As I recall, Lisa and RT both supported the concept. Lisa seemed vague on her understanding of what reparations where. Both said they would need more information before endorsing a specific proposal. RT obviously understood the question but wanted to know dollar amounts involved before committing himself. The Green Party national platform officially supports the concept of reparations. Winona LaDuke's stress on reconciling all our relations with the earth, other species, and one another encompasses this idea. RT gets points for having read Randall Robinson's book "The Debt". I think what the questioner was looking for was support in the form of a resolution or statement from the mayor or city for starting the conversation on reparations. As far as concerns about cost, no one knows what we are talking about until the issue is studied further. Certainly the reparations paid to survivors of other forms of government endorsed oppression by other countries have been seen as part of the cost of recognizing a historical error and the multigenerational impact on the survivors of such oppression. Currently there is a bill in congress that would appoint a commission to study the issue (HR 40). There are currently no MN cosponsors on this legislation. This is not a surprise to me as Oberstar is the only Minnesotan Rep. on either of the bills in the House dealing with racial profiling. Where is Sabo on these bills? Where is he in relation to any of the bills dealing with race related issues? Not on board. When I called Sabo's office and asked his staff about why he was not on these bills of obvious importance to many of us here in Minneapolis his staff person told me that Sabo didn't like cluttering up congress with legislation thats never going to pass. I find this remarkable since I am very thankful that Sabo has cosponsored four pieces of legislation dealing with glbt issues that I have organized people to call him about. In my opinion, a rep from Mpls should be leading on these issues and not have to be asked about these issues. Are some minorities with more money and clout treated differently by our representatives? David Strand Loring Park __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Spot the hottest trends in music, movies, and more. http://buzz.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
