Pawlenty and the Met Council took two more steps to intensify the regional/class war over transportation.
The Met Council is planning to shift large amounts of money from transit to areas such as Lakeville. Barb Thoman of Transit for Livable Communities called it a "huge and troubling shift". Here is the story: http://www.startribune.com/stories/373/4661500.html What was the other story I was planning to write about today? "O.J. SIMPSON DONATES FIFTY BUCKS TO BATTERED WOMEN'S SHELTER" no, that's not it. "OSAMA BIN LADEN TO TO DONATE AL QAIDA SALARY TO VICTIMS OF 9/11 ATTACK" no, that's not it. I remember-I was going to write something about Pawlenty's cheap union-busting publicity stunt! Pawlenty is going to use some of the "savings" from the bus strike to buy cab and van rides for poor people. Of course, cabs and vans are much more expensive than mass transit. He will be able to cover about 1% of the need. Union members, labor-relations experts and low-income advocates correctly understand this as a move to prolong and escalate the strike: http://startribune.com/stories/373/4660176.html David Shove asked a good question on the Mpls issues list: How do we stop Pawlenty? What will it take? What it will take is a protest movement, maybe even a General Strike. Maybe a coalition of groups could call for a Day of Protest. Is it fair for highways to remain open if there is no mass transit? What would Jesus drive? Nobody knows for sure. What DID Jesus drive? A donkey! You can look it up if you don't believe me! Therefore, it is unfair for any vehicle to move faster than a donkey. As the Ayatollah of bus riders I humbly beseech you to remember these here slogans: 1. Buses were created before SUVs. 2. Adam and Eve didn't drive a car. They didn't need a truck with a Hemi! Neither did Adam and Steve. BACK TO THE DAY OF PROTEST: Truck drivers should ask themselves "What Would Jimmy Hoffa Do? (WWJHD) Where are the radicals and protesters, anyway? Wake up before you miss the revolt! Climb out of the trees! We have to show the right wing they can't push us around. They can't take away our buses and our health coverage and break all the unions. Enough is enough! SHUT EVERYTHING DOWN! Ed Fesler [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minneapolis Corcoran __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam http://mail.yahoo.com 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
