RT brings up petitioning our congress people, and it certainly makes sense to collect signatures for both petitions at the same time.
### In the past week, we've had two events: * A report of a man sitting in his living room near a corner known for drug dealing as a bullet flew through followed (4 days later) by shots exchanged between police and a gun man who had already been shooting at someone or something else. * A report of police beating and urinating on a drunk man who was a homeless minority. Why we need the police, why we need police oversight and accountability, and why the drug war is "fundamentally flawed". I see a number of things that the city could do to improve things: * Start seriously exploring ways to get out of the drug war and to decriminalize drugs to the point where they are no longer an income stream for thugs and a pathway into a criminal lifestyle for people with few options. This needs some creative and bold thinking. Prohibition doesn't work, but since the federal government insists on keeping it on the books, we need to find a way around it. * Create true police accountability. Every complaint about police behavior is taken, investigated and responded to in a timely manner. Officers who are abusing their position should be removed (and charged with any crimes they've committed behind the shield of the badge) AND officers who are doing their job should not have to deal with the fallout created by thugs on the force. It should be very clear that any officer who knows of another officer breaking the law and NOT reporting it is aiding and abetting. Make sure that people feel safe and confident that they will not be retaliated against for making reports. * Support the police department. Make sure there are enough police that the streets can be patrolled and calls for help are responded to in a timely fashion. Make sure no streetcorner is left abandoned. Make sure that police who have had to deal with a lot of tough situations get rotated into other areas on a regular basis so they don't get "hardened". * Push our judges to be both tougher and more compassionate. If someone commits a "victimless crime", figure out a way to help them rather than institutionalize them. If someone is a thug who is victimizing other people, get them off the streets. Don't make the police have to arrest the same guy 200 times. ### Regarding Dennis' amazement about the State DFL sending out campaign lit, I had also been under the impression that someone had stated that the state DFL would not be involved in this election. Followup posts have made it clear that the sending of a sample ballot is standard procedure, but it seems reasonable to believe that Dennis was suprised by it. I don't think he was trying to make it an issue discrediting the candidate. ### I somehow get the sense that if Don Samuels had been endorsed by the DFL, we would not be hearing a thing about his decision to go with a minority owned 3rd ward printer. Also, by trying to turn his use of a non-union minority printer into an "anti-worker agenda" with NO other supporting evidence, I get the sense that Dyna has found very few flaws with Don Samuels. Incidently, when I questioned the statement of anti-labor, it was stated that it was clear that "labor" and "union" are interchangeable. I'd agree that "Labor" and "union" are interchangeable, I'd say that "labor" is pushing it, and "worker" isn't even close. Especially after some of the discussions with union members I've had in the last year talking about how the workers had to more or less organize within the unions to take on union leadership. Some unions represent the workers while others have become just another boss. When it comes down to it, I'm much more concerned about how the workers, the labor, is treated and compensated. If a union allows their company to abuse another class of workers (eg: cub/rainbow), they aren't supporting labor in my eyes. If you support labor, you support all workers who are being abused, especially those who are pushed down so hard that they haven't been able to organize. That's why I don't go to target or walmart. That's why I won't drink coke until they deal with their columbian division (among other complaints). That's why I won't wear Nike. etc. Now, I don't know what company Don Samuels used, but provided they pay their employees a fair and competitive wage with fair and competitive benefits, I don't see him as anti-worker or anti-labor. On the other hand, when someone decides to wear nike, shop at walmart or target, etc., I must conclude that at the best, they don't care about workers rights - at least not enough to inconvenience themselves. I'm more concerned with action than lip service. Behavior counts infinitely more than a label does. #### - Jason Goray Sheridan, NE (what to address first? homelessness? police brutality? crime? alternative transportion? abandoned neighborhoods? the plight of palestine? freeways and pollution? corruption? the war with iraq? us supporting coups in venezuala? instant runoff voting? alternative energy? etc? etc? etc? i know why activists get so grumpy - there's so much sh*t going on that i feel guilty if i take time off to read a book. i swear, i feel like it'd be easier just to get hit by a car and not have to worry about it any more.) __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. 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