Not in the Fair but of the Fair. At MPR, Riham Feshir writes, “Black Lives Matter St. Paul is sticking to its plans to disrupt business at the Minnesota State Fair Saturday despite social media backlash that erupted just hours after going public with the protest. The group plans to march from Hamline Park in St. Paul north on Snelling Avenue to the State Fairgrounds. As of Monday evening, over 600 people have said on the event’s Facebook page that they plan to attend. Hundreds of others left negative comments on the page saying that disrupting the State Fair would hurt the group’s cause. Organizers say they have no plans to enter the fairgrounds, but intend to disrupt traffic and inconvenience fairgoers.”
Naturally, the conservative PJTatler website thinks the “Black Lives” Matter Fair protest is hooey. Writes Walter Hudson, “It’s unclear how minority business owners have been ‘denied’ opportunities at the fair. The complaint seems less an accusation of true discrimination and more an expectation of affirmative action. Also unclear is how keeping families from enjoying their time at the fair, standing between a kid and his corn dog, will engender sympathy or the kind of ‘awareness’ Black Lives Matter seeks. What is clear is the militant language employed by a protest organizer.” Real disruption of course would be a ban on sugar and trans fat.
Desperately needed: another luxury apartment building. Says Ellen Galles at KSTP-TV, “The metro’s oldest Best Buy might become Edina’s newest apartment complex and restaurant. There is a proposal in the early stages to redevelop that area off West 66th Street and York Avenue into a six-story, 210-unit complex with a restaurant on the ground floor.” Bought a TRS-80 there a (long) while back.
Also from KSTP, Jennie Lissarrague reports, “A custodian in the Forest Lake Area School District has been charged with possessing child pornography. Forest View Elementary Principal Scott Urness notified parents via email Friday that the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a custodian who worked at the elementary school. The school district learned of the investigation last Wednesday and notified parents two days later. The custodian was identified in a criminal complaint as 54-year-old Brian Jeffery Cleveland of Linwood Township. According to the criminal complaint, the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office launched their investigation into Cleveland back on July 23 after receiving a criminal sexual conduct report that Cleveland sexually-assaulted a 12-year-old girl.” Did he eat lunch at Subway?
The Strib says we need a strategy. “Doctors and pharmacists must be part of any plan for reducing painkiller abuse. So must chemical dependency specialists, social-service workers, law enforcers, keepers of government data and lawmakers. In fact, so must anyone who seeks pain relief via a prescription drug. Consumers need to be more aware of the life-damaging potential of these powerful and addictive medicines, and use them accordingly.” By the sound of it, pot is not the most worrisome gateway drug.
Meanwhile, Susan Du at City Pages, does some reporting on the guy leading the local pro-Confederate flag “protest” against … the 21st century. “BC Johnson, Minnesota’s rally organizer, is a South Carolina native who moved to Minnesota for more job opportunities in transportation. He has ancestors who fought and died in the Civil War, he says, but he isn’t sure for which side. He’s been careful to frame the Confederate flag as a symbol of southern heritage, and MN 10,000’s right to demonstrate on the steps of the State Capitol as a Voltairian exercise in free speech.” The bet of course being most of those guys think Volt-Air is some kind of off-brand air conditioner.
A non-profit fellow traveler is not impressed with the coverage of the Minnesota Orchestra’s contract resolution. in Non-Profit Quarterly, Ruth McCambridge says, “last week, nonprofit news outlet MinnPost republished an article printed more than two weeks before by Twin Cities Business that questioned the wisdom of making such ‘generous’ raises, suggesting that to base those raises on a one-time gift endangers the sustainability of the orchestra. In turn, some commentators are questioning and even damning the integrity of that coverage. Indeed, the article does seem to be more than a bit sloppy — or as one critic charged, ‘dreck.’” Well!
Just out, you know, watching the sunset and [bleep]. The NorthlandNewsCenter out of Duluth reports, “A Northland man, allegedly caught with nearly 50 grams of meth while camping, is claiming his innocence. Thomas Baumchen of Hibbing, Minn., pleaded not guilty on Monday in Itasca County court to charges of first degree sale and possession of meth. Authorities say he had nearly 50 grams of meth while he was camping northeast of Itasca County at the Bower Lake Access in June. More than $5,000 in cash was also discovered at the man’s campsite.” Bait money, officer. I swear!
Hmmm. NPR’s Curtis Gilbert says, “Less than two years after entering the Twin Cities market, Car2Go has become the dominant car-sharing service in Minneapolis. A city report shows the company has more than 500 vehicles operating in Minneapolis — about 10 times as many as each of their competitors, ZipCar and HourCar. Car-sharing companies allow customers to rent vehicles for a few minutes or a few hours. HourCar and ZipCar have designated parking spots around the city. Car2Go, with its fleet of tiny two-seat Smart Cars, allows users to drop vehicles off in any on-street parking space in Minneapolis or St. Paul.” I’d get in one of those things if it had 40 airbags.
The Vikings would quickly run out of these guys. John Krawcyzynski of the AP says, “Hall of Fame receiver Cris Carter has issued an apology for telling NFL rookies at a league symposium in 2014 that they should ‘get a fall guy’ to help them avoid trouble. Carter posted his apology on Twitter after an ESPN article drew attention to the remarks he made during a presentation last year. He told a group of rookies from NFC teams in the session that if any of them were to get into trouble off the field, it was important to have someone who would step forward and take the blame. The NFL had video of the talk on its website for a year, but it was pulled after it came to light on Sunday night. ‘Seeing that video has made me realize how wrong I was,’ Carter tweeted.” Or in this case… twitted.
Love the banning sugar and fat from the fair
so that would cut the crowd in half.
Half?
Even that is pudhing it!
Ban….
fat and sugar from the fair???? No one would go.
News Flash, Mr. Johnson
Minnesota is not a southern state. In fact, three years after gaining admission to the Union, Minnesota was the first state to offer troops to quell this particular bit of “heritage.”
Let us know when someone says you can’t demonstrate on the steps of the Capitol. Or are you just trying to provoke something?
Not. Funny. At. All.
Your “joke” about a custodian eating at Subway was totally uncalled for. Child pornography is not fodder for humor.
Aww, you know I love you, MinnPost!!
(Author of the “dreck” criticism here.) It was just this one particular article that wasn’t up to par. I bring it up because I love you. Honest.
Actually, if you read the original article closely, I didn’t call the report “dreck.” I merely said sarcastically, “I can’t imagine a website ever stooping low enough to publish scary-headlined dreck simply to increase page views.” And I was speaking generally.
I know y’all will do better in future. We’re still friends, right? You’re still the best by a mile.
Someone needs to school this Confederate yahoo
on the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. They are credited with saving the battle of Gettysburg for the Union Army when they knowingly and willingly charged a Confederate force 10 times their size. They suffered 82% casualties in that battle. With that in mind, I say the Confederate flag has NO PLACE in Minnesota. If this dude is so proud of his “heritage” (Not knowing which side you family fought on kinda makes that difficult to believe.) maybe he ought to bite the economic bullet and move back to whence he came. Kind of funny though, all these years and the North is still the economic engine of the Union. While states like South Carolina, who takes back $1.92 for every dollar paid in federal taxes, are an economic drag on the rest of us.
Sounds like…..
the 1st Minnesota volunteer Infantry is right up there with Custer and his men in charging a force 10 times their size.
State Fair
I am boycotting the State Fair to protest animal abuse. Namely–
1) Sows (mother pigs) being confined on their side in a steel cage for 21 days after giving birth (to facilitate nursing piglets), then prodded to get up and walk to truck for transport to slaughter while squealing loudly for their piglets. This may be the most barbaric animal abuse on the planet.
2) Transporting very pregnant animals to the Miracle of Birth building to give birth under bright lights with thousands of people standing there staring. The decent thing to do would be provide a darkened shelter for the animal and televise/show on screen for people to witness. [Too many lights on in the building; electricity has a high environmental price tag.]
BLM and Libertarians
Recently The Blaze had a good article on Bernie Sanders in SC, but perplexingly (to me) they interviewed two different, young black Libertarians. From what we’ve learned about Marissa Johnson (who interrupted Sanders in Seattle), she appears to be a Libertarian (Tea Party parents, high school support for Sarah Palin, etc.).
Is there a national black Libertarian movement? And if so, are black Libertarians helping to organize this BLM march on the Fair?
I ask because as an older student in the ’80s, I watched Marxist organizations try to subvert the anti-Apartheid movement by pushing unattainable goals on them. They wanted the movement to fail so they could recruit from the embittered veterans of that fight.
More and more I’m beginning to suspect that the OWS-like loose-knit nature of BLM is subjecting them to either some impractically radical leadership, or possibly deliberate subversion in the form of bad strategic planning. I’ve been doing political organizing since the ’70s, and I can think of no cause that would benefit from this kind of protest march on the Fair.
I’d love to know more about black Libertarians and BLM because so far someone is giving some BLM groups some really bad advice and direction.