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Jason's comment from another thread:

Vlado: we had a bit of an internal issue with the videotape of the interviews with the bicyclists. We weren't able to air the tape. I quoted one of the riders who was pepper sprayed in my web article.

And I get that CM doesn't want to be seen as an organized group: but I'm sorry, when 200 bicycles meet at one spot and drive in one place at one time the same time each month, that seems like an organized group to me. And CM people have been e-mailing me, ticked that I called them "anti-automobile." Again: they take over the streets once a month -- blocking traffic, running red lights, etc-- andpreach against how cars are bad and strain our resources. This sounds anti-automobile to me.

I think I was clear in saying police never had a problem with the group in the past, and actually agrees with the message of the group. They have a problem with one rider driving towards traffic, trying to provoke.

Typically: it's not a good idea for 100 people to surround 2 officers who are trying to make an arrest, and yell at the officers, swear at the officers, etc. On the raw video, you hear people chanting, "Let him go! Let him go!" and "What's the Charge? What's the charge?" and a lot of the F word.

Police say people were physically interfering with the arrest: trying to pull the cops off the biker. Is this true? I have no idea. But the video provided to us by a friend of a rider was pretty clear that the group was not exactly standing there letting police do their business.

That was pretty much pure trolling, Maz. If you want to participate in this discussion, fine, but limit it to facts and reason, please, not pissy invective.

Plenty of people who participate in CM are not white or not middle class.

And now you're just babbling.

Some of the names of folks that are being held without bail

I can easily imagine a scenario where the bicyclists provoked someone, and then the police overreacted.

Still, the naivety and lack of savvy that the urban, activist commie lib approaches the police is truly amazing. Instead of clearing the area, they're trying to engage the police in discourse, educating the police about their free speach and assembly rights. Asking, why are you arresting that person... It's a recipe for a beat down.

I would think the first order of business would be trying to change the hearts and minds of the 75% of Democrats who dont agree with you.

I agree. I usually sympathize with these ultra-progressive types but I find their strategies are almost always crappy.

everyone in the Twin Cities to think the bikers are at fault.

Of course they're at fault. They're gathering for purpose of challenging police and breaking the law.

I've always been a supporter of Critical Mass, but I will agree that, after watching the videos, the whole thing looked pretty bratty. Who raises their arms and rallies a crowd to starts chanting, "Let them go" when you don't even know what the guy did or what the charge is? It's not a revolution, people, so stop trying to make it one. There's a difference between protesting police brutality and inciting a crowd to ridiculous measures. Perhaps the police acted wrongfully...then there's still a responsibility to react in a way that does not deserve further ill action.

Oh, and the original "law-breaka" who escaped into the crowd when police tried to arrest him? What a freaking coward.

They are anti-car. That *is* non-judgemental, neutral language. But why not? Of all of the things to be "anti-", cars are a pretty good one. I just don't like the rhetorical trick that if someone is anti-something, they must automatically be unreasonable.

Total bullshit that the police never had a problem with Critical Mass in the past, and Officer Allen especially should know: http://www.mncriticalmass.org/html/ridereports/March2002.html Allen was involved in the follow up when the police rode with the mass for a few months and then stopped after a bunch of cyclists showed up in Village People costumes and rode in the back with the police.

The week after the 2002 March MASSacre a bunch of CM riders met with Chief of Police Olsen and Rybak. A few weeks later the City Council repealed the only ordinance in the state requiring bike licenses, every other municipality had it set up as optional, as Mpls now does.

Bikes have the same rights as cars, heck, bikers organized the first efforts for good roads back in the 1890's. CM isn't about breaking the law, it's a celebration of the cleanest, most efficient and fun way to transport.

How about this video of a cop spraying everyone with mace with no provocation:
video.

CM is not about fighting with cops, anarchy, commies, etc. It is about gathering once a month and cruising with your bikes down the street.

Oh and a good journalist is to be neutral and present both sides. Not to have a demeaning tone towards a certain group in order to please suburban SUV drivers.

I wouldn't expect more from local tv "news" though anyway, they have a reputation for some through "journalism" if you even want to call it that. Wasn't there a cat stuck in a tree somewhere to report.....

I just noticed in that video link what appears to be a Police Officer swinging at an individual who is already on the ground and being held by three officers.

I am completely outraged.

The problem, 108, is that they don't often justify their use of force. What were the reasons for this whole moronic incident? Someone "felt" like someone was yelling at cars, or someone crossed over a yellow line. No reason to arrest someone, and apparently the crowd saw that.

Okay wait, maybe no reason to arrest completely justifies beating the shit out of someone.

I think that democrats of good standing, should any still exist, should take their little leftist friends aside and teach them how to behave like adults. It would certainly be cheaper for the taxpayers.

First of all, Critical Mass participants are repeatedly told to talk about this event in terms of a celebration (or similar language) rather than a protest or demonstration, so they can do so without having to notify police in advance.

And anyone even vaguely aware of CM will tell you these are, by and large, middle-class white folks, many of whom (secretly) live on trust funds.

Getting arrested is TOTALLY THE POINT. That's why they do it, so they can then turn around and publicly whine about how mistreated they are and how they're just trying to have a simple "celebration" and the big, bad pigs come down on them for no reason whatsoever.

BULLSHIT!

We agree with the rights of the bicyclists, but as they have the same rights as the cars that they share the road with, they should also be subject to the same laws.
That means they should have to be licensed/registered, it used to be that way, and should be able to get ticketed the same as an automobile driver.
And why the big deal about being called "anti-automobile", it's not a swear word. Stick and stones, etc, etc, etc.
There's always that hooligan element that has to put their 2 cent's in. They take something good and turn it to trash.

Maz, do you recycle?

How about this video of a cop spraying everyone with mace with no provocation

really? everyone got sprayed? or did you mean nobody got sprayed.

Okay wait, maybe no reason to arrest completely justifies beating the shit out of someone.

being gently taken off one's bicycle qualifies as getting the shit beat out of them? must be all sea shells and puppy dogs in your world, eh?

i am continually amazed at the professionalism and self-restraint the police show in these situations. it must be so hard to not beat the fuck out of these arrogant pricks.

You can clearly see that people did get maced. And I saw a number of people with red eyes and faces. You can clearly see a Police Officer grabbing and throwing someone to the ground in the video. But hey, if you want to label them, go right ahead -- it's only demonstrating lack of understanding.

I have yet to hear anything about the State Patrol helicopter that was evidently video taping from above. Why isn't this video public?

Jason, you apparently didn't see my last response to you, or replied before giving me a chance to reply to you. I'm not personally attacking you, and my statements are in disappointment. I expect a lot from WCCO because I grew up with the station and it's the best the Twin Cities has. I know video won't be released immediately, but if this was a high profile case (I'm not going to cite any examples), they would be proactive in getting it out there. I believe CBS's "Without a Trace" described the relationship between police and media perfectly in one of their episodes where the missing white kid got media attention and the missing black kid didn't -- it's sometimes out of the control of the media, and it's sometimes out of the control of the police.

And "agenda" is far from the word. I am not a regular attendee or participant of Critical Mass, I just witnessed it and was shocked. As I've stated elsewhere, I am normally a supporter of the MPD and their programs, especially CCP/SAFE, which is why this is so shocking. I expect this out of the south, not Minneapolis.

If you look at the Hennepin County Sheriff's Roster, you will see people being arrested in unrelated events: DWI's, assaults, and their bails are set. As I stated in my contact with you, I was told by an employee of the jail that their bail will not be set for at least 48 hours, more likely on Tuesday since it's a holiday on Monday. So, they are currently being held without bail, and that's a direct quote.

I would refer back to my comment stating that saying they're anti-car is like saying pro-choice is anti-life.

I again appreciate you taking the time to explain your side, and the technical difficulties WCCO apparently had for the 10PM newscast -- stuff happens, and there's a tight schedule. There's one way to fix it though: a better report in the coming days at 10.

Jason, don't even fret about it.... These people go after anyone who doesn't support their agenda. Just because you're not a reporter for a leftist rag means you're the enemy.

These people are CLEARLY anti-automobile and the fact that these rides are about blocking automobile traffic rather than coexisting with it just shows that. It's about pissing off drivers in cars, making them late and inconveniencing them in a huge orgy of groupthink and delusions of revolution. These white suburban-bred kids get a little taste of rebellion and they run with it. It's hilarious because they have no idea how to run a protest, how to get arrested in a protest, etc....

They could learn a lot from the civil disobedience and protests during the civil rights movement in the 60s, when you get arrested, simply sit down and take it. You don't fight, you don't get in the cops faces if you aren't getting arrested. The fact that you're peacefully getting arrested for doing nothing wrong is a statement alone. Instead, these CM folks just come off as asshats.

Kedster, you're correct about the video. It does look like people got maced. It also looks like a ton of people were hovering near officers who were trying to arrest someone and screaming at the officers. One officer managed to control the safety of the arresting officers and the detained person by spraying mace in the direction of the crowd.

In my opinion, the officer did a great job controlling the situation.

That would be the perfect newscast, except you forgot to mention the cooties and ohmygosh, GO GREEN! Just kidding, but I do appreciate the comedy. I would never expect a newscast like that, and I would probably be giving more angry comments if that was actually what aired. After I TiVo'd it and watched it over and over, that is.

I was simply looking for more than [here's what the police told us] and then [of course, they say something else, but we won't tell you what they said].

Pepper spray does come back at the officers too, so it's safe to say that the pepper spray went everywhere and I'm sure officers felt it too. I'm sure a lot of people deserved getting sprayed, when you isolate individual incidents. I'm sure those officers weren't scared beyond all imagination when they were surrounded, which doesn't say I agree with how it all started, or how it all ended. And I'm not saying anyone was or wasn't hurt -- we don't know yet.

Oh well. See you at Fletcher's then?

Try biking down Elm Creek Blvd, in the street. There's a riot for you =P

Have fun.

I think it's a little suspicious that the original agitator "disappeared".

Sounds a little like the local thugs in blue warming up their agent provocateur tactics prior to the RNC convention.

Or do we like to pretend that doesn't happen, until it does, and they claim it was an anomaly?

Senator Craig; you have the floor . . .

Ahhhh modern times; when civil rights are "fluff".

News Flash: Kitty Stuck in Tree. Saved by Brave Fire Fighter.
News Flash: Blogger uses all Capital letters to empasize correctness and intelligence. Secretly considers escalation to multiple punctuation to end sentences.

Tune in a 5.

it's essentially a fluff lifestyle piece. SERIOUSLY.

Do police end up playing a role in fluff lifestyle pieces? What are you talking about?

People are getting arrested! The police were called in for deliberate civil disobedience.

They used to call things like that riots.

Hope none of them are being taunted by some guard named Igor who wants to dance with them.

"How about this video of a cop spraying everyone with mace with no provocation"

Too many think that "provocation" has to mean "swinging at the police first." Not so.

Cops are tasked to maintain the peace, and to enforce laws. When police give an order, to an individual or to a crowd, and that order is made either for the purpose of restoring peace, or to put the individual or crowd into compliance with the law, they're not making friendly suggestions or meekly asking for something to be done. Their orders at that point in time have the force of law behind them.

When an individual or a crowd refuses to obey a lawful order of the police, the police do NOT then merely have to sit back and hope for better days. The police are then empowered to use reasonable means to MAKE the individual or crowd obey that order.

It's long been established in our society that the use of mace in such a situation as we saw here is reasonable. "No provocation" is what you yell when your little brother hits you first, not when you've directly challenged the duty and the power of the police to make the streets safe and usable for everyone.

I understand that it's way more convenient, and allows for more loud outrage, to simply forget that Thoreau included "take the punishment" as one of the honorable requirements for c.d., but it makes you appear as whiney brats.

You guys want to see some anarchists? Go down to the Jack Pine on the south side of lake just east of minnehaha.

based on marsh's account, it does seem that the PRNCers and not the CMers were the ones who escalated the situation. Hopefully other peaceful protest groups will see this and will distance themselves appropriately.

Jack Pine's involved in this? The Jack Pine that gets its name from the way jack pine trees regenerate areas after everything's been incinerated by the white-hot flames of a massive forest fire?

Naw, I'm thinking they're looking for peaceful change.

"That is horrible "journalism.""

It's a lousy Christmas card verse, too, but it wasn't written to be either.

"They're not game with the media and I think a blogger with a camera is close enough."

Just as we shouldn't cede our streets and parks to a-holes, neither should we cede our cities to them. Their "huge groups" are going to be joined by many people over the next few weeks, taking notes and sharing impressions.

" think this whole story might be more about the pReNC who decided to join up with CM this time around"

Right on , that's what I was trying to say too. The CM may have had issues in the past, but not in this neck of the woods.

Can anyone vouch for the truthiness of all the "pReNC" members? There may be something bigger going on here and like Lennon said "I am the Walrus" No. vladimir i lennon, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov.

"You look for the most likely reason or culprit"

socialist libertarian = oxymoron

"Again this is from someone who still considers the ideals of philisophical anarchism very relevant today."

The ideals may well be, but you've been completely co-opted out of the name itself by its mis-users. "Non-archy" might buy it back, simply because dropping the overused and misunderstood name that no longer provides its deconstructed meaning - it's now more of a brand name without intrinsic meaning, like Kleenex - would give you an opportunity once again to say a name and have people look at it and try to figure out what it means from its root (as in "hmmm "non" and "archy", so "no" "rulers".")

Heck, I do the "no rules" jokes too - they're too easy, even though that's not what it means - but "anarchy" is now a word owned by and associated with masked people running and burning and trashing anywhere a WTO guy spends a night.

More than ever, this demonstrates the need for more witnesses. I'm not trying to be an advertisement, but this is exactly why The Uptake was formed -- to recruit and train people with video cameras to be out there recording stuff like this, especially during the RNC. Bike helmet cams, live webcams, you name it. Even better if you're willing to take it to the next level and provide some analysis and do some interviews.

I think DeRusha did a commendable job. If we're merely quibbling about whether Critical Mass is "anti-automobile" then we've come a long way. If you want to put a better spin on it, pick up a video camera and say something yourself, upload it to YouTube or maybe we'd put it on The Uptake.

And yeah, it sounds like one or two pReNC rowdies pushed the normally peaceful Critical Mass crowd into a bad situation with the police, and everyone suffered. Marsh nailed it - this was a dry run for soldiers in the coming RNC War.

I think Bretton is on to something -- I would not personally allow anyone with a masked face to be part of my peaceful protest group. Be transparent, open, and non-violent or get the hell away from me. I'm sure some of them are fine folks, and their promotional video is funny as hell, but how do we know which of them are out for trouble? We don't.

We don't know which ones are cops. I went down to the pReNC tonight and asked if anyone knew the bike rider in question. They didn't. What's more important is that they don't know which ones are cops are are likely to do whatever the guy next to them are doing.

capitalism sounds great on paper, but always leads to corporatism in the end.

Huh? The computer you used to write that is a product of capitalism. And corporations are nothing more than a collection of people who have banded together for the purpose of making money. Kind of like a labor union only with a worthwhile product and greater freedom for its members.

Ron Paul is a pacifist. I'm a military veteran who believes we should nuke mecca. We don't agree on some pretty important things.

Interesting. The anarchists will be wearing masks and the RNC delegates will be wearing name tags.

What is it that the protesters are supposedly protesting again?

What is it that the protesters are supposedly protesting again?

Duh -- robots.

From all I've heard: I think Marsh's account is probably dead-on. Hopefully, it'll give police and protesters a chance to learn a bit before the RNC.

And Chuck is also right: the more videotape the better. Police seemed very confident that they had the initial incident and the follow-up stuff on tape for their purposes. I think the citizen tape we got was quite revealing... more so than any witness blogs and follow-ups we're seeing now.

Marsh called it a game of "telephone" that happens among 400 bicyclists. No doubt. So the videotape gives us a glimpse of reality: as opposed to all the second guessing after the fact. By both sides.

1) Why does anyone give a shit?

2) Does politics play a role in why anyone gives a rat's ass?

3) Does the bicyclist who sparked the "incident" have a hot ass?

4) If MPLS PD knew that CM was a group of phonies that think riding a bike is some noble act that transcends just basic transportation needs, why did they bother wasting their Mace?

This incident reminds me of a quickly forgotten news story from the 1990s: Mpls. police breaking up a protest (along Lake St., I think, east of Uptown) that involved flag-burning.

I think this is much ado about not much.

Sure, those out to protest the Republicans will resurface here during next year's national convention. But I doubt that law enforcement will have trouble staying on top of that situation. . . . especially with the group publicizing its plans via a website.

I just updated my post about Critical Mass. I guess I may have been wrong about the emphasis on on pReNC.

I heard all the sirens at my apartment on Friday evening. I was like, "Shit, I hope another bridge didn't fall down."

I don't think a cop will hit you with pepper spray while your going to lunch, Chuck. That would be indiscriminate. But when you gather in a large group and taunt them, or run around naked you might expect some police action.

I also think that police are always going to turn out looking bad when they take action against a large group of people armed with blogs and flickr pages and youtube accounts. This is one of the problems, I think, with relying too much on first person accounts of those who see themselves as "wronged."

The collective online information is going to be almost exclusively one-sided. Marsh described the group as engaging in a giant game of "telephone" where misinformation spread like wildfire. I think that's happening on the internet now.

Too bad police officers can't go online and share their first person accounts, as the legal cases have to work their way through the system.

Fact based citizen journalism would in fact be a good thing. I think you'll find that the game of "telephone" has been used successfully on both sides of the political spectrum in galvanizing their constituents.

On the right you've got the conservative Christian base and talk radio fans only so eager to parrot their leadership (e.g. Rush, Rove, and Olsteen).

On the left you've got labor unions and a great many so-called "cause organizations" only so interested in showing strength in numbers by getting their people to sign-off on petitions which the signees have no idea what they're voting for.

I noticed in one of the videos that the bike mob was none too interseted in yeilding to police cars with lights and siren going. I wonder what CM's spin would have been had the siren been from an ambulance trying to get a cyclist with a closed-head injury to HCMC.

CM was griping that there aren't enough public resources dedicated to bikes in Minnesota? Isn't that like bitching about the lack of Catholic churches in Rome? Just look at the bike projects Oberstar has siphoned off federal highway (bridge, anyone?) taxes.

Nice going, CM; way to move the ball down field. You want to get the public on board? Try getting bicyclists to obey traffic lights and stop signs. How about helping them get over the Jekyll and Hyde-like "I'm a motorist, now I'm a pedestrian, now I'm a motorist, whoops, now I'm a pedesrian" beahvior that's so much fun to cope with when you're trying to operate a car safely.

I've been getting loads of yuks out of that pReNC website. Anarchists my ass. These people are leftists, pure and simple.

No real anarchist is concerned about "sustainability," or "mutual aid," or "solidarity." Ha ha. What wannabes.

They're about as much into anti-establishmentism as the girl scouts are.

Here's some of their published "beliefs." heh

1. A rejection of Capitalism, Imperialism, and the State;

Well, excuse me, but ... If you don't don't make money in the marketplace, and you don't live off the government, how do you pay the rent?? The trust fund?? Must be it.

Here's another laugher:

4. Work to end all relationships of domination and subjugation, including but not limited to those rooted in patriarchy, race, class, and homophobia;

uh, why isn't matriarchy included in that list?? Don't want to piss off Mom? Granted, it says "not limited to," but that's only because you were in a hurry and you couldn't think of anything else on short notice. More evidence that you're not really anarchists, because as we all know, it's Mom who really wields all the authority in this society, not Dad.

And they had the brilliance to actually publish their physical address. Cool. I'll bet they get plenty of visitors in the coming months.

It's a good thing you included that "oh snap" thing at the end because I never would have imagined that you were inferring that I was somehow guilty of such behavior. I only bring enlightenment and good cheer!

As if I needed to say, I don't support violence and this looks like someone dressed in the same was as pReNC members. Totally not cool.

Other photos at my website.

WCCO and KSTP both had great stories tonight at 6pm, and KARE had a great story Saturday evening. KSTP is doing another story tonight at 10, and they interviewed someone who was in jail.

Well, it is a good idea not to uncritically believe any one source. We have a multifaceted puzzle of what happened, including that photo of a masked biker and various citizen video clips. We have to triangulate and form an opinion. And ask, "Who do I trust?"

I certainly plan to be at the next CM, which will probably go down without incident.

The Rat: I've read accounts of a pedestrian (citizen journalist) documenting the CM/police action from the sidewalk, getting pushed down and pepper sprayed by the po-po. Fact or fiction, I don't know - but journalists of any stripe are often in as much danger as those they document. This, it's not at all far-fetched for a citizen journalist to take precautions.

Marsh is a professional leftist.

Trolls like bud jr and Dennis Tester don't willingly meet people that don't agree with them. Safer to be a fucking moron behind a keyboard.

Marsh is a professional leftist.

not sure which is further off the mark...calling him a leftist or calling him professional. bud is so wrong that he might be right.

Thanks, Jason. Thanks, Bud. Fuck you, Scrote.

Let me just say this, Chuck. Sure, a handkerchief over your face is good protection from mace. But on the July ride, I didn't see anybody wearing any handkerchiefs, possibly because nobody was expecting to be maced. CM and the MPD have had smaller run-ins in the past, but by all accounts of everybody that I talked to during the 8/31 ride, nothing like this before. I think this is a case of two groups of people that were transformed first by internet hype and second by exhilarated circumstance into clashing mobs. And yes, to paraphrase A.I., we're talkin' about practice/ Aside from the RNC soldiers, from my vantage point, most of the people on bicycles didn't realize what was going on--they were just gawking at all the flashing lights and cops materializing--until the mace came out, and then it was a mildly panicked scramble to the greenway with some of them calling their friends on the celly to exclaim, "Yeah, I was just fucking MACED. By COPS. In THE FACE. Uh-huh. Yeah, seriously. In the face."

Marsh is usually an obnoxious grandstander and shameless self-promoter who delights in choosing confrontation and unpleasantness over cooperation and showing respect for others.

you say that as if those are bad things.

Seriously, O.C., you might appreciate the relativistic Al Jazeera/CNN/New Yorker/MPR/GroupHug approach to the news but I'm more of a battle rap guy. I'm a competitive male gorilla...a strutting peacock of a writer with a deep, loud voice...I'm King Kong. What can I say? I stick out a little here in Sweetland. It doesn't matter. You can wear flowers in your hair and listen to The Kingston Trio and check out StephenHero when nobody is looking.

DeRusha: I'm saying we need both the professional journalist, striving for objectivity (and usually downplaying his/her own experience) - and the first person witnesses, all those narrower slices of what happened that aren't watered down or striving for objectivity.

One without the other is not good enough.

. . . we need both the professional journalist, striving for objectivity (and usually downplaying his/her own experience) - and the first person witnesses, all those narrower slices of what happened that aren't watered down or striving for objectivity.

In cases like this, I share the enthusiasm for citizen-journalism to some extent, but with these reservations:

. . . bloggers commonly tend to sensationalize things, from them being overly excitable and/or eager to boost traffic to their site.

. . . bloggers typically mix in too much of their own personal interpretations and analysis of events -- often based mainly on speculation, rather than solid info -- in their eagerness to be the first ones out there commenting on events.

. . . bloggers commonly are speaking from a particular advocacy point-of-view, but often without clearly disclosing that.

. . . most bloggers don't have journalism training in things like safeguarding against bias, avoiding unfairly loaded language, and not commiting libel.

I sympathize with journalists in Jason's situation; I would hate to have to, on top of everything else, try to keep track of what sensationalized concerns are getting whipped up in the blogosphere.

Bikes belong on bike-paths. If they are in the street, they need to both keep
up with traffic and obey all traffic laws. If they have a problem with that,
then I have no problem with the MPLS police using water cannon on them.
Discourteous, negligent, arrogant bikers are a traffic menace. The roads
are primarily for cars and trucks. Cars and trucks pay for them.

. . . OC: Replace "bloggers" with "ordinary citizens." :-)

Chuck, I'm afraid I'm going to respectfully disagree about that.

I am not a blogger, but this year I have been exploring the local blogosphere quite a bit.

My strong sense is that most bloggers are more easily triggered into an excited state than is true of the general population. . . and, again compared to the general population, they're way more inclined to be hyper-expressive types who've got very strong urges to immediately say whatever's on their mind, whether or not they've thought it through very well.

Bloggers typically want their sites to attract lots of traffic. I have yet to come across a site that has high traffic and comments from visitiors along this line: "Keep up the great work! I frequent your blog because you take a slow, measured, approach, posting new material only when you're confident it's good enough, and not writing anything when you probably don't know enough about what you would be commenting on."

. . . . there is a more professional level of citizen journalism emerging between the ranty blogger and the trained journalist.

I believe you, and I'm in favor of it.

A comparable well-established example of that sort of thing is citizens trained and certified to be credible severe-weather spotters/reporters.

In that example, you get the benefit of lots more eyes and ears, from the ranks of the general public, but you also assure pretty good quality-control. Something along those lines ought to be looked into with citizen-journalism. Any hobby or volunteering activity that's lacking agreed-upon standards about quality, best-practices, ethical conduct, etc., won't get taken very seriously.

Who will be our Ramones?

Joe Mauer?

"Bikes belong on bike-paths. If they are in the street, they need to both keep up with traffic"

Newsflash: Bikes are not as fast as cars. And bike paths go around lakes. They don't take you to places you need to go (usually).

Guess what? Biking is the way some people transport themselves. Get used to it, and share the road.

Stewart/Colbert=Weird Al. Maybe Tenacious D.