Christmas (and other holiday seasons) have a long history as the most favored time of year to sneak through an unpopular undemocratic coup. The usual elite beneficiaries of the coup wait until everyone is diverted, and reporters unassigned, to have done their deeds most foul. This is when we should be most watchful of all. Doing deeds this way is proof of evil intent. Were it not evil, it would be done in the light of day in front of large approving audiences.
I believe a few years back the StPaul Gopher State Ethanol (GSE) outrage/catastrophe was snuck thru the StP city council in 15 minutes, late at night, over Christmas. So easy to put it in. Because the powers that be wanted it. And so hard to get rid of - years and years of hundreds of citizens and thousands of hours and dollars to fight it. Fight it in the face of determined obstruction by the 4/3 majority of the StP city council, Norm the Mayor, the laughably titled "monitoring agencies", Chamber of Commerce, Pioneer Press, and some misguided unions. GSE will be there until enough new people are elected to the City Council, or Mayor, to force the change. We will see what the new council will do on this. Kelly will be for GSE, and perhaps 2 or 3 of the 7 CMs; we will see how it goes. Any less than 5 of 7 for ending GSE, and Kelly will veto, and we're stuck with a big toxic business for at least another 2 years. Suppose there had been a sceptical crowd at each CC meeting, and reporters - perhaps this long terrible battle would never have to be fought. But they weren't, and so hundreds must spend years repealing it. You might think the elite would back away from all the bad publicity. Not where there's money to be made, public subsidies (your tax dollars at work) to be snatched, and owned council people, owned mayor, owned PP, and select owned unions. The elite has seen contempt for the public and democracy, and in-your-face usurpation - work. They get away with it. They are above our laws and our seldom-enough actions - why should they give a rip? Best in their minds to get into the trough and snarf it up. ASAP. The public be damned. The predatory forces of darkness hover around agencies of government. When no one is looking, in the dark of night, as quickly as possible, they pounce. Blitzkreig. So next time, and every time, there should be sceptics and reporters, especially over the Happy Holidays. Tis the season to be wary fa la la la la they are not fair. Don we now our skeptics glasses fa la la la la they shall not pass. --David Shove Roseville On Sun, 28 Dec 2003, Annie Young wrote: > >annie wrote these comments: Hmmm! What's important - what's not?!? > >HEADLINE: Why reporter wasn't at Park Board meeting > > > >The Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board named Jon Gurban superintendent > >at about 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17. > >City Hall reporter Rochelle Olson, who on occasion has stretched her > >assigned terrain to cover the board, was not there. > >She found out the next morning when board members called her at home. > >Result: On Dec. 19, two days after Gurban's naming, her story appeared on > >the front page. Even so, the Star Tribune owned the story. No one from the > >media was at the board meeting. > >It was the board's last meeting of 2003, and followed by a few days > >withdrawal of both finalists recommended by a search firm for the > >superintendency. > >There was a hint, if not a premonition, in Doug Grow's column the day > >before the board met: "The Minneapolis Park Board is going to huddle > >Wednesday evening in an effort to answer the profound question: Now what?" > >But reporter Olson's supervisors didn't grasp the possibility that a new > >superintendent might be named that night. > >Olson had. She made her case for the assignment to supervisor Cathy > >Riddick. That meant overtime, and she said she was turned down. > >"The desire to avoid paying Rochelle overtime pay is true -- partly," said > >Joe Williams, assistant managing editor-local news. > >He said the overtime to cover a number of major breaking stories in the > >last 90 days -- Saddam Hussein's capture, Dru Sjodin's disappearance and > >Stephen Porter's accusations of police abuse, to name a few -- had come at > >a price. > >"I decided Rochelle should not go to the meeting because the information I > >had didn't seem to merit paying time-and-a-half and tying up her evening > >for a routine story -- not because the paper is being stingy and shortsighted. > >"Riddick seemed to agree; neither she nor Rochelle tried to change my mind." > >Williams added, "Hindsight is 20-20; knowing what we know now, it seems > >like a no-brainer to send her to the meeting." > > Comment: Readers had been alerted by the newspaper to an important > > vacancy in area government. They had every reason to think the Star > > Tribune would keep them advised in a timely way. They were shortchanged. > >Parker Hughes ads > > > >Eric Knox questioned the simultaneous publication of the investigative > >series about the Parker Hughes Cancer Center and the center's numerous > >full-page ads. > >"Can the reader assume that the advertising and news departments are > >separated to a degree that confidence can be placed in the investigative > >report, and that, in fact, a 'whitewash' for a favorite customer has not > >occurred? > >"Would an ad from one accused of bank robbery claiming innocence be > >accepted?" he asked. > >Parker Hughes has run about 10 full-page ads. The cost can range from > >$12,000 to $17,000 a page weekdays, depending upon rate schedules, to > >between $22,000 and $26,000 on Sundays. > >Comment: Advertisers, including a person accused of bank robbery, should > >have the right to make their case if they desire, so long as their copy > >and photos meet the newspaper's standards on taste, libel, pornography, etc. > >Naming the judges > > > >The Minnesota Court of Appeals issued a Dec. 16 ruling that the > >Metropolitan Council did not exceed its statutory authority when it > >required Lake Elmo to conform to the council's order that it develop more > >intensively. > >The item said Judge Gordon Shumaker wrote the order for the three-judge > >panel. The court's order identified the other judges, Terri Stoneburner > >and David Minge, but they were not named in the Star Tribune story. > >Comment: It should be automatic in stories of judicial action by panels > >that all members are named. > >The reader representative catches bouquets and brickbats from 8:30 a.m. to > >4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 612-673-4450. Outside the metro area > >call 800-827-8742. He can be contacted at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Annie Young > Stand Up ~ Keep Fighting > > > > > > > > > > > > > REMINDERS: > 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL > PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. > 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > > For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > ________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls > REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
