Folks, we've been sliding away from the list's purpose as a place to discuss Minneapolis-centered issues & effects. I want to get us back to what we are: a place where local issues are prime.
I believe most members are well-intentioned, but we're using the thinnest of pretexts to call things "Minneapolis" in the last few days. Three recent examples: DQ and irradiated beef. I didn't rule this one out of order because DQ has been a Minneapolis-specific issue thanks to the Park Board. However, near as I can tell, DQ is not selling irradiated beef in Minneapolis, or certainly in Minneapolis specifically. This is simply not an issue, to use the Walt Cygan principle, **because** of Minneapolis - it just happens in Minneapolis, like Moline and Boise, because we have DQs here. I admit there is a local factor because of the recent Park Board debate, but the issue quickly became beef irradiation (not local), not any local policy decision, which has been made. Xcel Energy. Yes, they're based here, but that's about it. Their stock price or lack thereof has nothing to do with Minneapolis specifically. Again, it doesn't happen **because** of Minneapolis, and there is no debatable Minneapolis-based policy that specifically affects Xcel's stock. In other words, not a local issue. Race summits. Race is certainly an issue worth discussing here. However, if this thread is to go anywhere, we need to keep Minneapolis prime - why a "white persons" summit **in Minneapolis,** not Tampa or Falcon Heights? General thoughts on race relations are simply too broad for this local list. The debate must center on Minneapolis needs and Minneapolis effects, or I'll ask that the thread be snipped. In general, this list is to discuss local policies based on local effects that people are more likely to have experienced because they happen literally close to home. It is meant to hash out policies directly affecting Minneapolis and with unique local facets. It is not meant as a place for generalized and often abstract ideological debates...there are plenty of Internet forums for those. David Brauer List manager _______________________________________ 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
