I gotta say I resent Keith Reitman's post describing the DFL as a Machine. Although I'm a transplanted California Democrat, a good part of my family roots go back to Chicago where there really was a Democratic Party Machine. In the light of Chicago Democratic politics of yesteryear, calling the MN DFL a machine, even in Minneapolis, is a bit of a joke. Although MPRB commissioner is one of those so-called "nonpartisan" offices of the "DFL town" of Minneapolis, it is as likely a target for any office seeker of any political party as any, especially now. My only issue with the DFL is a tendency towards extremes common to most political party organizations; as a moderate, the DFL is as close to home as I can get without casting myself to third party oblivion.
The unhealthy insular nature of MPRB and civil rights are the issues here and NOT the DFL. Frankly, I don't know whether or not permits for campaigning have been pulled since July of 1991 and I suspect that any civil rights case brought against MPRB will look at those records exhaustively. I'm fairly certain that many official campaign events using the parks have been permitted by the MPRB; the issue is whether there are any other permits issued for the more mundane campaign activities and if so, to whom. What appears to be happening is that these face to face, hand shake type campaign activities in the parks are being manipulated by MPRB staff and those who complain about such campaign activities with or without knowledge of the now infamous "regulations governing constitutionally protected expression on park property," to quote the title of the nine section abomination. Bill Kahn Prospect Park "there is nothing divine about morality; it is a purely human affair" REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact 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 Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
