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Michael Friedman

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commenter for
1 year 9 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 05/16/13 at 10:24 am in response to Minneapolis officials back Police Chief Harteau’s limited comments on Friday events

The problem of trust about this investigation, and the lack of transparency about this tragedy to date, is that the City of Minneapolis has a conflicted role. The police department, a city agency, and all ethical city officials, should have a duty to investigate fully and without bias. However, as civil lawsuits against Minneapolis appear likely, and any such payouts or settlements would impact the budget, the City Attorney's office (the city agency obligated by professional rules to...

Posted on 04/24/13 at 03:24 pm in response to Speaker Steve Perry provokes heated exchange on education reform

Nordgren's MFT's proposal: "smaller class size, a focus on teaching not testing, before- and after-school wrap-around services for struggling students, hiring of a diversified workforce, building a strong family and community engagement partnership, time for teachers to adequately prepare high quality lessons for their students and providing a culturally relevant curriculum that addresses all areas of learning. These are just some of the things we believe will improve education and help...

Posted on 04/24/13 at 08:50 pm in response to Speaker Steve Perry provokes heated exchange on education reform

I understand how school vouchers could undermine public education. (That's not part of RESET.)
I do not understand why you think longer school days or real-time assessment destroys public education.
I do not understand why anyone would think that a Superintendent trying to learn and possibly borrow some methods from the few charter schools with a positive record destroys public education.
I understand that many in communities of color have positive feelings about their...

Posted on 04/18/13 at 12:12 pm in response to Trouble ahead: Justices’ rulings on gun rights raise thorny questions

Without comment on the pros vs. cons of gun ownership, this very informative series of articles suggests that those advocating gun control measures -- in states where that represents the will of the people -- should create legislation with a title like: The Connecticut Militia Act. The act can define the militia as all of the people of the state (with exceptions such as for age, mental health criteria, and past convictions, etc) and then set about to determine rules for what weapons the...

Posted on 04/16/13 at 10:30 am in response to The Second Amendment is a mess

As much as anything can be considered clear from the language of the amendment, the most reasonable interpretation would seem to be that the federal government should have no laws and regulations whatsoever about weaponry but the states can do whatever they want in regard to regulation, including complete restriction. If a democratically run state can't forbid weapons within its boundaries, one can hardly call it a "Free State." The principle that federal constitutional protections for...

Posted on 04/16/13 at 04:36 pm in response to The Second Amendment is a mess

Just as the 14th amendment is meaningless in regard to the 10th amendment, it has no meaning for the 2nd which was similarly pertaining to the state and not individual rights. The reason the 2nd amendment was considered necessary and not allowed to be implied as a state's right through the 10th alone (i.e. omission) was because of the federal right to raise an army and declare war; the framers wanted it to be clear that this did not supplant a state's right to arm militias. As for the need...

Posted on 04/16/13 at 04:50 pm in response to The Second Amendment is a mess

The paraphrase deceptively and likely deliberately implies the modern meaning of State -- as in the nation -- when the amendment clearly had no such notion and was referring to entities like Delaware and Virginia. When the paraphrase (or the original amendment) is read correctly, it would up to the state to determine what's important to itself, and not federally imposed. If it's not important for Delaware and Virginia that their citizens have guns, why can't they prohibit that? I'm for...

Posted on 02/21/13 at 01:36 pm in response to Young black men in Minnesota: A clarion call for help

Successful re-entry is only one component of the challenges faced by those with criminal records. Many crimes do not lead to prison, and many police contacts lead to criminal records even when no conviction results. These records then close the door to future employment at a cost that goes far beyond the offense which led to the record (if even convicted). The fact that concentration of police resources and risks of peer association can be higher in low income neighborhoods perpetuates...

Posted on 02/19/13 at 05:12 pm in response to Let’s acknowledge legitimate motivations on both sides of the gun issue

I will be more convinced of the right wing position about the potential need for guns for countering tyranny when they broadcast the example closer to home that it was appropriate for Black radicals in the 1960's to arm themselves for self-defense purposes given the tyranny they faced from police and FBI harassments, or the Klan. And I'd love to see the NRA (retroactively) stand behind the American Indians (with guns) who occupied Wounded Knee in the early 1970's because of the tyranny of...

Posted on 10/08/12 at 10:34 am in response to Reporter who wrote about life as undocumented immigrant arrested in Minnesota

So let's make sure the ability to legally drive and acquire insurance has nothing to do with immigration status. I'd feel safer in my "Volvo" that way than pretending that ICE policies and practices are preventing "illegal" drivers.