--0-1131176229-969990312=:2960 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline this was something I tried to submit to Strib but I never seem to get past their firewall. No matter. They have a file of my rejected opinions anyway. They don't need one more to add to their collection. I was foolish to try. Tim Note: forwarded message attached. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ --0-1131176229-969990312=:2960 Content-Type: message/rfc822 Received: from [207.225.128.237] by web3404.mail.yahoo.com; Tue, 26 Sep 2000 10:29:32 PDT Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 10:29:32 -0700 (PDT) From: timothy connolly <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: orange hair To: opinion <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: Steve Brandt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, john oslund <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Length: 3300 The only orange hair in evidence Monday morning in courtroom 1953 at Hennepin County Courthouse was that of one young ISAG demonstrator being arraigned before Judge Richard Hopper and it was his natural color. I heard no foul words spoken and no offensive body odor. It was too bad there was no reporter or editorialist from the Strib in attendance. It might have made a fair counterpoint to the strident editorials they wrote at the time of the demonstrations. Perhaps they could have followed up on the costs to taxpayers of that whole stupid and sordid episode in our city's recent history. They might have wondered at the City Attorney's insistence at trying to hold the demonstators feet to the fire by offering a deal that was no deal, basically trying to make them plead guilty to exercising their constitutional rights of free expression and thereby exonerating a police dept. and city government that continues to be out of step with their own citizens. At times it was a little difficult to hear all that was said but I believe only one demonstrator accepted the prosecution's offer and then only in absentia because the defendant was in school out of state and it made no sense economically to plead not guilty and face the cost and inconvenience of returning to the state to stand trial. There is good reason not to accept the city attorney's offer as it will short circuit motions by the defense to get the city and the police department to return property confiscated as "evidence", reveal identities of undercover officers who may in fact have acted more so as "agents provocateurs" than as intelligence gatherers, and shed light on the police department's alleged hijacking of e-mails. These are pretty weighty issues to confront in our "free and open" society. Keep in my mind that these are people who challenge the stranglehold of our governments by corporate interests but stop short of armed insurrection and yet they came under the scrutiny of police agencies employing tactics similar to those used against the Black Panthers, SDS, and Weathermen of the late 60's, early 70's. These are people who question research that could affect all our lives and they have been lied to often enough that they demand a higher level of assurance than that heretofore offered them. I am totally impressed by these young people, by their committment, their idealism. They are a refreshing antidote to the hordes of followers who blindly go where they are told, who voraciously consume in some strange effort to find meaning or happiness, becoming no more than indentured slaves to a system that could not care less about them and will discard them at the next merger. Suffice it to say that those of you who thought we had a final accounting on the bill for ISAG might want to keep the books open and keep your eye on the future proceedings. Monetary costs are reason enough to fret, the cost to democracy and the loss of free speech and assembly cannot be measured and are the real cause for concern. Timothy Connolly Continental Hotel #204 66 South 12th Street Minneapolis, MN 55403 612.339.4557 occupation: political activist __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ --0-1131176229-969990312=:2960--
