Mn-prog-events Mailing List: Progressive Calendar 03.30.10

[David Shove (shove001]

           P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R   03.30.10

1. Coelho/Alchemist     3.30 6:30pm
2. Romero/music/dance   3.30 7pm
3. Cuban med students   3.30 7pm
4. Somali immigration   3.30 7pm

5. Alliant vigil        3.31 7am
6. White privilege      3.31 11am
7. Race/power/organize  3.31 12noon
8. Mississippi river    3.31 12noon
9. Lower student fees   3.31 12noon
10. Single payer action 3.31 6pm
11. MLK/anti-war/PBS    3.31 9pm

12. Ralph Nader   - When the banks own the congress
13. Charles Davis - Obama: he's not your friend, but what if he was?
14. ed            - Bicking/CRA/petition - names/comments - 3.30 5:30pm
15. Dave Bicking  - CRA reappointment - final week, vote Friday
16. Dave Bicking  - CRA reappointment petition (to City Council)

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From: patty <pattypax [at] earthlink.net>
Subject: Coelho/Alchemist 3.30 6:30pm

Tuesday, March 30, we will discuss the book for The Little Book of the
Odd Month Club.  This odd month the book is Paulo Coelho's book, The
Alchemist.  Come to listen even if you haven't read the book.

Pax Salons ( http://justcomm.org/pax-salon )
are held (unless otherwise noted in advance):
Tuesdays, 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
Mad Hatter's Tea House,
943 W 7th, St Paul, MN

Salons are free but donations encouraged for program and treats.
Call 651-227-3228 or 651-227-2511 for information.


--------2 of 16--------

From: Ellen Roscher <ellieroscher [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Romero/music/dance 3.30 7pm

Gallery Night
Cretin-Derham Hall Room C202
Tuesday, March 30 7-9pm

A Celebration of Romero including a latin band, salsa dancing, art and a
silent auction
Proceeds go to the SHARE Foundation for youth scholarships in El Salvador

Cretin-Derham Hall sends 35 juniors to El Salvador every summer, and this
year we are having a Romero celebration to raise money for scholarships in
our homestay community.

There will be a latin band, dancing, art to buy and a silent auction.


--------3 of 16--------

From: Joan Malerich <joanmdm [at] iphouse.com>
Subject: Cuban med students 3.30 7pm

Get a first hand account from Cuban medical students of what it is like to
have doctors trained to serve ALL people under a universal free health
care plan!!  This promises to be both informative and emotionally
rewarding!

If you know of youth who would be interested in applying for free
medical school at the Latin American School of Medicine (LASM) in Cuba,
please BRING THEM OR TELL THEM ABOUT THIS EVENT.   So far 35 US students
have graduated from the LASM, and recently 8 of them went to Haiti to
serve the poor after the Hurricane hit.

For more information about applying to the Latin American School of
Medicine in Cuba, go to www.ifconews.org. The LASM is listed on the
left-hand side.  You can select from the following:

    * Latest news and overview <http://www.ifconews.org/MedicalSchool>
    * Upcoming information sessions
      <http://www.ifconews.org/MedSchoolEvents>
    * Download a brochure (PDF)
      
<http://www.ifconews.org/sites/ifconews.org/files/medschool_brochure2007.pdf>
    * Request an application <http://www.ifconews.org/node/411>

Suggestion:  Download copies of the brochure and pass them on to youth (30
or under) who are interested in the sciences and are thinking about
becoming a medical doctor.

At the ifconews.org site, there is also a report back by some of the US
medical student graduates from LASM who went to Haiti.

IFCO stands for Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization.  I
am an atheist, but I firmly support this group which is led by the
admirable Rev. Lucius Walker.

ANNOUNCEMENT PUT OUT BY THE MN CUBA COMMITTEE:
Two Cuban medical students to speak
7:00 pm, Tuesday, March 30
350 Anderson Hall <http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/maps/AndH/>,
University of Minnesota West Bank

This event is an opportunity to hear from two Cuban medical students. They
will speak about Cuba's internationalist mission to bring medical care to
remote corners of the earth. With 300 medical personnel in Haiti when the
earthquake struck, Cuba was among the first to provide help. The two will
also speak about health care, education, jobs and the impact of the world
economic crisis on Cuba.

Yenaivis Fuentes Ascencio, 23, was born in Guantánamo, Cuba. Fuentes
completed five years of study at the School of Medical Sciences in
Guantánamo and is finishing her sixth and final year of undergraduate
medical studies in Havana. Fuentes is serving as the National Public
Health Education Coordinator of the Federation of University Students.

Aníbal Ramos Socarrás, 30, was born in Manzanillo, Cuba. Ramos is a
third-year graduate student in surgery at the Manzanillo School of Medical
Sciences at the University of Granma where he finished his undergraduate
medical studies with honors. Ramos served one year in Haiti with a
volunteer medical brigade. He is a leader of the Federation of University
Students at the School of Medical Sciences in Manzanillo.


--------4 of 16--------

From: UMN Human Rights Center <humanrts [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Somali immigration 3.30 7pm

March 30, 2010.

"The Letter"
7:00 pm
Free and Open to the public
145 Blegen Hall, West Bank, University of Minnesota
The film deals with a backlash to Somali immigration in Maine and a
conflict between neo-Nazi groups and human rights advocates.
Discussion by Dr. Ali Galaydh, former prime minister, Somalia


--------5 of 16--------

From: AlliantACTION <alliantaction [at] circlevision.org>
Subject: Alliant vigil  3.31 7am

Join us Wednesday morning, 7-8 am
Now in our 14th year of consecutive Wednesday
morning vigils outside Alliant Techsystems,
7480 Flying Cloud Drive Eden Prairie.
We ask Who Profit$? Who Dies?
directions and lots of info: alliantACTION.org


--------6 of 16--------

From: Andy Driscoll <andy [at] driscollgroup.com>
Subject: White privilege 3.31 11am

TRUTH TO TELL KFAI 11AM - MARCH 31: WHITE PRIVILEGE: Just What Does It
Mean to be White in Minnesota  - and Everywhere Else?

KFAI - 90.3FM-Minneapolis/106.7FM Saint Paul and STREAMING at KFAI.org
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31 - 11:00AM

Do you think of yourself as white? Or have you never thought of it before?
If you think of yourself as white, how do you feel about it.  Do you think
of yourself as a person who is usually trusted, who can buy what you want
anywhere you want with whatever credit you might need without paying extra
for the privilege? Can you live pretty much anywhere you wish? Do you
generally think that the police officer over there is suspicious of you
because you're white?

In fact, few of us ever give our whiteness a thought - or a second thought
- and the benefits whiteness accrue to us as a result of not being a
person of color in Minnesota or the United States.

In fact, African-American children learn as early as age four or five that
they are, indeed, Black, and they continue to learn as they go along what
it means to be a person of color in this culture. Same with Asians. And
Latinos.

Confronting our privilege as whites is being seen as an essential step in
understanding what it means to be NON-white, something that's always been
true. This is the antithesis of the sense of white superiority or white
supremacy that has pervaded much of our laws and commerce and governance
since well before our founding a pervasive, shameful, and dehumanizing
perception that gave us slavery, Jim Crow, school segregation, and the
ghettoizing of our cities, suburbs and metropolitan areas - and continues
to plague the underlying poverty, class distinction, and subtle exclusion
that marks what was originally designed to be a totally inclusionary
alternative to the monarchist cultures where our forebears were born and
raised.

TTT's ANDY DRISCOLL talks with researchers, teachers and advocates who
work to get all of us to come to grips with what it means to be white in
our society.

GUESTS:
 PEGGY MCINTOSH, PhD - Sr. Research Scientist and Associate Director,
Wellesley Centers for Women; Author, White Privilege: Unpacking the
Invisible Knapsack
 NANCY RODENBORG, PhD - Associate Professor of Social Work (Diversity),
Augsburg College; Augsburg College Diversity Committee and the Diversity
and Global Learning Collaborative
 ROWZAT SHIPCHANDLER - Director, Facing Race Initiative, Saint Paul
Foundation
 INVITED: MYRON ORFIELD, JD, PhD - Executive Director, Institute on Race
and Poverty, UofM Law School
 AND YOU! CALL us at 612-341-0980.
CAN'T GET US ON THE RADIO? STREAM TTT LIVE and LATER


--------7 of 16--------

From: joan [at] metrostability.org
Subject: Race/power/organize 3.31 12noon

Alliance for Metropolitan Stability

Organizer Roundtable: Race, Power, and Organizing
NOON to 1:30pm
Wednesday, March 31
Rondo Community Library
461 N. Dale Street, Saint Paul, MN 55103
(free parking lower level of building - enter on the north side of
University Ave.)

As we work to achieve racial equity in our communities, institutions and
systems, how do community organizers address the daily work to undo racism
within our campaigns? Not only do organizers work towards undoing racism
in our institutions and systems but they also deliberate on the race
dynamics within the relationships of their constituents.

Presenters:
 Malik Holt, Harrison Neighborhood Association Economic Development
Organizer
 Salvador Miranda, Organizing Apprenticeship Project Associate Director
 Melvin Giles, MN Food and Justice Alliance

Come hear community leaders talk about how they integrate intentional
language about racial equity into their organizing and campaigns. Join in
the dialogue about how racial equity can be central to the success of your
work.

Organizer Roundtables are free but registration is required. Please
register at
https://www.thedatabank.com/dpg/322/personalopt1.asp?formid=event&c=941668

Light snacks will be provided. Feel free to bring your lunch!
See you there! Please contact me with any questions.
Joan Vanhala Alliance for Metropolitan Stability Coalition Organizer
612-332-4471 joan [at] metrostability.org


--------8 of 16--------

From: Institute on the Environment <danie419 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Mississippi river 3.31 12noon

FRONTIERS IN THE ENVIRONMENT
The Institute on the Environment's spring 2010 Frontiers lecture series is
now underway. Join us each Wednesday for a presentation and Q&A session,
followed by a casual get-together in the IonE Commons. The lectures also
air live on the Web.

3/31 - Life on the (Future) Mississippi: Or, Its Not (Just) Mark Twains
River Anymore
Speaker: Pat Nunnally, Coordinator, River Life

The Mississippi River is a critical source of drinking water,
transportation and recreation for tens of millions of people, as well as
an important flyway for migratory birds and a critically important
fishery. Currently, dozens of groups in various disciplines are
passionately engaged in planning for the future of the Mississippi and its
watershed, but lacking communication in coordinating these efforts. Learn
how the River Life program works from its lab in the Twin Cities to
strengthen the connections among the University of Minnesota, the
Mississippi River, and communities and organizations along the river to
create a sustainable urban riverfront.

Lectures take place Wednesdays, noon to 1 p.m, in IonE Seminar Room 380,
VoTech Bldg., St. Paul campus. All lectures are free, no registration
required, and also air live on the Web.


--------9 of 16--------

From: Eli Meyerhoff <meye0781 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Lower student fees 3.31 12noon

Graduate Student Workers United
March to Reduce Student Fees
Wednesday, March 31 at 12 p.m.
Social Sciences Tower, West Bank, University of Minnesota

GRADUATE STUDENT WORKERS PROTEST PAYING STUDENT FEES
March 26, 2010
Media contacts:
Melody Hoffmann  (414-699-8170 / e-mail: melody.hoffmann [at] gmail.com)
Sriram Ananth (612-214-1619 / e-mail: sriram.inqilab [at] gmail.com)

University of Minnesota graduate student workers and their supporters will
march through the Minneapolis campus on March 31, 2010 and 12 p.m. to
demand a reduction in student fees. The march will start at the Social
Sciences Tower on the West Bank and end at Coffman Memorial Union. A short
rally will occur before and after the march with a diverse array of
graduate student worker speakers. Organizers expect over 100 participants.

Graduate Student Workers United (GSWU), a group of teaching and research
assistants dedicated to defending the rights of all graduate students,
ends its month-long "Graduate Students Shouldn't Pay Fees" petition
drive with this campus protest. GSWU hopes to have a fifth of the graduate
workers sign this petition by the time of the march. University
professors, chairs of departments, directors of graduate studies,
frontline university staff, and undergraduates have all joined GSWU in
solidarity by signing the petition.

GSWU is demanding that university administrators reduce graduate student
fees by $200. Currently graduate students pay over $500 in student fees
each semester - which amounts to an average of 10% of their university pay
received as teaching or research assistants. This pay cut impacts graduate
students in 22 departments, from Forest Resources to Educational
Psychology. GSWU argues that this fee reduction can be easily achieved by
reallocating a mere $900,000. For example, the top administrators at the
university, 100 of which make over $200,000 a year, could lower their
salaries by 2.8%, to cover the fee reduction. Graduate student workers, a
class of workers who are overworked and underpaid, urgently need this fee
reduction.

In February 2009, GSWU, formally known as Emaciated Gopher, marched with
80 fellow graduate student workers demanding an end to paying student
fees. The administration refused to answer their demands. GSWU is hopeful
that administrators will be open to a more gradual reduction of costs for
a group of workers that work tirelessly for professors, students, and the
university's reputation.

This march occurs the day before Pres. Bruininks' State of the University
address. On March 16, 2010 Bruininks announced an official university-wide
pay cut of 1.15%. GSWU is pleased to hear Bruininks calls for a higher pay
cut for administrators of 2.3% Unfortunately, the pay cuts are not
scheduled for reallocation where it is most needed and do not impact
highly paid administrators as much as those with substantially smaller
incomes. An earlier announced university- wide pay raise of 2% has been
postponed.

GSWU welcomes any and all media to join them in midst of a historic
international struggle, initiated by the University of California on March
4, 2010, as university students and workers demand their rights to an
affordable education and fair pay for university labor.


--------10 of 16--------

From: doriandter [at] aol.com
Subject: Single payer action 3.31 6pm

There will be a meeting of all those committed to Universal Single Payer
Health Care on Wednesday, March 31, 2010 beginning at 6:00 PM at the Dunn
Brothers Coffee Shop at the Minneapolis side of the Lake Street Bridge.
This will be a planning meeting for an action to be taken soon.

If you want further information, please call either Michael Cavlan at
612/327-6902 or Dori Ullman at 612/414-9528.

Hope to see lots of dedicated people there.


--------11 of 16--------

From: Alan Hooper <hooper [at] umn.edu>
From: "Earthfolk" <fkroncke [at] earthfolk.net>
Subject: MLK/anti-war/PBS 3.31 9pm

An important show with relevance about King's anti-VN war speech.

Wednesday, March 31 - 09:00pm
MLK: A Call to Conscience
Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1967 "Beyond Vietnam" speech at New York City's
Riverside Church, in which he came out against the Vietnam War, is
examined, including the repercussions it had on his popularity and its
relevance to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. duration: 60 min

[The MLK our rulers don't want us to know think or talk about. -ed]


--------12 of 16--------

Passing on the Risk to the Taxpayer
When the Banks Own the Congress
By RALPH NADER
March 30, 2010
CounterPunch

A society not alert to signs of its own decay, because its ideology is a
continuing myth of progress, separates itself from reality and envelops
illusion.

One yardstick by which to measure the decay in our country's political,
economic, and cultural life, is the answer to this question: Do the forces
of power, which have demonstrably failed, become stronger after their
widely perceived damage is common knowledge?

Economic decay is all around. Poverty, unemployment, foreclosures, job
export, consumer debt, pension attrition, and crumbling infrastructure are
well documented. The self-destruction of the Wall Street financial giants,
with their looting and draining of trillions of other people's money, have
been headlines for two years. During and after their gigantic taxpayer
bailouts from Washington, DC, the banks, et al, are still the most
powerful force in determining the nature of proposed corrective
legislation.

"The banks own this place," says Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), evoking
the opinion of many members of a supine Congress ready to pass weak
consumer and investor protection legislation while leaving dominant fewer
and larger banks.

Who hasn't felt the ripoffs and one-sided fine print of the credit card
industry? A reform bill finally has passed after years of delay, again
weak and incomplete. Shameless over their gouges, the companies have their
attorneys already at work to design around the law's modest strictures.

The drug and health insurance industry, swarming with thousands of
lobbyists, got pretty much what they wanted in the new health law.
Insurers got millions of new customers subsidized by hundreds of billions
of taxpayer dollars with very little regulation. The drug companies got
their dream - no reimportation of cheaper identical drugs, no authority
for Uncle Sam to bargain for discount prices, and a very profitable
extension of monopoly patent protection for biologic drugs against
cheaper, generic drug competition.

For all their gouges, for all their exclusions, their denial of claims and
restrictions of benefits, for all their horrendous price increases, the
two industries have come out stronger than ever politically and
economically. Small wonder their stocks are rising even in a recession.

The junk food processing industry - on the defensive lately due to some
excellent documentaries and exposesare - still the most influential of
powers on Capitol Hill when it becomes to delaying for years a decent food
safety bill, using tax dollars to pump fat, sugar and salt into the
stomachs of our children, and fighting adequate inspections. Over seven
thousand lives are lost due to contaminated food yearly in the US and many
millions of illnesses.

The oil, gas, coal and nuclear power companies are fleecing consumers and
taxpayers, depleting and imperiling the environment, yet they continue to
block rational energy legislation in Congress to replace carbon and
uranium with energy efficiency technology and renewables.

Still, even now after years of cost over-runs and lack of permanent
storage for radioactive wastes, the nuclear industry has President Obama,
and George W. Bush before him, pushing for many tens of billions of
dollars in taxpayer loan guarantees for new nukes. Wall Street won't
finance such a risky technology without you, the taxpayers, guaranteeing
against any accident or default.

Both Democrats and Republicans are passing on these outrageous financial
and safety risks to taxpayers.

Congress, which receives the brunt of this corporate lobbying - the carrot
of money and the stick of financing incumbent challengers - is more of an
obstacle to change than ever. In the past after major failures of industry
and commerce, there was a higher likelihood of Congressional action.
Recall, the Wall Street and banking collapse in the early 1930s. Congress
and Franklin Delano Roosevelt produced legislation that saved the banks,
peoples. savings and regulated the stock markets.

>From the time of my book, Unsafe at Any Speed's publication in late
November 1965, it took just nine months to federally regulate the powerful
auto industry for safety and fuel efficiency.

Contrast the two-year delay after the Bear Stearns collapse and still no
reform legislation, and what is pending is weak.

Yet the entrenched members of Congress, responsible for this astonishing
gridlock, are almost impossible to dislodge even though polls have
Congress at its lowest repute ever. It is a place where the majority is
terrified of the corporations and the minority can block even the most
anemic legislative efforts with archaic rules, especially in the Senate.

Culturally, the canaries in the coal mine are the children. Childhood has
been commercialized by the giant marketers reaching them hour by hour with
junk food, violent programming, video games and bad medicine. The
result - record obesity, child diabetes and other ailments.

While the companies undermine parental authority, they laugh all the way
to the bank, using our public airwaves, among other media, for their
lucre. They can be called electronic child molesters.

We published a book in 1996 called Children First!: A Parent's Guide to
Fighting Corporate Predators in the Media. This book is an understatement
of the problem compared to the worsening of child manipulation today.

In a 24/7 entertained society frenetic with sound bites, Blackberries,
iPods, text messages and emails, there is a deep need for reflection and
introspection. We have to discuss face to face in living rooms, school
auditoriums, village squares and town meetings what is happening to us and
our diminishing democratic processes by the pressures and controls of the
insatiable corporate state.

And what needs to be done from the home to the public arenas and
marketplaces with old and new superior models, new accountabilities and
new thinking.

For our history has shown that whenever the people get more engaged and
more serious, they live better on all fronts.

Ralph Nader is the author of Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!, a novel.


--------13 of 16--------

Barack Obama: He's Not Your Friend, But What If He Was?
by Charles Davis
March 29th, 2010
Dissident Voice

Imagine you have a friend - let's call him Barry - who seems like a swell
guy, a real class act. He's got a beautiful wife, two kids, gives blood,
volunteers at the local health clinic on the weekends, even gives a pretty
good motivational speech from time to time. Sure, he slaughters the
occasional family here, wipes out a funeral procession there, but unlike
some cold-blooded murderer, some monster, he does not revel in the
senseless violence. No, he laments every death caused by his regrettable
but escalating savagery. Did I mention he plays a pretty mean game of
basketball?

Now hold up, most people with functioning brain stems and consciences
might say. Nice guy though he may be, the whole killing of innocent men,
women and children thing? Yeah, not cool. Kind of a buzz kill, actually.
Bit of a deal breaker.

Unless you're talking about Barack Obama. Then complicity in murder - and
the extrajudicial killing of not just precious blonde-haired, blue-eyed
American citizens, but hundreds of Afghans and Pakistanis - becomes an
unfortunate, maybe even a tragic thing, but not bad in a
I'm-not-going-to-vote-and-campaign-for-you sort of way.

Dennis Kucinich, for instance, while denouncing the president's decision
to send another 33,000 troops to Afghanistan and questioning the
constitutionality of the conflict, confessed to Fox News' Bill O'Reilly
that while the surge would undoubtedly be a waste of lives and resources,
"You know what? To me this isn't even about the personality of the
president, whom I admire". Speaking later to Esquire on why he was voting
for a healthcare bill he had ripped to shreds on policy grounds just days
before, Kucinich cited a "a higher responsibility" to "my president and
his presidency". The Ohio congressman went on to say that a victory on
healthcare was essential so that the power of the president would not be
"weakened," arguing that with passage the "president will have a stronger
hand in domestic and international affairs, and that will be good for the
country". Nowhere in his 2,300-word remarks on the need to boost the
president's popularity did he mention any of the ongoing wars and military
occupations for which his friend Obama is responsible.

At the signing of the bill, he not just figuratively but, with a smile on
his face, literally embraced the president.

Michael Moore, meanwhile, in a letter to Obama on the eve of his decision
to expand the Afghan war declared that with that one move he would
"destroy the hopes and dreams so many millions have placed in you. With
just one speech tomorrow night you will turn a multitude of young people
who were the backbone of your campaign into disillusioned cynics". But at
the same time, and after the president had already expanded the war soon
after taking office by nearly 20,000 troops, Moore implored Obama to
"listen to your heart, and your own clear thinking," adding: "We the
people still love you".

After the decision to expand the war, which brings weekly tales of the
atrocities that always accompany military occupations and
counter-insurgency operations, there probably are a few more Obamaphiles
turned disillusioned cynics - but Moore isn't one of them. "You're such a
good guy, Mr. President," he writes in a more recent correspondence.

The tradeoff seems to be this: in exchange for a president that can speak
in complete sentences and not embarrass Americans in front of Western
European audiences, and who is willing to throw a few more crumbs to the
middle and lower classes, liberals will accept a little murder abroad. Oh,
there might be an open letter or two, but few are willing to call the
current occupant of the White House what he is - a war criminal with a
million dollar smile - instead going to great lengths to defend this
administration, working earnestly to support Obama's agenda even when it's
entirely at odds with their own stated views.

This isn't something new, by the way. When the U.S. military was killing
Vietnamese by the tens of thousands in the 1960s, many rank-and-file
Democrats and the whole of the liberal establishment were willing to put
up with a little senseless murder abroad in exchange for Lyndon Johnson's
promise of a "Great Society" at home. Even after pressure from the antiwar
movement forced LBJ to give up his reelection bid, the Democratic nominee
in 1968 nonetheless was Hubert Humphrey, a bland pro-war liberal. And
given the orgiastic glee with which today's liberals and progressives
greeted the passing of a healthcare bill even proponents are lukewarm
about, can you imagine how much murder they'd put up with in return for
something like Medicare?

Of course, this probably isn't the trade-off the president's liberal
supporters imagine they're making, and I don't doubt that people like
Moore and Kucinich are sincere in their opposition to the Afghan war, if
misguided in how to end it. But their view of the president as a man, or
rather what they imagine him to be, colors - distorts - their views of his
policies, resulting in some embarrassing attempts to excuse Obama, The Man
We Thought We Voted For, for the policies enacted by Obama, The Man You
Actually Got. Sadly, all too many liberals and progressives remain
captivated by the former Obama - the persona they've been marketed these
last couple years: the philosopher-king who probably right this moment is
sitting by a fireplace, taking notes and sipping Earl Grey while absorbed
in his reading of Rawls' A Theory of Justice. Like the pot of gold at the
end of the rainbow, though, it's a shame it doesn't really exist.

But this isn't to say Barack Obama, personally, would strangle to death an
innocent Afghan villager, either, or that he begins his day by biting the
head off of a cute little kitten (that was always more Cheney's style). If
he bumped into you in the hallway he'd probably say "sorry," and if he was
making a pot of coffee he might even ask if anyone else wants some. But
what Obama's defenders fail to realize is that while he might seemingly be
an all-around nice guy who loves his children, someone you could have a
beer with if that's your metric, even nice guys are capable of real evil
when they need not experience firsthand the consequences of their
decisions. The killing will always be done by somebody else, not the great
statesmen - outside of Iraq, that is - which is why the study of history
can often feel like nothing more than the study of one war after another,
each one more barbarous than the one before it. When it's someone else's
life on the line, not your own, even the most righteous and
well-intentioned will be more inclined to risk it.

And while Obama might seem like a nice, smart guy who tucks his kids in
and gives them a kiss on the forehead good night, remember that because of
his decisions there are Pakistani and Afghan fathers who will never get to
do the same. And remember too that Obama chose to escalate the war on
terror within mere days of taking office, when he could have gone ahead
and eaten that kitty during a live press conference with Angela Merkel and
still have seen a bump in his poll numbers, signing off on a drone strike
in Pakistan that killed 18 people before even moving his orthopedic chair
into the Oval Office. As documented by the New America Foundation, Obama
has continued the bombing ever, dramatically increasing the use of drones
in Pakistan - a country, mind you, with which the U.S. is not officially
at war - killing more than 500 people since taking office, likely many
more, a third of them civilians. Weeks later Obama sent another 17,000
troops to Afghanistan, bringing his escalation of that war since taking
office to roughly 50,000 troops and at least that many private
contractors.

If you're into peace, love and understanding, well, Barack Obama just
isn't that into you. It's long past time to stop making excuses for the
man and break those last emotional connections. It's also a good time to
remember all those things you were told when you were little about how
killing people is very bad, and that, you know, you really shouldn't do
it; at least to my mind, that lesson applies even to powerful people -
taking the life of another not becoming excusable because a simple
majority of eligible voters who managed to get off work and bothered to
head out to the polls voted into office one of the two corporate stooges
allowed on the ballot, or because killing a few foreigners is an
unfortunate but vital step to securing a second term.

Getting on my soapbox: Once you come to grasp the basic moral truth that
murder does not become acceptable simply because a majority of registered
voters lucky enough to be born in the world's most powerful country
sanction it, nor is one's complicity in it lessened by the fact that some
18 year old kid pulls the trigger for you - that politicians deserve to
be held to the same standard of accountability to which you'd hold a
casual acquaintance - then it becomes a lot harder to maintain the fiction
that Obama is not stained with blood shed by his wars. But then I haven't
been reading Daily Kos lately.

Charles Davis is a journalist based in Washington, DC. More of his work
may be found on his Web site.


--------14 of 16--------

From: ed
Subject: Bicking/CRA/petition - names/comments as of 3.30 5:30pm

1. names
2. comments

--1--

[See signatures at end and add yours!]

Greetings

Here is THE Bicking support statement:
[statement approved by Dave Bicking]

Do you want to sign on personally? If so, email me at shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu
and say "sign me on", write/spell your name as you would like it to
appear, and if adding an affiliation, write out how you want that to
appear (Affiliations for identification purposes only).

Thanks!

-David Shove


-begin statement-

IN SUPPORT OF THE REAPPOINTMENT OF DAVE BICKING TO THE CRA

We, the undersigned, support the reappointment of Dave Bicking to the
board of the Minneapolis Civilian Police Review Authority (CRA).

For nearly two years, Dave Bicking has been an active and effective member
of the CRA.  He has strengthened the important work of civilian oversight
of the Minneapolis police.  We see his reappointment as an indication of
whether the Mayor and City Council are committed to the importance and
independence of the CRA.

In addition to the central work of hearing cases, Bicking has taken the
initiative in other important roles for the CRA, and has worked with other
board members to gain support for these ideas and projects.  Bicking led
the work to bring to light the Police Department´s overturning of the
Taser policy that was developed by the CRA and passed by the City Council.
He did much of the work of bringing together CRA data and board members´
observations to produce the CRA report on the performance of the Police
Chief.

Dave Bicking has brought to the board a long history of activism, hard
work, and skills.  He has remained outspoken in his support for police
accountability and civilian review, and in his critique of current police
policies and leadership.  That has not precluded fair and impartial
adjudication of the complaints against individual officers, nor has he
been criticized for bias by any who have witnessed his work on hearing
panels.

It would be unprecedented to not reappoint a dedicated CRA board member
who wishes to continue on the board.  Four year terms for CRA board
members help insure the independence of the CRA.  Bicking is up for
reappointment after less than two years only because he was originally
appointed to fill an unexpired term.

Effective civilian review has always been opposed by powerful interests.
The attempt to remove Dave Bicking from the CRA is part of an effort to
eliminate the CRA or make it too weak to matter.  We support strong
provisions for police accountability and we support those who stand up for
victims of police misconduct.  We appeal to the Mayor and the City Council
to reappoint Dave Bicking to another term on the CRA.

Signed by:

Organizations:

 CUAPB (Communities United Against Police Brutality)
 Fifth Congressional District Green Party [Mpls area]
 Fourth Congressional District Green Party Coordinating Committee [StP area]
 New Broom Coalition

Individuals:  (affiliations for identification purposes only)

 Roxanne Abbas
 Mustafa Adam
 Verna Alt
 Theodore A A Bagg
 Shane Bastien
 Margaret Beegle
 Bara Berg
 Dave Berger
 Emily Murphy Bicking
 Ian Bicking
 Ryan Billig
 Thomas Bolstad
 Lisa Bolton
 Gayle Bonneville, Mpls voter
 Lisa Boyd
 Louise Bouta, Well Mind Association of Minnesota
 Holle Brian
 Kris Broberg
 Joey Brochin
 Maija Brown
 Nancy Brown
 Elizabeth Burr
 Paul Busch, Metro Watchdog
 Alan Carlson, St Paul
 Gary Carlson, 4CD Green Party
 Michael Cavlan RN, Progressive Independents
 Kevin Chavis
 Christopher Childs
 Tom Cleland
 John Colier
 Duncan Connel
 William Cooley
 Emme Corbell
 Rebeccca & Scott Cramer
 Chris David, DFL activist
 Lionel Davis, Minneapolis
 Kimberly DeFranco
 Ayan Deria, 5CD Green Party
 Mary Devitt
 Dan Dittman
 Daniel D Dobson, JD
 Ted Dooley, attorney
 Tom Dooley, Working Democracy member
 Margueritte Doran
 Kim Doss-Smith
 Andy Driscoll
 Eskit
 James Everest
 Ed Felien
 Pam Franklin
 Michael Friedman, Former Chair, Mpls CRA
 Ann Galloway
 Guy Gambill
 Amber Garlan, Secretary 4th CD Green Party
 David Garland
 Linden Gawboy
 Eric Gilbertson
 Rhoda Gilman
 Rowan Glaser
 Cam Gordon
 Richard Gravrok
 Jan Griffith
 Michelle Gross, President, CUAPB
 Greg Groettum
 Brenda Grove
 Colin Grove
 Phil Grove
 Farheen Hakeem, National Co-chair of the Green Party of the United States
 Robert Halfhill
 Marcia Halligan
 Andy Hamerlinck
 Paul Hansen
 George Hamm, Green Party
 Johnny Hazard
 David Hill
 Melissa Hill
 Brian Hokanson
 Allan Hancock, Chair, 3rd Congressional District Green Party Local
 Ron Holch
 Jeanne Hollingsworth
 Anne Holzinger
 Lydia Howell
 Gail Hughes
 Ashley James
 Susu Jeffry
 Mimi Jennings
 Becky Johnson
 Carrie Anne Johnson, Mother, Resident of East Phillips
 Emily Johnson
 Sonja Johnson
 Ruth V Jones
 Neal Juliar
 Richard Kendall
 Frank S Kennett
 William G Kinsgbury
 Elaine Klaassen
 Vivian Klauber
 John Kolstad, president Mill City Music, candidate for Mpls mayor
 Robert Kucera
 Megan Kuhl-Stennes
 Seth Kuhl-Stennes
 Andrew Larson
 Kathleen Laughlin
 Bruce Leier
 Lynn Levine
 Diana Longrie, Attorney at Law
 Niklas Ludwig
 Mike Madden
 Brian Mahaffy
 Gordon Maham
 Eric Johnny Makela
 Joan Malerich
 Doug Mann, Mpls School Board candidate
 Wizard M Marks
 Susan Ann Martinson
 Brigid McDonald
 Karen McDowell
 Bill McGaughey
 Jan McGee
 Betty McKenzie
 Chris Micek
 Tracy Mohm
 Carol Mellom
 Peter Molenaar
 Jesse Mortenson
 Tessa Mortenson
 Justine Murphy
 Rosalind Nelson
 Anne Ness
 Aaron Newman
 Tim Nolan, Editor of Global Peace
 Janet Nye
 Jeff Nygaard
 Eric Oines, Mpls
 Ann O'Toole
 Tom O'Toole
 Ruthann H Ovenshire
 Douglas Padilla
 Craig Palmer, Mayday Bookstore
 Thistle Parker-Hartog
 Diane J Peterson, 4th Congressional District Green Party
 Terese Pritschet
 William Prottengeier
 Dan Prozinski
 Coleen Rowley
 Kathleen Ruona
 Sarah Santiago
 Margaret Sarfehjooy
 Jane Schallert
 Lauren Schira
 Robert Schmitz
 Doug Sembla, North Country Coop Board Member & VP, AFSCME Steward Local 3800
 Shar in Mpls
 John Simcox
 Megan Smith
 Stepheb Smith
 Morgan Soderberg
 Kari Sprung
 David Shove, Progressive Calendar
 David Skeie
 Esther Snype
 Catherine Statz
 Scott Stenwick
 Mark Sulander
 Jessica Sundin
 Paolo Tapia, Incarnation Catholic Chirch
 Tom Taylor
 Whitney Taylor
 William Tilton
 Scott Travis
 Michael L Tupper
 Chuck Turchick
 Dorian J Ullman
 Cameron Ulmer
 Charley Underwood
 Vanessa M Vogl
 David Weisberg
 Clare Welter
 Winifred Weston
 Bryce Williams
 Ed Williams
 Sara Williams
 Mike Whalen
 Frank H Wood
 Dean Zimmerman
 Deborah Zvosec

 and you!...


--2--

We endorse the IN SUPPORT OF THE REAPPOINTMENT OF DAVE BICKING TO THE CRA
Petition to Minneapolis City Council.

Read the IN SUPPORT OF THE REAPPOINTMENT OF DAVE BICKING TO THE CRA
Petition

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?CUAPB004&51
Subject: comments as of 3.30 5:30pm

 Name Comments

Co-ordinating Committee of the 4th Congressional District Green Party -
Dave Bicking has been a champion for justice in our communities and
belongs on the CRA board to continue this important work.

Dorian J. Ullman - Dave Bicking is exactly what the CRA needs at this
time. His reappointment will mean that the integrety of City government
and the Police Dept. will gain some respect from the citizens of
Minneapolis.

Jane Schallert - I believe this is an extremely important position and
that there is no individual more dedicated or better qualified to fill the
roll than Dave Bicking

Joan Malerich - As I have no faith what so ever in any level of moneyed
interests politics, it is a rare exception for me to sign ANY petition
related to any level of government. But, then, Dave Bicking is a rare
exception. He is honest and concerned about human and civil rights. The
City Council and the existing CRA both have a great opportunity to learn
from Dave Bicking. The City Council often has demonstrated the nasty habit
of discarding opportunities that serve and benefit the people whom they
allegedly represent. Hopefully, the CRA will not duplicate the moneyed-
interest thinking and actions of the City Council!

Daniel D. Dobson J.D. - I have known Dave Bicking for years and he is an
honest and independent voice, for those who are unable or unafraid to
speak out. He is the one independent voice on the Citizens Review
Authority and deserves to be reappointed. If Dave Bocking is removed from
the CRA all of the citizens of Minnepaolis will be poorer.

Mark Sulander - Mr. Bicking has provided valuable assistance the the
important work of the CRA. Dave Bicking deserves reappointment by the
Mayor and the City Council as a clear demonstration of their commitment to
a fully functioning, effective CRA.

Megan Kuhl-Stennes - Dave is a great and respected member of this
community. He has the best interest of the people of Minneapolis in mind!

5CD Green Party Steering Committee - Dave Bicking has been a champion for
justice in our communities and belongs on the CRA board to continue this
important work.

Clare Welter - Dave Bicking is a model citizen and an essential member
of the CRA board.

Mike Madden - Mr. Bicking's reappointment will give me confidence that
the CRA is strong, effective, and acting in the public interest.

Margueritte Doran - checks and balances!

Andy Driscoll - C'mon, RT. Just do it.

Robert Schmitz - I visit the City of MPLS often and have long observed a
police force that does not respect the rights of citizens.

Dave Berger - I whole heartedly support Dave Bicking's Reappointment to
the CRA.

Seth Kuhl-Stennes - I strongly support Dave Bicking on the CRA. Please
approve his reappointment so that he can continue his dedicated work on
this body. With misconduct on the rise in the MPD we need strong leaders
such as Dave in positions of these sorts. -Seth Kuhl-Stennes

Jeanne Hollingsworth - Dave Bicking is highly ethical and dedicated and
he represents me, a Minneapolis voter. I strongly support his
reappointment.

Janet Nye - Keep Dave on the CRA, where he has contributed so much.

Aaron Neumann - Dave Bicking really cares about his work, and it has
shown not only with his passion but also his research that made a
differnce for the City Council. It's that kind of dedication and diverse
view that makes the CRA viable. I wholeheartedly support Dave's
reappointment to the CRA.

Kimberly DeFranco - He is a trust worthy man and needs to be in the CRA

Richard Gravrok - I trust Dave, please keep him so I can have a bit more
trust in the Mpls. police & our mayor.

Anne Ness - Thanks to CUAPB for starting the petition to keep Dave
Bicking on the CRA!

Bruce Leier - His point of view need to be heard on the CRA

Ann Galloway - Dave is a great asset to the people and the police of
Minneapolis. We need his wise wisdom and diplomacy. The public trusts him
and his advise

Theodore. A. A. Bagg - We need more like Dave.

Linden Gawboy - This weekend's Strib article showed only the tip of the
iceberg. Mr. Bicking has a strong history of working for faireness and
justice.

Tim Nolan Editor of Global Peace - I have been invovled with Dave in
many civic events he is qualified for the postion I am in favor of his
reappointment.

PAUL HANSEN DAVE IS A KEEPER

Mustafa Adam - As a member of immigrant community in Minneapolis, I
support Dave Bicking to be reappointed to CRA. He is the only voice we
have in CRA.

frank s. kennett - I've met dave, spoken with him. He's a superb man and
wholly on the side of justice. He has my complete confidence and support.

Ron Holch - I work on the streets of Minneapolis almost everyday. Having
had the privilege to work with Dave Bicking in the past I believe that
Dave is a reasonable, responsible and level headed member of the CRA
Board. I feel confident that Dave has the best interests of all the people
of Minneapolis with his efforts on the CRA Board.

Lynn Levine - It alarms me that Dave Bickings re-appointment is even in
question. He is bright, dedicated, moral, knowledgeable and an amazing
asset to the Board. I feel he represents me.

Gayle Bonneville - I am a Minneapolis voter who supports the
reappointment of Dave Bicking.

Chuck Turchick - According to the CRA Board's Feb. 3, 2010, minutes,
Mayor Rybak's nominee for Vice Chair of the Board said "that no one since
past chair Michael Weinbeck has pushed this board harder to do more work
than Bicking. He really appreciates the work that Bicking has pushed the
board to do. He thinks that Bicking needs to know that he supports him. He
does think that Bicking should exercise some discretion. It is his hope
and prayer that the CRA does not lose Bicking as a board member; he is
needed. He has let his council member know that it is important to him
that Bicking be reappointed."

William McGaughey - Dave can be critical but isn't that what we need on
this board?

Michelle Gross - Dave Bicking must stay on the CRA board!


--------15 of 16--------

From: Dave Bicking <davebicking [at] gmail.com>
Subject: CRA reappointment - final week, vote Friday

Dear friends,

Now is the last chance to let City Council and the mayor know that you
support my reappointment to the Mpls Civilian Police Review Authority
(CRA). The City Council takes its final vote this Friday, April 2, at
9:30am. It is actually even more important to let your voice be heard
BEFORE the meeting of the Council's Committee of the Whole, which meets
this Thursday at 10am.

First, what you can do, then a report on the procedure and what has
happened lately.

1) Sign the petition, either online, or by sending an email to David
Shove, at shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu The online petition allows comments. If
emailing David Shove instead, you may include any identifier or
affiliation you wish to have appear - though name alone is fine. The text
of the petition is online, along with the opportunity to sign it, at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/CUAPB004/petition.html

PLEASE DO IT NOW - WE WILL BE COMPILING THE SIGNATURES ON THIS WEDNESDAY
NIGHT (MARCH 31) FOR SUBMISSION TO THE COUNCIL!

2) Contact your City Council member - or better yet, all City Council
members, by phone or email. Contact information is at the bottom of this
email.

3) Mark your calendar for the next regular monthly CRA board meeting,
Wednesday, April 7, 6:30pm, at City Hall, Room 333. (after hours entrance
is the center door on 4th St.) That is a good time for the public to let
the new CRA members know their expectations. There is an opportunity for
public comment.

4) Come to either the Committee of the Whole (10am Thursday) or the City
Council meeting (9:30am Friday). These are less important than the recent
public hearing, but it would be good to have a few supporters there. These
can also be viewed live online at:
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/webcasts/

Procedure:

Last Wednesday, March 24, the City Council's Public Safety Committee held
a public hearing on the CRA appointments. Thanks to all who contacted
members of that committee, and special thanks to those who were able to
come to the hearing. There are another 3 seats open, in addition to mine,
and we heard from some good applicants. But of the 4 seats to be
appointed, the mayor gets to choose 3 this time - and he appears to have
already made up his mind. While it is still important to contact the
mayor, it is the City Council which is most likely to listen.

The Public Safety Committee did not vote on which applicants they
supported, but sent forward all names without recommendation. That is the
usual procedure. Usually, a recommended list "magically" shows up at the
City Council meeting for a vote (decided on behind closed doors).
Fortunately (thanks to Cam Gordon), the list was forwarded to the
Committee of the Whole for open discussion among all Council members on
the morning before the full Council vote.

Thank you for all your support so far!!! We currently have about 170 names
on the petition, 108 of which are on the online petition. This effort has
had the added benefit of bringing much more attention to the CRA, its
importance, and its work.

Please remember, this is not to benefit me personally. Being on the CRA
means more work for me. It is to benefit all those whom the CRA is
intended to serve. They need a strong and active CRA. Complainants need to
have their cases not only heard, but to lead to meaningful discipline.
Just as important is the pro-active work that the CRA needs to do -
recommending policy changes, tracking trends, providing early warning of
problem officers - so that all of us can benefit from a better police
department.

Dave Bicking
612-276-1213

CONTACT INFO:

Mayor R.T. Rybak: mayor [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us 612-673-2100
Kevin Reich, Ward 1 kevin.reich [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Cam Gordon, Ward 2 cam.gordon [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Diane Hofstede, Ward 3 diane.hofstede [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Barb Johnson, Ward 4 barbara.johnson [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Don Samuels, Ward 5 don.samuels [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Robert Lilligren, Ward 6 robert.lilligren [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Lisa Goodman, Ward 7 lisa.goodman [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Elizabeth Glidden, Ward 8 elizabeth.glidden [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Gary Schiff, Ward 9 gary.schiff [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Meg Tuthill, Ward 10 meg.tuthill [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
John Quincy, Ward 11 john.quincy [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Sandra Colvin Roy, Ward 12 sandra.colvin.roy [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Betsy Hodges, Ward 13 betsy.hodges [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us

Phone number for all Council members is 612-673-22xx where xx is the
Ward number, examples: Kevin Reich 612-673-2201, Betsy Hodges
612-673-2213

Please make those phone calls or send those emails!


--------16 of 16--------

From: Dave Bicking <dave [at] colorstudy.com>
Subject: CRA reappointment petition (to City Council)

I have just sent our petition to the City Council.  I'll follow up with
even more signatures late Wednesday night, before the Thursday morning
discussion at the Committee of the Whole. Great work, everyone!

Dave B

From:
                Dave Bicking <dave [at] colorstudy.com>
To:                     @Council.PML, mayor [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Subject:                CRA reappointment petition
Copies to:              Samuel.Reid [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Date sent:              Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:33:07 -0500

To the Mayor and all City Council members,

At the public hearing on CRA appointments, a supporter of my reappointment
gave the members of that committee a petition listing approximately 100
names.  We have continued to gather signatures, both online and through
other means.  There are currently 186 names in support, including a
current count of 121 online.

Online petition and signatures available at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/CUAPB004/petition.html

Normally, a reappointment to the CRA would be uncontroversial.  But
because that is not the case this time, I want you to be aware of the
level of interest and support, both for my reappointment, and for the work
of the CRA.  People have fought hard and spent much time and effort to
create effective civilian oversight of our police department.  Many of you
have also spent a lot of time and effort, on the 2006 Working Group, for
instance.  It is easy to take that for granted, and it is good that people
are being reminded of the importance of the CRA - or even of its
existence.

Another good side effect of this attention is the number and quality of
applicants.  It appears that for the first time in a long while, the CRA
will have a full complement of eleven board members.  I have meeting
minutes going back to December, 2006.  Never in that time have eleven
members attended a meeting, and only once (Feb 2007) have eleven people
even been listed as members.  In your deliberations, please give strong
consideration to reliability and dependabllity.  Consider my record:  I
have never missed a meeting since my appointment.  The CRA really needs a
full board and an active board.

I want to acknowledge that not all of the signatures below are of
Minneapolis residents.  (And there are many signers who I do not
personally know, so I don't know their residence.)  Keep in mind, though,
that a significant proportion of the complaints received by the CRA are
not from Minneapolis residents.  Many non-residents have interactions,
both good and bad, with our police department.  In addition, some
non-residents have signed because they know of me and my work, and believe
that any city should be happy to have my service.

Below I have printed the text of the petition, with the names of all the
signers.  Below that is a list of all the comments received at the online
petition site. [See item #14 above for the most recent lists. ed]

I will send an updated list shortly before your discussion at the
Committee of the Whole meeting.

Please consider this support in making your decision.  Once again, if you
have any concerns which would cause you to vote against my reappointment,
please let me know, so that I can address them in any manner that works
for you.

Sincerely,

Dave Bicking
612-276-1213
3211 22nd Ave. S. #1
Minneapolis, MN 55407
Ward 9

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