A Park watch member posted a letter to the Minneapolis Issues List objecting to the treatment Park Watch receives on this blog.
As always from this group there are a number of distortions and misrepresentations which is why we started this blog in the first place. Last week the poster got hit pretty badly on the Issues List when she posted a comment blaming children’s parks for causing parking fees.
Another poster then commented that she would no longer be able to ride her bike at a park if they took away her free parking. It was then pointed out that the parks had always had fees for parking.
Now we are told that pointing out the stuff that they make up is “an attack on free speech”.
We are not attacking their right to say anything. We are attacking the distortions and factual errors that often come out of this group. Their right to free speech is matched by our right to point out when they are wrong.
I’m sorry if she thinks we cleaned up our act. We haven’t! The original post with our reason for starting this blog can still be found here. The characters of Park Watch are still here in the archives. The home page side bar will continually change.
Frankly the five old ladies that Fitzgerald claims are Park Watch might just be the meanest five old ladies in Minneapolis, and we will continue to point that out.
They have tried to destroy the careers and lives of really good people, and have used false and misleading statements to do so. We have pointed them out. They have never retracted a story even when proven wrong. Their site is about destroying people.
We have pointed out the hundreds of thousands of dollars that these folks have cost the taxpayers without a single benefit being provided.
Park Watch is completely negative in their approach to anything park related. We are not.
This is the only site where candidates were asked to answer questions and many did and continue to do so. We have said that we will publish any answers they offer and if they chose not to answer then we will go to their websites and publications and try to obtain the answers because we think you should have the answers before you vote.
We are not surprised that Park Watch would praise candidates who chose not to publicly state positions by answering our questions. We hope the voters won’t let them get away with it.
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As the Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Pawnee, Indiana, I frequently say, "Citizen participation is the lifeblood of our democratic system."
ReplyDeleteYou people in Minneapolis need to learn to love and embrace those mean old women. That's what we do, and why we have such a vibrant park system here in Pawnee. We have activities that can redirect the energy of psycho-activists into more productive behaviors, like pottery or hydroponic gardening.
If that doesn't work, assign them to a Citizens
Advisory Committee to figure out ways to raise additional funds for the park system. Have it meet twice a week for a period of a year.
As the Assistant Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Pawnee, Indiana, I frequently say, "Citizen participation covers our democracy with blood."
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for you poor bastards in Minneapolis. If you are ever in Pawnee, look me up. I'll take you out for a Hoosier Cocktail.
Note: Two putt asked me to put this up because he was having trouble posting this.
ReplyDeleteI'm TwoPuttTommy. This was posted, above:
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We have pointed out the hundreds of thousands of dollars that these folks have cost the taxpayers without a single benefit being provided.
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Yes, you have. Keep up the good work.
Additionally, Persistent, er, 'scuse me, "Edna Brazaitis" has been involved in the endorsement process of the Sierra Club for Park Board elections, which has raised some serious ethical questions.
For instance, some candidates were allowed to simply e-mail back a questionaire, while other candidates were additionally required to screen in person.
Hmmm...Park Watch member, Liz Wielinski, gets to mail it in, gets endorsed....others have to screen in person.....hmmm....
It's bad enough at the waste Park Watch has caused the Minneapolis taxpayers; now their actions have sulled the name of the Sierra Club.
The Sierra Club, Northstar Chapter - A Failure In Process (+)
by: TwoPuttTommy
Mon May 04, 2009 at 05:48:56 AM CDT
Sundays, I have dinner with my mother - it's tradition. Last night, I asked: "Say, Mom - if an organization with the reputation of the Sierra Club came out against a proposed project, would you assume that the Sierra Club had offered the project the opportunity to present their case, and then proceeded with a fair, full, and open due diligence?" "Why, of course." was her answer. And she was shocked to learn that in the case of the Crown Hydro Project, that had not happened; that there was a failure in process by the North Star Chapter of The Sierra Club.
That the North Star Chapter of The Sierra Club did not do fair, full, and open due diligence prior to publicly opposing Crown Hydro really isn't in dispute; State Director Margaret Levin admitted last Friday that although they now are officially opposing Crown Hydro, there was only one meeting with Crown Hydro and only one Club member attended - in November of 2007; 17 months ago (give or take a few days).
Now, a lot of people know that the Sierra Club North Star Chapter endorses candidates. I e-mailed Jill Boogren, Chair, Minneapolis Political Committee, Sierra Club North Star Chapter, the following questions:
For full post, link here:
http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3132
Since ParkWatch is not 'posting' their favored candidate's endorsements...should we be taking the Sierra Club Endorsements as a de facto Park Watch endorsement?
ReplyDeleteThis is somewhat concerning.....stealthily placing candidates aligned with Rybak's position on Park Board independence in order to wrest control of the Park Board from the people (only to be managed by a city that continues to prove they shouldn't be in the Park & Recreation Business).
Seems to me this would be a nice story for the StarTribune to educate voters....that there is potentially a small splinter group attempting to undermine our Park system through 'ethically challenged' endorsement processes.
It is time to "out" these folks! Who has been endorsed by the Sierra Club? Though probably unintended by the Sierra Club....I think they got schnookered by a group with an agenda that isn't positive to the future of our parks.