) to judge.

The right-wingers are always saying liberals listen to their bleeding hearts when it comes to crime. "Too soft on crime" is what the righties say... "lock up the bastards and throw away the key"... except when it's their friends and cohorts who are accused of crimes.

Olson himself was one of those tough-on-crime right-wingers. Here's a clipping from his campaign literature:



Ken Avidor blogs about the hypocrites and liars who promoted Personal Rapid Transit and other gadgetbahn scams.

"Pheistychick" Supports Rep. Mark Olson

"Pheistychick" is a self-described "young woman aspiring to become a freelance conservative revolutionist". "Joey" (Pheistychick, I assume) has a post praising crazy Rep. Mark Olson on Pheistyblog:

In my humble opinion, everything that the news media has said about Mark Olson is absolutely and completely distorted. I found him to be a man who is convicted by his values, refusing to succumb to ‘politics as usual’, and a man who has strength like I have never seen.  He is a true public servant, and has come to the realization that if he is going to be in office, he must stand firm for what he believes is the public good, regardless of ay political backlash.

... wouldja believe it? Joey/Pheistychick has a job:

Since I am a Human Resource Manager, I get to go into the schools on occasion and tell the teachers and students what employers are looking for in an employee.

... hmmmm... how about an employee with serious anger management problem who threw a typewriter at a staff worker on one occasion and screamed at staff workers on other occasions and refused anger management counseling?

But then what do expect from a blogger who calls a Gold Star mom like Cindy Sheehan "a prostitute":

Cindy Sheehan thing, in my opinion, is that she is the prostitute for the media and people with anti-war agendas. That isn't right-wing hate speech, that is simply the truth.

... or who links to website called "Minnesotans for Global Warming".

It's sad that there are people like Pheistychick/Joey who would rather whine about not getting presents from her rich parents for her second wedding than show any respect for a Gold Star Mom like Cindy Sheehan or concern for the decline of walleye in Minnesota lakes due to Global Warming.



Ken Avidor blogs about the right-wingers who promote Personal Rapid Transit and other gadgetbahn scams.

Mark Olson Talks About Global Warming

The Blue man in a Red district blog and the I Don’t Hate America! blog asked for a video of Mark Olson's latest rant at the Capitol.... well, here it is, folks!

It was a long, long rant so I edited to include just a few of his many bizarre statements... the Earth is "never filled with water"... some inventors got their ideas from the Bible... melting ice caps won't effect sea level... the media is out to "tear down this country"... and the best way to reduce carbon emissions is to "build power plants".

In the middle, Olson expresses confidence that he'll remain in the legislature.


Ken Avidor blogs about Rep. Mark Olson and other crackpots and con artists who promote Personal Rapid Transit and other gadgetbahn scams.

Personal Rapid Transit: "Glorified Golf Carts"

Charleston Daily Mail:

Lawrence Fabian, treasurer of Advanced Transit Association and a member of the Committee on Major Activity Circulation Systems of the U.S. Transportation Research Board, calls the feeder system cars "glorified golf carts."

Ken Avidor blogs about the con artists and crackpots who promote Personal Rapid Transit.

ATRA & Personal Rapid Transit Strike Out (Again)

Remember Larry Fabian? He's the guy who sent me this gloating e-mail after the 2006 election:

How is that you haven't posted the results of Tuesday's elections yet?

Bucking the Democrat thumping, Minnesota's two PRTistias were reelected, I see. Wouldn't honesty urge you to post that on your lovely website?

Larry Fabian
The One Who You So Kindly Told to %#$@ Off

Larry Fabian would eat his words when days later, Olson was arrested for beating his wife. Fabian's other winning Minnesota PRTista, Michele Bachmann stepped into Kitty Harris's crazy shoes as the Republican party's leading lady lunatic when she sexually assaulted President Bush at the State of the Union function early this year. Bachmann hasn't said a word about PRT since she was elected and I doubt she will.

Although Olson has managed to stay in the legislature, he has no chance of passing a PRT bill this session. Olson faces a bi-partisan effort to eject him from the legislature at the beginning of the next session if he is convicted next month.

How pathetic that Larry Fabian and ATRA went on a pilgrimage to the hills of West Virginia to praise the Nixon-era gadgetbahn boondoggle, the Morgantown PRT.

ATRA's Fabian poured the PRTista Kool-aid....

Fabian, one of the seminar’s featured speakers, considers the seminar “an exploration of possibilities.”

“There’s a much higher level of interest [in personal rapid transit] in Europe and in Korea,” he said.

Other talk should center on possible expansion of Morgantown’s PRT, Fabian said.

... but, the guy in charge of the troubled WVU PRT wasn't drinking it:

“That is a possibility, but it is an expensive proposition,” said Robert Hendershot, assistant director for PRT operations at WVU.

A more scaled-down “feeder system” might be more practical, Hendershot said. That could use small cars to transport five people or less. PRT cars seat eight, but can fit many more.

There you have it from the guy in charge... "too expensive".

Also notice that the Morgantown PRT seats eight passengers which means it does not fit the PRTista's definition of PRT (small, lightweight vehicles seating 4 people or less). The WVU "PRT" is really an early version of the prosaic, automated people movers that operate in many airports.

So much for J. Edward Anderson's "disruptive technology"... more about the Morgantown PRT boondoggle here.


Ken Avidor blogs about Personal Rapid Transit and other gadgetbahn scams.

LTE: Olson has Wrong Idea about School Program

SC Times:

State Rep. Mark Olson ... gave some wild-eyed legislative rants against the International Baccalaureate Program (House Floor Session, 3:54 p.m., April 18).
Olson refers to the IB program as "anti-American" and presented an amendment to have it removed from the school system. Happily, this self-proclaimed maverick had no support, not even from his own party.

Olson might want to consider turning in his crystal ball for a more reliable model... Where else would he get such foolish ideas? They certainly are not from a reliable, well-documented or extensively researched source. At the very least, is it too much to expect a representative ... to check his sources?

The International Baccalaureate Program is primarily a series of accelerated courses for high-IQ students. Not particularly sinister — unless you consider an intelligent, well-educated individual to be a threat. Perhaps to a radical such as Olson, a smart, well-educated woman in particular poses a grave threat to America.
My daughter was in the International Baccalaureate Program in high school. She was offered a full scholarship, complete with room and board, to West Point. I guess you can't get much more un-American than that.

(Ken Avidor blogs about the "Personal Rapid Transit" scam.)

Video of Crazy Rep. Mark Olson Talking About Cancer

From MN Publius:



Ask Ken Avidor what he knows about the "Personal Rapid Transit" scam.

Lawrence Schumacher: "Things I learned from Mark Olson"

From Lawrence Schumacher's SC Times blog:

Things I learned from Mark Olson

During the debate over SF238, the statewide smoking bill, on the House floor Thursday:

* Tobacco doesn't cause cancer.

* We all have cancer in our bodies, but keeping fully hydrated and maintaining a proper pH balance keep the cancer cells at bay.

I'm always learning things from Rep. Mark Olson, R-Big Lake.

What is crazy Mark Olson going to start babbling about next?...



Ken Avidor can tell you a lot about the "Personal Rapid Transit" scam.

Rep. Mark Olson Says it's Okay to Kill Innocent People

From a December 7, 2003 Strib article on capitol punishment:


Ken Avidor says the "Personal Rapid Transit" (PRT) is promoted by crackpots and con artists.

CETA PRTista Emory Bundy & Minnesota Northstar Opponents

From the Anoka County Watchdog:

Update 1/25/06

Issue: Seattle Sounder update

Watchdog readers know of the problems facing Seattle’s commuter rail system.  These problems have been watched closely because of the similarities between the Seattle commuter rail system and the proposed Northstar system.
 
Recently, the citizen advisory group that oversees the Sounder system has warned that costs could be much higher than estimated.  This was reported in a newspaper article.
 
Emory Bundy, a long-time observer of the Sounder has sent us both the article and his response to the article.  Bundy’s response is in the form of a letter he sent to the reporter who wrote the article.  Basically, Bundy asserts that the rail advocates lied from the very start about the costs of the project.  He also takes the media to task for failing to thoroughly investigate the lofty claims of rail advocates. 
 
Both are posted below.  While both are somewhat lengthy, it is well worth the read.  Seattle could be our future (and nightmare) as well.
 
Posted by the Watchdog

 
Read about Emory Bundy HERE.


Ken Avidor exposes the "Personal Rapid Transit" boondoggle.

WVU Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) Antique to be "Modernized"

WVU Press Release:

“The PRT is proceeding with our long-term modernization program that will ensure the viability of the system,” Hendershot said. “These programs include replacing all of our old electronic systems, modernizing all of our communication systems and, like the electrical cable replacement program, upgrading the infrastructure of the PRT system.

Not only is the WVU PRT an antique, it doesn't even come close to the PRTista's definition of PRT (slim guideway, lightweight vehicles).
The PRTistas of ATRA will be allowed one last glimpse of the creaky, Nixon-era, antique boondoggle before it is overhauled.
Ken Avidor says "Personal Rapid Transit" is an anti-transit scam.

Drew Emmer Praises Rep. Mark Olson Was Arrested Himself Last Week

Friday, Drew Emmer, a right-wing blogger and nephew uncle of Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Delano) attacked KSTP's coverage of Rep Mark Olson's "Death & Suicide" rant on the House floor last week:

The media wants Rep. Mark Olson gone. There's no doubt about it. Mark is a republican house member who is well respected and obviously supported by his constituents with one of the most consistent re-election margins in Minnesota. He has a pending legal matter before the court that will be settled this summer. But KSTP 5 Eyewitness News has already convicted him. This is not journalism. This is a DFL complicit media hatchet job. This is a blatant violation of journalistic ethics. This is against anyone's sensibilities of human decency.

Today, Drew Emmer has a post on his Wright County Republican blog about his recent arrest for a fowl crime:

The era of "never been arrested" ended for me last Monday. 

It was a gorgeous evening. I was preoccupied with the news of Virginia Tech. I headed west from my office toward Delano to take in a nephew's baseball game. As I passed through Maple Plain two West Hennepin Public Safety squads converged on me and pulled me over. No traffic violation. They were just randomly running plates and when they ran mine the alarm went off. I was surprised to learn that there was a warrant out for my arrest.

Last fall I went on a guided goose hunt in Rochester. Two DNR officers checked our guns and licenses. I did not have a federal migratory waterfowl stamp on my Minnesota license and I got a ticket. (My federal stamp was on my Missouri license, which I neglected to bring with me that day). I was told to call Olmstead County to find out about the fine. I called the next week and was informed that I would have to call back since the DNR had not yet submitted my ticket to Olmstead County. I failed to follow up. Hence the warrant.

....so Drew Emmer ends up in the hoosegow for his wild goose chase. But, Emmer's not too upset because he feels he's being taken care of by like-minded folks:

"The staff at Hennepin County Jail are all Sheriff Stanek's folks and they do a remarkable job considering the slice of society they interact with each day. "

...hmmm... what "slice of society" is that, Drew?

Then when I thought I was finally getting out they put me in general population until almost 2am. My cellmates nicknamed me Crocodile M-f-ing Dun-f-ing-Dee when they found out what I was in for. As I finally walked out of the pod a lone voice said "keep it real birdman".

Emmer then shoots his mouth off about how the cops should have done it different... what a birdbrain!

Emmer and Olson... jailbirds of feather:






Video of Rep. Mark Olson's Capitol Meltdown - 4/20/07

Rep. Mark Olson went completely berzerk last night.

I've made two videos of Olson's bizarre and very public meltdown.

The first video begins around midnight. Olson continued his badgering of Rep. Mindy Greiling (DFL 54A). Olson was gently informed that the House rules do not allow representatives to impugn another representative's motives.

Part One:



Rep. Greilling mentions that the Scientologists are opposed to her legislation... Mark Olson takes offense. He complains about the KSTP report on Wednesday. Then well... see for yourself:

Part Two

Rep. Mark Olson is "Truly Nuts"

Great comment on MN Speak:

I work in Rep. Olson's vicinity at the Capitol and I can tell you that he's pretty much a sociopath.

He offers up countless useless amendments, monopolizes time on the House floor for hours at a time (with no particular purpose other than hearing himself talk), has zero social skills, seems himself as a "maverick" when he's really just a "loser," has zero supporters even within his own party, and is going to stand trial for domestic abuse after the session is over.

OK, any questions?

this guy is truly nuts

... and I've heard he carries a gun.



Ken Avidor writes about the "Personal Rapid Transit" scam.

More Crazy Rep. Mark Olson Ranting About Evolution and Humanism

Is Rep. Mark Olson claiming that the Declaration of Independence mentions Intelligent Design (Creationism)? WTF?

This is only a short clip. Olson's rant went on and on....


Ken Avidor writes about the "Personal Rapid Transit" scam.