Were those defending the Mayor to read my letter to the editor closely they should make note of the word "Senate" used two or three times. I made clear she had not appeared before Senate committtees and as I was not in St. Paul for the house hearings I cannot speak to whether or not the mayor was there. I will point out that the real chance of meaningful action was always to be in the Senate. Rep. Rich Stanek, a recently elevated Inspector in MPD, pretty much had his way in the House with all the IR's on his committee plus 4 DFLers who combined to pass a limp bill 14-4. As to other's questions as to the leadership or lack thereof the Mayor may have shown I would be happy to furnish the innocuous letter to Sen. Jane Ranum I spoke of and would be happy to debate off-line. Yes this Mayor walks a tightrope especially since she is the person most responsible for lack of leadership vis a vis our police force and their possible racial profiling. Make no mistake about it, the Mayor rules the police. And if she doesn't and they are a power center unto themselves we face much greater problems than racial profiling. One brief note about community policing and the idea of beat cops. Every time that I have seen police on beat they are in the company of another officer. To my way of thinking this defeats the very purpose of beat patrols. i have walked past these officers on the street and never has one greeted me were I not to first engage them. More likely, they were engaged inconversation with their partners. So now what we have are cops isolated from the rest of us mere mortals only not in cars. If we, meaning the police and those policed, are to break down the 'us vs them' mentality then we must mingle as human beings. It is as though the cops are coming to the dance, hanging around in back with the other cops, and then going home with none of us having gotten to dance with and know each other. If I am to cling to another I will get to know no others. It is difficult and fearful to be alone at times. Given their position in society, the police enjoy an advantage in that it is the inclination of most to gravitate toward the strong and powerful. We seek comfort in numbers and the perception of other's strength to help us. This is why we bond into a state. The whole is greater than its parts. This is the same idea that makes gangs a powerful influence in society especially among those who feel disenfranchised and/or powerless. Basic stuff. I need to stop and do some other things right now but I want to make clear that I stand behind my words about the Mayor and the lack of leadership she has shown in combatting racial profiling. In fact, if anything were true, I would say that the Mayor exacerbated a trait she already knew existed in MPD. This is nothing new to African-Americans in our community. Minneapolis cops have always been suspect of racial bias and being real thumpers. Tim Connolly Ward 7 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
