Jeffrey Strand referred to the editorial about Joe Biernat in North News as "balanced".
I have not read the entire editorial as yet but just in the little that Jeffrey passed along I wonder about the "balance". In the paragraph beginning "The need for credibility..." there is a factual error in that Tom Heffelfinger has sought no elective office. Small point for sure but nonetheless... In that paragraph there is the thinly veiled inference that the motivation for the indictment of Joe B. was totally partisan politically. Unless the writers are in possession of a smoking gun I am unaware of, I think this discredits the idea that this editorial is 'balanced' unless by 'balanced' we mean accusing the plaintiff just because they had the impudence to question someone of a different party. More to the point, I would bet "dollars to dunuts" that if Joe B. is in fact guilty, a DFL(Democrat) U.S. Attorney would have swept this one under the rug. This is as much a stain on organized labor as it is on a City Councilman. The influence and power labor has over the DFL would have made this go away. There was no such power that could come to bear in the case of Brian Herron. Let's be frank. Who was being sacrificed? A Hispanic with documented health inspection problems in his stores, a Palestinian real estate developer in a blood feud with a sitting Councilperson and a candidate for Mayor to boot, and a Black Councilperson from a well respected family in the community. I bet not many tears were shed among the DFL hierarchy in such a one-party dominated city, at least among those members of the hierarchy who wanted a changing of the guard who would not go peacefully into the night. I understand how conspiratorial this may sound but it's a heck of a lot more interesting than the idea of a Republican conspiracy to oust Joe Biernat and a union official when everyone knows that if it should come down that they are found guilty, they will be replaced by another pro-labor DFLer and a DFL leaning union leader. If anything I think balance is slowly being restored to a city that has stagnated under the influence of one party rule for far too long. Tim Connolly Downtowner whose favorite party is a good cocktail party. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness http://health.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
