Part 1a is the result of a post that was evidently too long. I urge those who've received Part 2 to withhold response until you've read the entire post.
PART 1 Following is a statement prepared for a 10/19 public hearing on the De LaSalle Stadium proposal to share public land owned by the Minneapolis Park Board. The views are my own and do not represent any other individual or group. JUST WHO'LL DECIDE THIS ELECTION? If I ask whether a religious group has the right to promote election of officials who reflect that religion's moral teachings, most would answer yes. But does a religious group have a right to promote election of officials who agree in advance to rezone the group's property to enable its sale? Would you agree that this kind of quid pro quo is allowable? Or would you think this points up the troubling questions that can grow out of intermingling political and religious interests? Our country's founders knew that when interests of church and state begin to intertwine, issues quickly become more complex, troubling, and, perhaps, dangerous. I believe we're dealing with just such a situation with the proposal for shared use of public land by De LaSalle, a Catholic High School. And I also believe that it's not anti-Catholic to point out the problems. The issue has become more complex than sharing public land, or reciprocal use, or even whether the religious ownership of De LaSalle could, or would, result in discriminatory practices. Instead, the situation has become just what our country's founders feared: the outcome of the upcoming public election may pivot on the interests of a religious entity over an issue not connected to church doctrine. Several indications reveal the connection and potential for De LaSalle's stadium proposal to materially affect the upcoming election for both Park Board and City Council seats. End of Part 1a REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
