St. Paul mayor cancels July 4 fireworks, cites budget concerns

St. Paul mayor cancels July 4 fireworks, cites budget concerns
(http://tinyurl.com/y9fyv7d7)

The Mayor said “We did not start or create a (Fourth of July) plan”, therefore
was there a plan to have it at all? I mean the announcement was made June 27th
(7 days prior to the 4th), so what was really cancelled?

As an American who firmly believes in the Republic as the founding fathers
conceived it - with limited government and maximum individual freedom and
sovereignty - I applaud the Mayor, the chief executive of a city whose
government and dominant political class repudiate those principles, for ending
this bit of cultural appropriation.

Mitch Berg
The Midway

> On Jun 27, 2018, at 2:10 PM, John Gaylord <<email obscured>> wrote:
>
> St. Paul mayor cancels July 4 fireworks, cites budget concerns
(http://tinyurl.com/y9fyv7d7)
>
> The Mayor said “We did not start or create a (Fourth of July) plan”,
therefore was there a plan to have it at all? I mean the announcement was made
June 27th (7 days prior to the 4th), so what was really cancelled?
>
> John Gaylord
> Union Park, St. Paul
> About/contact John Gaylord: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/johngaylord
>
>
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Rest of post

Perhaps he is offsetting the salaries of new c-suite/director level positions
he created/filled. Those come in around 500k. I thought budgets were
projected more in advance for city expenses, but I really have no idea how that
works. It'd be awesome if he was a deficit hawk, but it sounds like it is more
of a change of values.

Director of Community-First Public Safety Initiatives
Chief Equity Officer
Chief Innovation Officer
Chief Resilience Officer

Carlo, we have a strong mayor system and the mayor can appoint/fire whoever he
wants, as would you if you were mayor. Don't like job titles? Run for office
and hire your own people and make up your own titles. Don't like what those
jobs do...too bad, I'm glad this mayor cares about equity and the environment.
Get your feelings out the way man. This is about good governance. You got money
for fireworks? SHARE with us by all means.

Mitch - whose government and dominant...what...I'm lost and confused, not sure
if a white guy was really trying to lecture me about "independence" and
cultural appropriation ...as for as I know for a brown/black
person....independence day for us was Juneteenth. When you try to be facetious,
don't use serious words like republic and freedom...are you serious? If you
knew anything about that you wouldn't make jokes about appropriating anything.
But then again, if I was serious, just remember that it was the Chinese who
gave you both gun powder and the rocket. So I guess you CAN make a statement
about cultural appropriation.

Chai

Rest of post

Sounds like an excellent opportunity for someone to rent out CHS field, bring
in food trucks, and have their own fireworks display. The Saints are doing it
on the 2nd of July. The Taste of Minnesota and the Saints have paid for
fireworks in the past. The State Fair pays for its own fireworks. There's no
reason the event cannot be privatized. Just don't do what Stillwater did last
year and contact the Coast Guard less than two weeks prior to shut down the
river.

Aren't there fireworks at many Harriet Island events? Anyone who thinks St
Paul doesn't have enough fireworks is welcome to move to the West Side,
where we have them running all through May and June.

Diggitt McLaughlin
West Side

On Wed, Jun 27, 2018 at 2:10 PM, John Gaylord <<email obscured>>
wrote:

Rest of post

I just hope the mayor is as prudent with the rest of his spending.

With potholes not being filled, more trees getting cut down that we can afford
to replace, and gunshots ringing out during the night, I presume he will find
someway to blow that money.

What was the cancellation fee in the contract?

There was no plan, so why did he 'cancel' it? There is some serious 'wag the
dog' going on here - I demand a full investigation!

Chai, I think it will do good for all of us to remember your words:

"...Get your feelings out the way man..." and if you lose an election "....the
mayor can appoint/fire whoever he wants, as would you if you were mayor. Don't
like job titles? Run for office and hire your own people and make up your own
titles. Don't like what those jobs do...too bad..."

I suspect our values are going to be sorely tested this summer - I will return
to these words often.

I predict that this decision will not go over too well with those who have a
flag fetish.

For those who actually want a democratic nation, there are many avenues of
expression. You could demonstrate against ripping children from their parents
at the border, against a president who doesn't believe in due process, against
a president who profits personally from his position, against a political party
that blocks nominees from one party's president but rushes a nominee from the
current occupant, against gun violence in schools or against young black men in
the streets, etc. etc.

It's your democracy, folks. Use it or lose it.

Or set off a bunch of Chinese-made explosives to symbolize what we are losing.

Charlie, I've been at 3 or 4 meetings with a number of community people
inSt.Paul since this announcement was made. So far I haven't encountered
anyone upset.

This really is a time to focus on priorities.

Joe

On Thu, Jun 28, 2018 at 5:16 PM, Charley Underwood <

Rest of post

"Flag fetish"? That's quite an ugly thing to say to the many citizens and
veterans who hold the flag and the holiday in the highest esteem.

Actually, there are plenty of people upset about it, many who commented in the
Pioneer Press (http://tinyurl.com/y9fyv7d7) and on the Mayor's Facebook page.
(http://tinyurl.com/y8czxqkv)

I'm not one of them. I just made an observation - in the small town where I
used to spend July 4th, the fireworks were purchased 11 or 12 months in advance
- you can't go out in mid-June and buy a fireworks display for a large city,
and have it delivered. The Mayor stated there was no plan, so I simply asked
the logical question, what actually was cancelled?

The Good News: The City is going to focus on priorities.

The Bad News: The City is going to focus on their priorities.

Mitch Berg
The Midway

> On Jun 28, 2018, at 8:05 PM, Joe Nathan <<email obscured>>
wrote:
>
> Charlie, I've been at 3 or 4 meetings with a number of community people
> inSt.Paul since this announcement was made. So far I haven't encountered
> anyone upset.
>
> This really is a time to focus on priorities.
>
> Joe
>
> On Thu, Jun 28, 2018 at 5:16 PM, Charley Underwood <
> <email obscured>> wrote:
>
>> I predict that this decision will not go over too well with those who have
>> a flag fetish.
>>
>> For those who actually want a democratic nation, there are many avenues of
>> expression. You could demonstrate against ripping children from their
>> parents at the border, against a president who doesn't believe in due
>> process, against a president who profits personally from his position,
>> against a political party that blocks nominees from one party's president
>> but rushes a nominee from the current occupant, against gun violence in
>> schools or against young black men in the streets, etc. etc.
>>
>> It's your democracy, folks. Use it or lose it.
>>
>> Or set off a bunch of Chinese-made explosives to symbolize what we are
>> losing.
>>
>> Charley Underwood
>> Longfellow (SD 62 A), Minneapolis
>> About/contact Charley Underwood: http://forums.e-democracy.org/
>> p/charleyunderwood
>>
>>
>> * Work or live in Downtown Saint Paul? Take our survey:
>> https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/downtownstpaulsurveyft
>>
>> * Questions about rule violations? Contact: <email obscured>
>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> Joe Nathan, PhD, Director
> Center for School Change
> <email obscured>
> 612 309-6571
> www.centerforschoolchange.org
>
>
> Joe Nathan
> Highland Park, St Paul
> About/contact Joe Nathan: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/joenathan
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Rest of post

Hi, John Gaylord. You say calling our current state religion of flag worship a
"fetish" is ugly. I looked the word up. The first meaning is sexual, of
course; perhaps it is that meaning you are thinking of (or perhaps you
involuntarily pictured that moment with Trump embracing and fondling the flag).
The second meaning is : "an inanimate object worshiped for its supposed magical
powers or because it is considered to be inhabited by a spirit." I find that a
totally accurate description of the current approach to the flag in our present
moment of nationalism/nativism.

(To forestall another potential misunderstanding, by "nativism" I do NOT refer
in any way to the indigenous people on this continent. I mean instead "the
policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants
against those of immigrants," an expression of xenophobia," which our press
mistakenly calls "populism," which is actually a concern for the welfare of
common people, and not at all similar to the politics of Trump or European
far-right anti-immigrant groups.)

Aaaaaand it just keeps getting uglier and uglier.

At any rate - the government of the City of Saint Paul celebrating July 4 would
be deeply inappropriate; if this were 1776, they’d be on the British side.

I applaud the Mayor for doing the right thing.

Mitch Berg
Don’t Tread On Me
The Midway

> On Jun 30, 2018, at 2:45 PM, Charley Underwood <<email obscured>>
wrote:
>
> Hi, John Gaylord. You say calling our current state religion of flag worship
a "fetish" is ugly. I looked the word up. The first meaning is sexual, of
course; perhaps it is that meaning you are thinking of (or perhaps you
involuntarily pictured that moment with Trump embracing and fondling the flag).
The second meaning is : "an inanimate object worshiped for its supposed magical
powers or because it is considered to be inhabited by a spirit." I find that a
totally accurate description of the current approach to the flag in our present
moment of nationalism/nativism.
>
> (To forestall another potential misunderstanding, by "nativism" I do NOT
refer in any way to the indigenous people on this continent. I mean instead
"the policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established
inhabitants against those of immigrants," an expression of xenophobia," which
our press mistakenly calls "populism," which is actually a concern for the
welfare of common people, and not at all similar to the politics of Trump or
European far-right anti-immigrant groups.)
>
> Charley Underwood
> Longfellow (SD 62 A), Minneapolis
> About/contact Charley Underwood:
http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/charleyunderwood
>
>
> * Work or live in Downtown Saint Paul? Take our survey:
> https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/downtownstpaulsurveyft
>
> * Questions about rule violations? Contact: <email obscured>
>
>
> ------------------------
> Reply: Reply-All or visit
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/4PUplRAlaplu3lJ98b1agq

Rest of post

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St. Paul mayor cancels July 4 fireworks, cites budget concerns

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