Is the MPD out of control?
BY ED FELIEN
Is the Minneapolis Police Department out of control?
In May of this year we published an article by former Minneapolis Police Chief Tony Bouza, “Unintended Consequences,” in which he said, “cops’ unions have gathered such enormous political power that they’ve made it virtually impossible to fire the 1 or 2 percent of malefactors in the ranks. And these thumpers in the police ranks, although, for certain, a fraction of the forces, set the tone and define the limits of action that guide their tolerant overseers, most of whom are members of the same union … and a parade of judgments and settlements served as mute proof of the cost of having out of control cops all over the state.”
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Life’s little Kumbaya moments
BY TONY BOUZA
Like all real amateur writers I love doing pieces on topics I only imperfectly and superficially understand—art, foreign policy, literature, etc. This despite the fact that I’ve been practicing/studying police
actions continuously since 1/1/53.
Lawyers even pay me $200 an hour for my views, take notes and don’t nod off, as is so often the case when I wander from this reservation.
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Protecting the credibility of the MPD
BY COUNCIL MEMBER CAM GORDON
In general, we are served well by the large majority of police officers who work in our neighborhoods every day. The more that the police can build trusting and effective partnerships with the people
they serve the better they will be able to help make this a safer, better city for everyone.
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Still searching for the Saw-whet Owl
BY JOHN KARRIGAN
I will start with my usual exciting owl report. I have not seen or heard an owl in the park (or anywhere else) in all of July. But … I had a bad movie on TV one night. I was not even paying attention, and I suddenly recognized the sound of Saw-whet owls in the background of some pointless outdoor scene. At least, because of my late night spring park experiences, now I know what they sound like.
I haven’t done too well on seeing other birds in the park, either. About the only small birds I can count on are Song Sparrows, Goldfinches and Chimney Swifts. Of course, the ducks and Canada Geese are always on the lake, the Great Blue Heron almost always, and Egrets and Cormorants every so often. I am still pretty sure Black-crowned Night Herons are always on the island and seldom visible.
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Nurses’ Strike advances debate on hospital safety
BY JOEL ALBERS
 The Minnesota nurses’ strikes of 2001 and 2010 articulated the need for greater nurse/patient ratios to improve patient safety, quality of care and to help lower hospital mortality rates. The need for fixed ratios is borne
out by a growing body of data. Fifty studies are posted on the MN Nurses Association website http://www.mnnurses.org/
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New general, same disaster
BY ED FELIEN
 The first rule about holes is if you find yourself in one and you don’t want to be there, then, stop digging.
Why is it so difficult for Obama to stop digging deeper in Afghanistan and just get out? He’s pursuing a doomed strategy. On Monday, July 5, according to the StarTribune, Senator John McCain spoke to the press during his visit to Afghanistan: “The Taliban know that Kandahar is the key to success or failure, so what happens in this operation will have a great effect on the outcome of this conflict. But I am convinced we can succeed and will succeed, and Kandahar is obviously the key area. And if [we] succeed there, we will succeed in the rest of this struggle.”
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Preparing to make the 2010-11 school year a great year
 We are busy preparing to welcome students in grades 1-12 back to school on Aug. 30 and welcome our new kindergarten students on Sept. 1.
Families often ask me what they can do to help their children do their very best. Families play a critical role in their child’s academic progress. You can help your child prepare to learn each day.
Help your child get ready in the morning so he or she arrives on time and ready to learn.
Ask your child what he or she learns in school each day.
Set aside time each night to help your child with his or her homework.
Visit the open house at your child’s school before the first day. Your child will come to school confident and eager to succeed.
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Find Bancroft Meadows down in the valley
BY ED FELIEN
 In the Old County (and it’s probably true of the Old Country your family came from—whether in Europe, Asia, Africa or South America) the village held the valley in common. All families were allowed to graze their livestock
there and use the property as a common area for festivals, fairs and recreation. Crops were grown on higher ground to avoid the spring floods. But by the beginning of the 19th century in Europe the commons were being sold to individual farmers, and the children had to leave the land and emigrate to the New World.
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Jihad and the holy war
BY BARNABY DEVITT
How can war be holy?
What righteous god would welcome the massacre of innocents?
And, yet, the origins and history of Judaism, Christianity and Islam have their roots in war. The Old Testament and Talmud are catalogs of epic battles. Jesus, who brought the new commandment: Love thy neighbor, also told his followers, "Let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy one. For I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in me, 'And he was reckoned with transgressors.' " (Luke: 22, 36-37) Muhammad, not just a prophet and the founder of Islam, was a remarkable general. His continued battles with rival tribes eventually led to a consolidation of most of the Arabian Peninsula into an Islamic confederation during his lifetime.
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Big biz wants to own the information superhighway while We the People bump
along the backroads
BY JIM HIGHTOWER
In the 1970s, Lily Tomlin developed an iconic comic character she named Ernestine—a telephone clerk who got perverse pleasure from hectoring customers. Her character was a perfect portrayal of the arrogance of AT&T, the monopolistic telephone giant of that day. In one skit on the TV show “Laugh-In,” Tomlin had Ernestine delivering a TV pitch for the corporation: "A gracious hello," she cheerfully began, speaking directly into the camera.
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August 2010 
