Many of you have followed

Many of you have followed the Trunk’s posts about the riot in north Minnespolis in which several journalists were assaulted, which the Minneapolis Star Tribune refers to delicately as “the melee.” This story descended into farce some time ago, but it reached a new low yesterday. The Justice Department appointed a mediator to meet with the various “groups” involved to try to negotiate a “solution.” (Are the crack dealers and smokers who rioted one of the groups?) This proposal, however, met with hostility from several members of the Minneapolis City Council, one of whom asked the mediator: “Are you a spy for John Ashcroft?” Another Council member also expressed skepticism, noting Ashcroft’s “readiness to erode our civil liberties.” None of this promises much progress in dealing with crack houses and rioters, but I suppose no one ever looked to the Minneapolis City Council for leadership in that regard anyway.