Re: [Winona] Wal-Mart

[aprosen]

Gerry - Very well said.  Years ago, Council-persons did refer to "the snake pit", actually it was the police firing range in the City Building.  Whether or not they did private wrangling there is a matter of conjecture.  I think it was a facetious reply to those who accused them of back-room deals. From: Gerry Krage To: Kathy Seifert ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 10:43 AM Subject: Re: [Winona] Wal-Mart Kathy and everyone, The statement "I missed those meetings" was an attempt at humor and "civil discourse" in response to Dean's sharp accusation of dishonest and illegal activities of the Council. There were NO "back room deals being cut".  Wal-mart has become a sensitive issue.  But I can assure everyone that with Wal-Mart, as with all of our business, the City is run a bit more boring that some would like to think.  There are no cigar smoke filled back rooms where deals are cut, no white envelopes full of cash passing in the alleyways and no one is hiding behind any grassy knoll.  Just honest above the board business.  We listen to the constituents, check the facts and make decisions.  Some you may agree with, others you may not.  Thank  you Gerry Krage ----- Original Message ----- From: Kathy Seifert To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 8:11 AM Subject: Re: [Winona] Wal-Mart Yes, Spencer, it certainly appears to be one.  I also notice that Gerry Krage's response stating he "missed" those meetings could be construed to be a confirmation that such meetings actually took place.  Neither message seeks to discern fact from fiction.  I invite both parties to clarify the facts as the discussion unfolds.   You'll notice that in spite of the content, the messages have been posted to WOD.  I'm not sure of his intent, but Dean's message seems to imply that posts are somehow screened before being sent to the list.  This is not true.  The moderators do not "censor" subscribers' messages.  Our role is to promote a healthy dialogue and we do that by posting messages such as this one to the entire list or sometimes to individuals privately.  We also may choose to drop an individual from the list, but only as a last resort.   I hope this helps to clarify the facts regarding the process of moderating the discussion.  We can all have a better understanding of issues if we sort out facts from opinions and values.  We are free to have and state our opinions, but it seems essential to be discerning when writing and reading our messages.  I think this helps achieve our goal of "civil discourse."   Kathy Seifert WOD Co-Moderator     ----- Original Message ----- From: Spencer Madsen To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 4:43 PM Subject: Re: [Winona] Wal-Mart [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: (snip) Further, if Wal-mart is so innocent in this matter why were the feds investigating their corporate offices? I trust other members of the WOD are not so quick to assume that if a party is being investigated then said party MUST be guilty of something.   [I would make a reference here to the back-room deals our City Council no doubt cut with Wal-Mart recently, but if I did it would probably not be posted on WOD.] Isn't that a reference right there? -Spencer Madsen