> [Original Message] > From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Tom & Elsa Thompson said: > > Guess that says it all to me, it's about > > changing policy without a public vote. Kind of like using activist judges > > to get things done that can't be done legislatively or with a majority > > vote. > > For a minute I thought you were talking about the five activist judges who > stopped the counting of the votes in Florida in 2000 and put Goerge W Bush > into the white house, even though he lost the popular vote, and he would > have lost Florida had all the votes been properly counted. > > Sometimes "conservatives" want to hear from the people, and sometimes they > don't. ( I know, "Get over it")
No, don't "get over it". It's a black day for democracy when the highest court in the land decides there "isn't enough time" to count the votes in an election. Especially, when that same administration is now clamoring for the discretion to postpone the next election. I've hesitated to contribute to this latest thread because it was kinda fun to watch and, whenever I post something, the topic is soon declared off-topic for some reason or other. I'd like to see more empirical evidence introduced into the forum, too, Tom, but then the discussion is immediately declared "too abstract". (I couldn't find that rule anywhere.) So why don't you try introducing some empirical sources and see how you fare. Take the high road. If you think there are unsupported and inaccurate assertions, don't counter with more unsupported innuendo; demonstrate the inaccuracy with empirical source data. Enlighten us. That's what we're here for. The idea of governing St. Paul by referendum has been shown elsewhere to be a method that quickly becomes an unmanageable circus of competing, public marketing campaigns that ultimately depends on who has the most money to publicly promote their message. In short, another form of corporate control of the political system. It's one of the main issues on which I disagree with Ralph Nader. California, my empirical source, has become a referendist's mess, to the point where voters have become inured to the relentlessness of special interest marketing and simply reasserted their apathy. Imagine the desecration of your sacrosanct Farmers' Market shopping experience if the campaign never ended. So you see, there's always someone else to blame when you don't get what you want. Call the judge an activist and claim the City Council should decide what the law means. If they don't do what you want, call the City Council a gang of out-of-touch liberals the throw the question into referendum. If the public doesn't agree with you, blame the monied special interests and their marketing lies. Then call the judge back in to overrule them and, if he has the audacity to rule that the Constitution applies equally to gays, have the judge investigated when all else fails. It's all being honed to a fine art. I don't think I've ever seen a reign of terror quite like this since the Inquisition. Bow down before the state-sponsored idol or be. . . investigated: the late John O'Neill, Colleen Rowley, Paul O'Neil, Richard Clarke, James Wilson, Jamie Gorelick, Sandy Berger--and that's just a short list--all dared to speak up, all were. . . investigated. I predict this smoking ban issue won't end without someone being. . . investigated. Guy Western West Abstract Street the West Side _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
