[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: The Silence of Our Lambs

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
The Silence of Our Lambs
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1245240543.shtml


   I don't know why this particular occurrence should bother me so. Maybe
   it's because the facts are so obvious, to anyone except the sheep in
   our newsrooms around town. But now that Governor Pawlenty has detailed
   his unallotments to comply with the State Constitution, out comes the
   DFL with their tales of woe, the reporters nodding along.
   Even on the normally more reliable KSTP-TV, yes the sky will be
   falling from police cutbacks, closed libraries, neglected parks, and
   of course, unavoidable property tax increases. All from the loss of a
   very small cuts in Local Government Aid (LGA).
   "I don't need any lecture from Tim Pawlenty on how to run a budget,"
   says Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak. [1]Yes, you do, Your Honor. Police
   protection, your number one obligation, is less than 10 percent of
   your budget. The Fire Department costs less than half of that. To even
   hint at cutbacks in these areas solely on the basis of LGA not being
   what you want is nothing short of a lie. But of course, nobody in the
   newsrooms will likely call you or any other mayor on this.
   I don't get this. It's OK to quote a liar without comment, but somehow
   wrong to challenge the liar?

References

   1. http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1243120773.shtml