Quick Hits for 2/1/16

***** - A reminder about the Iowa Caucuses: the media will try their hardest to make the wins today into a one time thing, that we really have to wait until the NEXT primary/caucus to get the 'real story.'  It's a line they'll repeat every 'day after,' for the next four months, until all contending candidates withdraw.  Every four years, they make so much money on this political dog and pony show, they can't help themselves.  The story tomorrow, mark my word, will be "can blank hold their momentum until New Hampshire?"

***** - May I make a formal request that goes beyond arresting the militia members who tried to overthrow the government at a bird sanctuary in rural, desolate, eastern Oregon (good thinking, geniuses), and who called for the execution of numerous politicians, judges and members of law enforcement?  Could we also arrest some of the powerful, high ranking dolts who've encouraged these clowns, and charge them with treason, conspiracy and aiding and abetting?  I'm speaking specifically about dumb as a brick Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, bag of rocks stupid Nevada Assemblywoman Shelly Shelton, and moron with a badge, Grant County Oregon Sheriff Glenn Palmer.  All three of these idiots are not only trying to convince everyone this was something more than an attempt to make western white ranchers immune to federal laws, or an attempted land grab of Federal property for personal gain, they're also rooting for violence.  For the twisted militia members, a 'win' can be achieved by either the federal government letting them break the law and take federal land (stealing from all of us taxpayers), or by killing law enforcement, federal agents and military, in some sort of combat victory.  These three upstanding citizens encourage the militia's "give us what we want, of we'll kill people" mantra.  Many people who have tried to wrap their selfish, money grabbing schemes into some sort of constitutional fight (JP Morgan and the Smedley Butler case, the Whiskey Rebellion), and the western militias won't be the last.  We just need to make sure we make an example of all enemies of the American people, foreign AND domestic.

***** - A lot of people's eyebrows were raised today when the Star Tribune printed a full page "It'd be Un-Minnesotan" anti-bigotry ad, geared towards stopping anti-Muslim rhetoric.  Many people might be wondering where this ad is coming from.  Stop by Blue Stem Prairie and read Sally Jo's excellent coverage of 1) the deteriorating situation in St. Cloud, where MN Republicans have scrambled to cozy up to the worst of anti-Muslim bigotry, and 2) the GOP introducing anti-Muslim legislation in St. Paul.  Then you'll understand why this full page ad was warranted.  (http://www.bluestemprairie.com/bluestemprairie/2016/01/st-cloud-disunity-whered-those-mn-lawmakers-get-that-wild-crazy-bill-anti-sharia-anyway.html, http://www.bluestemprairie.com/bluestemprairie/2016/01/four-mn-house-republicans-introduce-companion-to-senator-browns-foreign-law-bill.html) It doesn't surprise me some Republicans like Bruce Anderson of Buffalo, Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa and the racist Jim Newberger of Becker are hooking up to the hate train, but two names which are co-sponsors of the anti-Muslim GOP House legislation do.  Representatives Bob Dettmer of Forest Lake/Stillwater/Marine on St. Croix and Cindy Pugh of Chanhassen/south Lake Minnetonka have decided to ignore their districts growing metropolitan slant, and have embraced the politics of hate.  I've spent time in Pugh and Dettmer's districts, and they're not stockpiles of bigotry.  They might have some farms and are located a distance from the metro core, but most people work and play in the metro.  This Hail Mary attempt to squeeze the last of the bigotry and hate votes out of those districts is misguided and sad.  Maybe we should deliver boxes of rocks to each of their offices so they can commence with the public stonings they might endorse next.  (One quick side note - my Catholic church service this weekend featured my priest condemning the discrimination and persecution of others, specifically mentioning anti-Muslim hate.  It seems the Republicans are, once again, extolling anti-Christian values.)

***** - High ranking people need to go to jail in Michigan for annihilating the city of Flint's water supply.  The only reason they haven't been arrested is because it's a city with a high minority population.  Governor Rick Snyder and all the Michigan Republicans that enabled this disaster, you're horrible people.

***** - If you want a prime example of how manipulated the media in this town is, just read two stories that were, for the most part, COMPLETELY ignored by them.  The first was the horrible story out of Mound Westonka High School, where students attending a school dodgeball tournament dressed as members of the Ku Klux Klan, and members of the group shared photos on social media, with one student's photo labeled "Grand Wizard."  (http://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/minnesota-high-school-students-facing-suspension-for-dressing-up-like-the-klan-at-dodgeball-tournament/)  Sweet Jesus!  With this story, we could talk about two recurring topics on this blog:  kids whose parents have not taught them how to behave in public, and people who don't understand social media is the same as screaming on a street corner.  Instead, I'll focus on the double standard in media coverage.  In 2013, at Minneapolis Washburn High School, some students took some pictures of the "lynching" of an African American doll, and the public and media, rightfully, exploded with outrage and condemnation.  Why then is the Mound Westonka story so under-reported?  I didn't hear anything about it until I saw it on the national news source Raw Story, who reposted (to their credit) the WCCO story, the only major coverage I could find.  The reason this story was buried is simple.  Mound Westonka is a wealthy, white suburban school.  The media in this town is so afraid of losing advertisers, many of whom live in wealthy, white suburban school districts, a story, which should be front page news, and would be if it were to happen in the Minneapolis or St. Paul public schools, is purposely ignored because it happened in a wealthy, white suburban school. 

The second story has the same double standard exposed.  Back in December of last year, the media in this town was obsessed with the physical assaults happening within the Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools.  Front page articles were written, media programs were dedicated to the topic, and condemnation was heaped upon the inner city school districts for not addressing the abuse issue.  One quote I read insisted, "one attack was too many."  Agreed!  So, can someone explain to me why an assault story out of the Minnetonka school district was ignored?  (http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2016/01/27/fmr-timberwolves-player-fired-by-minnetonka-high-after-assault-accusation/)  The story from WCCO (that's 2 for you!) talked about the firing of the Minnetonka basketball coach, former Minnesota Timberwolf Chris Carr, after Carr allegedly chocked a student at Minnetonka High School after, allegedly, the same student had assaulted Carr's daughter by slapping her.  By my count, we have two alleged assaults in the school, one male student on female student, one coach on male student, and you have the added angle of the coach being a former Minnesota Timberwolf too.  This isn't news worthy why?  Oh that's right, it's Minnetonka, a wealthy, white suburban school.

FACT! - The media in this town downplays problems in white schools and highly inflates problems in inner city schools with high minority enrollment. 

***** - If you have not seen the video for Poliça's latest song, Wedding, here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG8JMSMDICI

The last image is so good, but regardless of what paranoid conservatives fear, it's not a threat.  Poliça is right; the world is changing, albeit far slower than I hoped it would.  The world we were born into, a world of racism, discrimination, unbelievable wealth inequality, hate, guns, religious discrimination and war, is dying, and the new world built around peace, love, compassion, sharing, fairness, equality and justice is getting ready to take it's place.  That's just a fact.  It can't arrive soon enough for me...