Post in Mayor's License Suspended

May 10 22:03 UTC

Licensing for public officials is an idea I will back wholeheartedly, I want
them to be worn around the neck at all times too. And part of the graduation
ceremony must contain the medical motto "first do no harm". Now, if I could
just get a job at the politico pound where we round up all the strays and
vicious ones......... Ahh to dream. Jon
 Gorder Cathedral Hill--- On Fri, 5/9/08, Bill Kahn <<email obscured>>
wrote:From: Bill Kahn <<email obscured>>Subject: [Mpls] Mayor's License
SuspendedTo: "Minneapolis Issues Forum" <<email obscured>>,
"Minnesota Politics and Issues Forum" <<email obscured>>,
"SPIF" <<email obscured>>Date: Friday, May 9, 2008, 3:56
PMMayor R.T. Rybak's drivers license problems remind me of Norm  Coleman's
lapsed law license when
 "working" for a local law firm during his run for the Senate; I suppose Norm
was judged to be useful  to the firm somehow or they never would have hired
him. Of course we  didn't see this much attention to Norm's license issue on
local TVnews.This issue brings another interesting notion to mind: While
licensing  to drive motor vehicles is a given, a license to run government is
unheard of. One could argue the people do it through following  campaigns and
the electoral process, but that's like saying that  various snake oils will
cure all your ills. I mean if Minneapolis  leaders knew what they were doing,
would we have seen McKinsey and  Co. step in and tell us how to run the
City?Seems like holding public office is just a short step away from major
influence peddling for a significant number of politicians and a  license
requirement might be a good idea. If someone wants to run for
 a given office, they should prepare for and successfully pass an exam  showing
their intellectual grasp of public service in our federal  system of republican
government and give a practical demonstration of  their abilities to function
well and ethically in office before they  could even file for candidacy; I
think it would be 13 times more  useful for prospective our Minneapolis council
members (all 13 of  them). As long as our Minneapolis leaders are unlicensed, I
don't see  how we can trust that things have even a small hope of turning out
okay. I think the Minneapolis Charter Commission should take this up  as should
other home rule cities in the state, like the City of St.  Paul. We've seen
enough on-the-job-training, and the results are  sometimes pretty
intolerable.Of course with all the automatons programmed by Grover Norquist,
et.  al running the state and federal government, even a
 licensed public  office holder wouldn't have much of a chance to serve the
public good  at the local level; the pitiful lot of Minnesota Republicans left
in  our state government, at least their leadership, operate like so much  sand
added to the crankcase of an engine, i.e., they grind things to  a virtual
halt. If we could establish licensure in Minneapolis,  perhaps state and
federal licensure would not be far behind should a  group of public spirited
folks craft a referendum. Next, we'll need  to police office holders and
institute fines for "moving violations" of ethics, proper procedure, and other
offenses like arguing  demonstrable fallacies.One possible future:[sirens
blare; bull horn sounds]"Step off the soapbox and produce your license," says
thesergeant-at- arms, "You know you were foaming at the mouth there,
Representative?  I've never seen quite this level of
 LUI before and you should be  ashamed of yourself," and under his breath,
"Sanctuary cities, my  arse; next they'll attach this dog to exotic
species/fish and game  bills.""I was only arguing germaneness of my amendment
to the bill," says  Rep. Automaton as he hands over his license."Tell it to the
judge," says the sergeant-at-arms while writing out  the ticket and handing it
and the license back to Rep. Grover-bot,  "but I know diddling when I see it.
Just be glad I didn't make you  stand on one leg, close your eyes, and touch
your nose with  alternating fingers while reciting your oath of office."Fines
and the possibility of losing a license might keep things  moving at the
Capitol, in St. Paul and Washington, D.C., as well as  at city halls. Bill Kahn
(D)Prospect Park, Minneapolis, City of Lost LegaciesInfo about Bill Kahn (D):
 http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/billkahnThis topic's messages may be viewed
at:http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/6Yr7GPPoM3nKpaVfvOBWZZ-----------------------------------------
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