I just came out of the meeting the Mayor held with CM. There are a couple things that need to be cleared up.
While it is true bicycles must be licensed in the City of Minneapolis, we may be the only city in the state that requires such licensing. There is a state statute that enables cities to deal with bicycle registration as they choose. St. Paul does not require registration. I don't know about Cloquet or Willmar, Wayzata or Eden Prarie. The idea that we have registration so that one can get a bicycle returned in the event it is stolen is poppy-cock. A serial number is more reliable. When my bicycle was stolen two years ago and I came across it I verified my ownership by registration number after I liberated it. I don't know what licenses are like now. The last time I had one on a bike, probably 30 years ago or more, they were pressure sensitive labels that could be peeled off. This license thing is one more way in which the city constricts and controls and taxes to pay for things like riot gear The Mayor suggested Critical Mass do another ride soon to keep the momentum going. He suggested applying for a permit. He would join them. He suggested he could help people register bicycles. Did the Mayor, when he was just an untitled publicity seeker with an eye to the future, apply for a permit to protest airplane noise in his pajamas? This is not another opportunity for the Mayor to be on TV doing nothing while appearing to do something. Why don't we see the Mayor on TV announcing discipline meted out to police officers for their brutal behavior? Instead we see our Mayor mollifying interest groups like a guy trying to keep 15 plates spinning on the ends of sticks. I've seen this act before. Call meetings, get together with interest groups, announce elaborate ideas that go nowhere, plead budgetary constraints... The fact of the matter is that Critical Mass rides are essentially political speech that challenges accepted norms of behavior. These policemen acted no better than a gang of fascist thugs suppressing political speech. YES. FASCIST THUGS Do not forget our country came into existence as the result of defiance and civil disobedience. This was a non-violent demonstration until the police started doing their thing. Tell me I'm being inflammatory. Go ahead. Make my day. Tim Connolly Downtown __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
