Russell has asked that I extend to him a public
apology. Frankly, I did not think I was at fault. I
thought Russell's prior answer to Carol Becker's post
was glib and vague and just the sort of campaign talk
we have been subjected to for far too long.
I am most interested in substance though I do believe
style matters. Style without substance does not cut it
with me. I would remind readers of the title of the
old adage: Don't trust a book by it's cover.
Perhaps Russell knows R.T. in a way that I do not but
it would serve R.T.'s cause and Russell's credibility
(with me at least) were he to speak to the ideas of
R.T. instead of acting the partisan.
I do not enjoy being the bad boy on this forum, always
being negative. I consider it a waste of my time. I am
a hell of a lot smarter and more thoughtful than that
but if nobody else will step in to turn on the fans
and clear the air of fog, I will. I like even less
trying to defend myself in this way. The last thing I
would like to be perceived as is a victim.
I will not retract. I will not apologize. And I
reserve the right to call a spade, a spade. Russell's
comments were glib though they were concise. He did
seem to show a certain attitude toward those in retail
and tourism or what we might clump together as
service. Basically that is American society's trend,
like it or not, and the fact we are creating retail
and tourism service jobs is a good thing given the
influx of poor English speaking immigrants who may
need years of assimilation before they can strive for
other positions.
--- Russell Wayne Peterson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
> offline
>
> My intent was never to dish people who work in
> retail and tourism jobs and I
> don't appreciate the inference. I think after
> reading my posts on this
> list, you would know that more than most people on
> this list I advocate for
> the working person living trying to have a better
> city and a better life.
> A job may be a job to whoever wants it, but if we
> can create better jobs and
> get people to a higher wage earning place, then we
> wouldn't have to
> subsidize so much. And there are a lot of ways to
> do that...
>
> However, we have focused almost entirely on tourism
> and retail job creation
> downtown in this city. And those jobs are almost
> always low paying. On top
> of it we have given those companies who create those
> low paying jobs, tax
> payers subsidies. This makes absolutely no sense to
> me - to reward exactly
> what we don't want. I don't disagree that we need
> more support in terms of
> wages and benefits for our workers in the retail and
> tourism industries, but
> we're not gonna get there with our current
> administration.
>
> If you are looking for your god to lead this city,
> then you are going to be
> on a really long search in my humble opinion. I
> believe inspiration can
> come from many places: at times it might be a
> soulful transformation and
> sometimes the vehicle is a flower and sometimes it
> is the wind, and even
> sometimes it can be a person.
>
> I didn't deserve your "condescending" remark and my
> thoughts were concise,
> not glib. I have supported many of your statements
> on this list and was
> surprised to read your remarks about me. Is this
> because I've decided to
> support RT for mayor or is there some other
> underlining issue with me? At a
> minimum, I believe you owe me an apology online.
> Your statements were not
> acceptable according to the rules of this list.
>
> Russ Peterson
> Ward 9
> Standish
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of
> timothy connolly
> Sent: Saturday, January 20, 2001 4:02 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: [Mpls] Re: what do these other parties,etc
>
>
> This is a response primaily to Russell Peterson and
> not so much Carol Becker. Excuse me Carol, your
> question requires considerable thought and
> elucidation
> and it deserves more than glib retorts.
>
> I will agree with Russell that it would be nice to
> put
> some focus on high-tech jobs. Sounds great. It's a
> tough sell. We used to have high tech but Control
> Data
> dissolved, 3M started building in Austin, etc.
>
> I object to the part about creating low paying
> tourism
> and retailing jobs.
> How condescending! This was the argument given by
> all
> those who opposed LSGI. A job is a job to those
> without a job. Furthermore whoever is in office
> ought
> to be thinking about who will staff all of Block E
> and
> where these people might live besides in the
> suburbs.
>
> Let's talk about pay. Part of the reason these jobs
> are low-paying is because our present leaders have
> failed to support those who most need their help.
> SSB
> and JC totally abandoned hotel workers to corporate
> interests.
> I doubt we would have seen anything different from
> either R.T.Rybak or Lisa McDonald. Of course, we'll
> never know for sure.
>
> As for inspiring others, I don't know about you but
> I
> have been taught that inspiration comes from God.
> None
> of the choices for mayor are God though they might
> think so at times.
>
> We're talking leadership here and there ain't one of
> these I would follow o'er the ramparts.
>
> Tim Connolly
> Ward 7
>
>
>
>
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