Assuredly, we must not panic. But I think the local level is precisely where people should start asking questions. American Public Radio has made a 1-hr tape of testimony before the 9/11 Commission. It just aired on MPR, will play again tonight at 9, and as always will be available on its web site. I urge everyone to listen, though parts are very painful, because the story is one of unpreparedness. Poor communications among rescue workers and 911 operators, locked exit doors, having no plan for evacuation - the list of errors is sobering. Everyone acted as well as possible under enormous pressure, but they just weren't prepared. I've been reminded all over again of the domestic defenses we may not have fully secured. Gail O'Hare St. Paul ----- Original Message ----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2004 12:00 PM Subject: Stpaul Digest, Vol 9, Issue 13
Send Stpaul mailing list submissions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can reach the person managing the list at [EMAIL PROTECTED] When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Stpaul digest..." ------------------------------------------------- Please - Take the St. Paul Job Shadow Survey Just 15 Questions: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=70658501784 ------------------------------------------------- Today's Topics: 1. Labor Day Picnic On Harriet Island (Renee Jenson) 2. Re: Labor Day Picnic On Harriet Island - Corky Finney? (Dan Dobson) 3. Conversations with your representative at the Old Man River Cafe (Jon Kerr) 4. Re: Conversations with your representative at the Old ManRiver Cafe (Dennis Tester) 5. Could it happen here? (Dennis Tester) 6. Re: Could it happen here? (Tim Erickson) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 13:45:33 -0500 From: "Renee Jenson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [StPaul] Labor Day Picnic On Harriet Island To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Wow! Lots of good folks, good food, good politics, good beer, and good fun yesterday down on Harriet Island. I was lucky enough to spend time volunteering for St. Paul Trades and Labor in their ticket and raffle booth. I even got a free hot dog! I love the Labor day picnic each year. Yesterday's picnic was especially fun because VP candidate Edwards came out to talk to all the "real" people that showed up. All hard workers, people trying to make a difference. It was WONDERFUL! Mayor Rybak from the city across the river was nice enough to come and say "hello". And the Sounds of Blackness sang. Everyone in our booth was "shakin it". One of the group members came to our booth and volunteered after his appearance on stage. I LUV those guys. I bought a CD. So once again it was a very special Labor Day. Thanks to Shar Knutson and all of her group at St. Paul Trades and Labor for their hard work in getting that picnic together each year. Whew! It was quite a celebration! Renee Jenson Como ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 12:01:42 -0700 (PDT) From: Dan Dobson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [StPaul] Labor Day Picnic On Harriet Island - Corky Finney? To: Renee Jenson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Renee - Unfortunately, I couldn't make it due to family commitments, but tell us about the reception for Corky Finney. Dan Dobson Summit Hill --- Renee Jenson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Wow! Lots of good folks, good food, good politics, > good beer, and good fun yesterday down on Harriet > Island. I was lucky enough to spend time > volunteering for St. Paul Trades and Labor in their > ticket and raffle booth. I even got a free hot dog! > > I love the Labor day picnic each year. Yesterday's > picnic was especially fun because VP candidate > Edwards came out to talk to all the "real" people > that showed up. All hard workers, people trying to > make a difference. It was WONDERFUL! > > Mayor Rybak from the city across the river was nice > enough to come and say "hello". And the Sounds of > Blackness sang. Everyone in our booth was "shakin > it". One of the group members came to our booth and > volunteered after his appearance on stage. I LUV > those guys. I bought a CD. > > So once again it was a very special Labor Day. > Thanks to Shar Knutson and all of her group at St. > Paul Trades and Labor for their hard work in getting > that picnic together each year. Whew! It was quite > a celebration! > > Renee Jenson > Como > > > > _____________________________________________ > 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/ > ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 19:04:27 -0500 From: "Jon Kerr" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [StPaul] Conversations with your representative at the Old Man River Cafe To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" "Conversations with your representative" The Old Man River Cafe, 879 Smith Av. S., West St. Paul is hosting an occasional series of coffee / beer get-together opportunities for the general public to talk with local officials. The next scheduled event is September 11, 3-4:30 p.m. with Ramsey County Commissioner Rafael Ortega. Smoke him out on any subject you like in an informal, friendly atmosphere. Stick around afterwards for dinner, a glass of wine or beer and /or an evening of original folk/rock with Jeff Ray in a non-smoking establishment. Similar events are being planned with city, county and state representatives in upcoming weeks. For more info call Jon Kerr at 651-450-7070. ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 19:30:57 -0500 From: "Dennis Tester" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [StPaul] Conversations with your representative at the Old ManRiver Cafe To: "Jon Kerr" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" What, no smoking? Forget it. Dennis Tester Mac-Groveland ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jon Kerr" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2004 7:04 PM Subject: [StPaul] Conversations with your representative at the Old ManRiver Cafe "Conversations with your representative" The Old Man River Cafe, 879 Smith Av. S., West St. Paul is hosting an occasional series of coffee / beer get-together opportunities for the general public to talk with local officials. The next scheduled event is September 11, 3-4:30 p.m. with Ramsey County Commissioner Rafael Ortega. Smoke him out on any subject you like in an informal, friendly atmosphere. Stick around afterwards for dinner, a glass of wine or beer and /or an evening of original folk/rock with Jeff Ray in a non-smoking establishment. Similar events are being planned with city, county and state representatives in upcoming weeks. For more info call Jon Kerr at 651-450-7070. _____________________________________________ 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/ ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Wed, 8 Sep 2004 11:00:49 -0500 From: "Dennis Tester" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [StPaul] Could it happen here? To: "St. Paul Discuss" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Corky Finney recently wrote an op-ed piece complaining that the federal government hasn't provided the resources to local police and fire departments to prepare for the unthinkable. Before anyone dismisses his remarks as those from a whining bureacrat who never has enough money, I suggest that you consider this: We know in our guts that the Islamic terrorists are going to strike somewhere in this country between now and the elections. Columnist Mark Steyn recently wrote: "Could what happened in Beslan happen in the US? Two months ago, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported on a fellow called Mohamad Kamal Elzahabi, a suspected terrorist who'd fought with his fellow jihadi in Chechnya and somehow wound up in Minnesota, where he'd applied for licenses to transport hazardous materials and drive school buses." It seems to me that Minnesota has been arresting way too many terror suspects than should be expected given our "fly-over" status and geography. When you think about the brutal carnage these terrorists wrought, bayoneting kids who begged for water, shooting kids in the back who tried to escape, raping the older girls, it's impossible to imagine what they wouldn't do. It's been reported that the Russian school was undergoing renovations over the summer, and the terrorists used that time to hide bombs and weapons in the school. Well, how many of our schools were under construction or renovation this past summer? St. Paul schools have signs posted with "This is a gun free, drug free zone." But If I was a school teacher with a permit to carry, I would secretly be carrying every day, at least until after the election, even knowing that it violated school rules. I know that most people in this town will disagree with me on this, but I'd rather have a shoot-out than a massacre. Dennis Tester Mac-Groveland ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Wed, 8 Sep 2004 11:52:07 -0500 From: Tim Erickson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [StPaul] Could it happen here? To: "St. Paul Issues Forum" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" This morning, Dennis Tester asks the question "Could what happened in Belsan happen in the US (or St. Paul)? He suggests, that Minnesota (St. Paul) might be more of a target than some of us are willing to admit - and he implies, that security at St. Paul schools might be lacking (re: summer construction projects and "gun free zone" signs). I think that it is fully appropriate that we be asking these questions in our community. However, I strongly urge some level of caution and consideration about how we pose these questions. I expect our Mayor, our police chief, and officials at the school district to all think about these issues and take appropriate responses. So, far, I have no evidence that public safety officials in St. Paul have ignored or given short shrift to these very important issues. While it is important, that we respond to potential threats from terrorists, we must also be sure that we do not panic and that we be reasonable and practical in our responses. There is no way, without very drastic impositions on civil liberties and personal freedoms, to prevent with absolute certainty the kinds of horrendous evil that theoretically might be inflicted upon our community. However, we cannot paralyze ourselves with fear. I know that security at St. Paul schools has increased over recent years and that vigilance and awareness among parents and staff has increased. The exact amount of money and resources that we spend on such security matters, will always be a matter of some debate with a variety of differing perspectives on the matter. Have we done enough? I don't know. I do know, that I'm sending my two children to St. Paul public schools this week with confidence and pride. I plan on volunteering in the schools myself AND will not fear for my safety. While, we need to think about address these issues. We need to talk about them in public. We MUST NOT do so in a manner that spreads unnecessary or unreasonable fear in our community. Does anyone else have any comments on how St. Paul has responded to the threat of domestic or international terrorism? How safe do you feel in our community? Can anyone in public service comment on how your office or department has responded to increased attention to the threat of terrorism? Best wishes, Tim Erickson Hamline Midway [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- ================================================= Tim Erickson http://www.politalk.com St. Paul, MN - USA 651-643-0722 [EMAIL PROTECTED] iChat/AIM: stpaultim ================================================= ------------------------------ _____________________________________________ 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/ _____________________________________________ For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract End of Stpaul Digest, Vol 9, Issue 13 ************************************* _____________________________________________ 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/
