Shocker: Fargo Forum Accuses Critics Of Law Enforcement Seminar Of “Provincial Whining”

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Written By:
Rob Port

Mar 19, 2012
11:17am

You really have to hand it to the Fargo Forum editorial board. They’re not ashamed of their rabidly anti-oil editorial position.

US Attorney Tim Purdon was nailed with some well-deserved criticism for deciding to hold a law enforcement seminar on oil patch criminal activity thousands of miles away from the oil patch in Denver. So far away in fact that some of the key law enforcement agencies in the Bakken oil fields, notably the Williams County Sheriffs Department, couldn’t send personnel to attend. The Minot Daily News called the decision, justified by the thin excuse of not being able to find a conference room anywhere in western North Dakota (a blatant lie), “hogwash.”

In a screed posted today, the Forum characterizes the Minot Daily News’ position as “curiously misinformed” and critics of the decision to hold the seminar in Denver as “provincial whining.”

What’s ironic is that the Forum cites praise for the seminar from the Cass County Sheriff’s Department as evidence that all was well with the decision. I guess everything is ok as long as Fargo has its sheriff on hand. Of course, Fargo isn’t in the oil patch, but what does that matter?

I guess we critics are “small-minded” because we thought a seminar on crime in western North Dakota should have been held in a time and place convenient for…western law enforcement. What dumb rubes we are. We should know that Fargo is what really matters.

But keep in mind that the Forum is sister publication to the Grand Forks Herald, which defended Purdon’s patently ridiculous prosecution of oil companies over a few dead birds, charges that were laughed out of federal court and has since become the subject of much mocking and derision from the national media.

I guess the editorial position of Forum Communications is to be hostile to western oil development, no matter what that costs in terms of lost credibility to the public.

As an ironic side note, Fargo Forum opinion editor Jack Zaleski (who writes the paper’s editorials) will be giving a presentation on civility at the University of North Dakota in May (I’m slated to be a panelist at the same event). That ought to be entertaining, if just for what will most assuredly be some high-octane hypocrisy.