Michael Atherton: "I don't understand why you believe that the Minneapolis city council would have enough information to make an intelligent decision on whether to attack Iraq. I think that the overriding factor is whether raq has or is close to obtaining nuclear weapons. I would think that only officials at the Federal level would have that information.
Nope. If we as citizens can take a stand on it, so can the council. The issue is not ONLY does Iraq have nukes, it is about the tendency to enforce everything with our military. Especially when it becomes SO obvious that there's a political connection. I suppose Ostrow is considering his own constituency where maybe he has to refurbish his credentials with a maneuver. But there's no argument for an "intelligent stand". Its mostly about morals anyway. (Blessed are the peacemakers, and he wasnt talking about Reagan's missiles, either). Barb Lickness: "Personally Jordan, I wish Dean Zimmerman would spend more time passing resolutions that would help his war torn ward than concentrating on issues that are 12,000 miles away from here. While I am not diminishing the significance of the ward in Iraq, we elected our city council people to concentrate on the city. I expect that to take precedence over everything else. If I have a passion about the war in Iraq, I am calling Paul Wellstone or Marty Sabo, not Dean Zimmerman or Robert Lilligren. Since Dean has taken office he has offered resolutions for us not to watch T.V. for a week, against some human rights offenses in some country in the way beyond and now the war in Iraq. HELLLLLLOOOOO, he has people that fear for their lives every single day in Phillips and sleep with one eye open. I haven't seen one resolution from him that might help them. In fact, I hear very little from him on the horrendous crime issues in Phillips other than the police are brutal. Mostly, he shows up at meetings late, stands in the back of the room, says nothing and then leaves. So far R.T. is the only city leader that is taking a leadership role about the crime problems in Phillips. Many of the people I speak with in war torn Phillips are wondering when he will put their safety and well-being ahead of his other passions in countries far away. This is why he was elected. If Dean wants to debate the war in Iraq, then run for U.S. congress or U.S. Senate. In the meantime, Phillips needs his attention here in Phillips." Well, I think Barb has passionately expressed my basic feelings. I think ever since Berkeley pioneered cities having foreign policy positions, the Left has felt compelled to follow suit. Maybe it made some sense when we were bogged down in Vietnam. But when the issue is resolutions on Iraq, Dean might be a little premature. My thought is that he'll be a one-termer until he starts taking his own ward's problems a little more seriously. Dean and I share the same basic philosophy. But I think we part company on what are useful political tactics. He has to work to improve the reputation of the Left as serious people. My two cents. Jason Kushner: "Second, there ARE connections between what the U.S. is doing (?)12,000 miles away and what is happening in Phillips. The hundreds of billions of dollars wasted on the war machinery to invade countries 12,000 miles away needs to be directed at the problems in our inner-cities. Imagine how much a small portion of that money could do to improve housing, stimulate economic development, provide job training, drug treatment, etc. " Undoubtedly. Dean and his allies need to sponsor a resolution in favor of dealing with problems at home in order to avoid wasting needed money on foreign adventures. Keep it relevant to his duties to the ward. Mike Opat: I'm not your constituent. But I'll reply to your comment about the county and the Twins. This "great city" already HAS "great attractions". In practically all cases, they built their own venues. And they weren't financed by billionaires, either. I think the Pohlads want us to build a stadium so he can dump his ownership at a higher price. According to his past statements about the team, he is doomed to keep losing money if they stay in the Dome. But he'll have to fight a lawsuit if he tries to break his Dome contract. Neither situation lends itself to a financially positive outcome for Mr. Pohlad and his family, so naturally they want us to rescue them. But a businessman like Mr. Pohlad takes a chance on every business decision he makes. And if he makes a bad one, he just isn't important enough to force a bailout. He might just have to take a loss (won't really be a loss, no team is worth less than it was when the current owner bought it). Won't be the first time in his life, but I'm sure he always looked for a way out of bad investments. ===== J P Mork--Cooper ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo! http://sbc.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
