I thought I smelled ennui

This is why the BBC is so reliable

There's another thirty-eight seconds of Lee Camp at Drinking Liberally Minneapolis - St. Paul on September 29th. And please remember, Bill Hillsman will be our guest this week, Thursday, October 20, 2011.

I know! Let's arrest Melissa!

But Sheriff, she's nowhere near the tents!

"Details," replies Sheriff Stanek.

One person was arrested yesterday in connection with the tent erection at Occupy Minnesota:

​Occupy MN protesters began setting up tents and shelters on the grassy knoll of the Government Plaza this afternoon, with full knowledge that they are defying the orders of the Hennepin County Sheriff.

However, cops approached Melissa Hill as she stood on the sidewalk just outside the park, far away from the tents. Occupiers noticed and crowded around in what quickly became a circus-like atmosphere.

I beg your pardon?

I guess the people sitting down peacefully around the tents were waaaay too tough a nut to crack, because law enforcement arrested Melissa instead. Perhaps she was hurling hurtful, sarcastic remarks. She has a history of that, you know:

Hill is a well-known local activist and chalker (who recently had her bike taken by downtown ambassadors). She is also, interestingly, the creator of "Kitten for Sheriff," a Facebook campaign trying to unseat Sheriff Rich Stanek by electing an adorable kitten in his place.

The charge? Trespassing and refusal to depart.

It's Sheriff Stanek's world, and we just live in it. But only if he wants us to.

On the radio tonight

I'll be on the Late Debate radio show tonight with Jeff Rosenberg from MNPublius from 10 PM - Midnight. Tune in to hear Jeff and I face off against David Strom and and Laura Gatz. You can listen over the air in the north metro at 95.9 FM or can listen via the intertubes.

Follow me on Twitter @aaronklemz

OccupyMN Day Eight: Transparency

Two words and phrases leapt out at me at Day 8 of the OccupyMN protests:

"Enough!" and
"The 99% are transparent. The 1% aren't transparent."

Enjoy the slideshow (edited by Jen Tuder.) (Warning: background music is NSFW, at least the first three seconds of it.)

Follow me on Twitter @aaronklemz

Running from their own words

Some of you know by now that a couple of YouTube accounts associated with the Dump Bachmann blog have been taken down because of copyright infringement claims by Bradley Dean Smith and Jake MacAulay (their real names; their aliases are Bradlee Dean and Jake McMillian).

These are the guys, of course, who ran a successful scheme for several years to scam the taxpayers by shoving their pseudo-judeo-christian anti-gay crap down the throats of unsuspecting kids in public school assemblies for a fee.

If these guys are Christians, Silvio Berlusconi is a shoo-in for beatification.

But all good thing must come to an end, and Bradlee and Jakee have had to find new markets for their special bilious brand of patent medicine and new ways to support their tax-free lifestyle as "ministers" in the You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International "ministry."

One of the things YCRBYCHI does is what we might call "preachers with card tables." Post-adolescents, inexplicably in Smith and MacAulay's thrall -- and claimed by YCRBYCHI to all be "ordained ministers;" a stunning claim in view of the fact that some of them don't appear old enough to drive themselves and their card table to whatever gas station has agreed to suffer their presence for a day -- hector people for money claiming it's for "suicide prevention" or whatever else the pimply padre thinks the mark might fall for.

Sort of like an extra-annoying Hare Krishna cult.

But I digress. What is more relevant for today's discussion is the is the wholly-owned subsidiary of YCRBYCHI, the Sons of Liberty radio show. It will come as little surprise to you to know that the Sons are Bradlee and Jakee; I mean, who else would they be?

The authors of the Dump Bachmann blog are interested in the Sons for the same reason they are interested in Michele Bachmann: raging homophobia.

The Sons have racked up a rich and wacky oeuvre of podcasts on their crackpot ideas about the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Bible, and what should be done with -- or to -- gays and lesbians. Even the Patriot had to take a break from them for a while.

Which brings us -- finally -- to the point of the post. The "videos" that the Sons complained about were, for the most part, just audio clips of the Sons' own words, already available free elsewhere, perhaps with a photo or two of the Sons with local politicians like Tim Pawlenty or Tom Emmer just to add a little visual interest.

By complaining, the Sons are running from their own words, and trying to hide from them, too, even though they themselves say you cannot hide. For once our punk prophets are right.

These are people who pray and bray in public all the time. They want to make news; what they say is newsworthy, subject to comment and criticism, and certainly fertile ground for parody. These are the widest grounds that exist for the fair use of another's words; the fair use doctrine in copyright law obviously covers and protects the activity of bringing the wretched words of Bradlee and Jakee to an enlightened audience.

Regrettably, YouTube is complicit with Bradlee and Jakee and won't trouble itself to look at the obvious case of fair use presented here. It is much easier to tout all the videos of the cute little kittens or jiggling breasts and collect a little money for each set of eyeballs that happens by. You can apparently get very rich by doing that, but it doesn't say much for your civic values.

Fie on you, YouTube.

Update: it's hard to keep a good man (Ken Avidor) down:

Permit to Occupy

I saw a link to this in a tweet this AM:

Our permit to occupy public squares and parks is in The First Amendment, which affirms “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

When people across the Middle East occupied public squares, leaders in Washington mostly cheered those protesters and warned Middle Eastern governments not to use force to clear them. Those other societies don’t have a First Amendment. Yet Washington affirmed the universal right to assembly and protest.

We do have a First Amendment. The force being used to clear nonviolent protesters from public squares in our country is unacceptable. It must stop.

It's a petition; you should consider signing it.

Occupy Minnesota: David Lillehaug

Here's another brief interview from the first day of the Occupy Minnesota protests, October 7th. This one is with David Lillehaug, a Minneapolis lawyer and former U.S. Attorney for Minnesota.

Join us at five this afternoon on KTNF

This afternoon, during the five o'clock hour, Two Putt Tommy and I will be on the radio on KTNF, AM 950.

Topics for discussion are likely to include Occupy Minnesota, the recently filed whistle blower lawsuit against Well Fargo for gouging veterans (the lawyers representing the whistle blower are expected to call in), the reluctance of marriage discrimination proponents to engage in face-to-face debate, and the recent move by YouTube to censor the Dump Michele Bachmann authors for their careful collection of Things that Bradlee Dean said.

It ought to be a lot of fun. Listen and call in.

In praise of ancient bigots - reprise

This was first posted on January 15, 2007 in response to a column by Katherine Kersten. I ran across it this morning and thought it still had some currency.

Today, Little Miss Sunshine (Katie, not Olive) introduces us to Wendell and Roberta Brown of Roseville. The Browns have lived a life of doing good deeds, including assisting an immigrant who matured into a Republican:

Take Obi Sium, from Eritrea in Africa. "Obi came here on a bus about 25 years ago," recalls Roberta. "He didn't know a soul. At the bus station, he looked in the Yellow Pages and found our church -- North Heights Lutheran. He called and said he needed someone to pick him up and host him until a job interview he had scheduled. He just felt the need for more support than he could get in a hotel room alone." 

The Browns took Sium in. Eventually, he became a professional hydrologist, and last year he ran for Congress in the Fourth District against incumbent [Democrat] Betty McCollum. [italics are Spot's]

Wow! You couldn't ask any more than that from a brown person! Oh, one other thing. The Browns are the driving force behind the Minnesota Family Council:

The couple moved to the Twin Cities in 1964, after farming for 14 years. Wendell eventually became a Farmers Insurance agent and Roberta a homemaker and mother of three. The last thing on their minds was political activism. 

But in 1982, they believed they saw the culture around them crumbling. Convinced of the need to inject "Judeo-Christian values" into politics, they joined the Rev. Morris Vaagenes of North Heights Lutheran Church in Roseville to found the Berean League, later renamed the Minnesota Family Council. It grew to be a national model for such organizations, and today has a staff of 10 and an annual budget of about $1 million.

Why, Wendell, at 85, still has the energy to be the chairman of the Council's "education" arm! Well, they're not really all that interested in education, you see. Wendell and Roberta just want to see that those gays don't get married! The Council is behind Minnesota for Marriage. Sounds pretty ecumenical, doesn't it, boys and girls? But only marriage for the right kind of people.

Here's what Minnesota for Marriage says about itself:

Minnesota For Marriage is a nonpartisan grassroots group of Minnesotans working to pass a State Constitutional Amendment bill defining marriage as "the union of one man and one woman, with no other relationship being recognized as marriage or its legal equivalent".

Minnesota For Marriage is not a homosexual hate group -- we subscribe to the belief that all individuals are entitled to the respect and acceptance they deserve as members of our society. However, this does not mean that we need to agree with those who would seek to redefine the institution of marriage.

Our message is simple -- the people of Minnesota should be allowed to vote on matters of constitutional importance. We need to elect state legislators who understand this basic premise of our democracy.

Okay, Wendell, let's vote on whether to put your pal Obi back in chains! Perhaps we ought to vote on a new eugenics code! The possibilities are almost endless.

Wendell is a perfect example of the dim bulbs in every generation that have to pass from the scene in order to take advantage of advances in science, philosophy, and ethics.

Living in Lesser Minnesota

Minnesota Supreme Court (update: Chief, sorry) Justice Lori Gildea made some regrettable remarks recently in Brainerd about being happy to be out among the real Minnesotans in real Minnesota:

"I'm so happy to be in real Minnesota," Gildea said.

Outside of the Twin Cities, she explained.

Which is interesting, of course, because as Jeff Rosenberg's helpful chart shows, a majority of Minnesotans live here in Lesser Minnesota:

Some of Jeff's commenters left comments along the lines of don't be silly; you're being divisive.

Which is also interesting.

Here are the first three Canons of Judicial Conduct in Minnesota:

1. A Judge Shall Uphold the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary. 

2. A Judge Shall Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in All of the Judge's Activities. 

3. A Judge Shall Perform the Duties of the Office Impartially and Diligently.

By at least seeming to profess allegiance to one geographic (and by implication, racial and economic, too) group of Minnesotans, the Chief Justice makes those of us living here in Lesser Minnesota wonder about her independence and impartiality on matters involving rural and urban division: local government aid, school finance, health and human services funding, and redistricting are all issues that come to mind: issues that have been, and are likely to be again, before Court.

There is a reason why Canon 2 addresses itself to "the appearance of impropriety." Justice Gildea's remarks are an example of that reason. For example, it would be understandable if a plaintiff in Brayton v. Pawlenty would have worried about getting a fair shake after remarks like these.

Oh, wait . . .

Seven GOP lies about the economy

This video has been circulating around the 'net. You may have seen it in other places already. But it features Robert Reich and it's pretty succinct.

Joel Adkins debate call: day six

Last Thursday, I offered to arrange -- or even participate -- in a debate with Joel Adkins about the proposed marriage discrimination amendment that will be on the ballot in November 2012. The day before, Adkins, the chief lobbyist for the Catholic church, penned an overheated op-ed in the Strib about how Catholic leaders (read: bishops and the archbishop) wouldn't be "silenced" on the issue.

Far from prescribing silence, I'm urging you to come out and talk, Joel. You can talk about religion, psychology, sociology, church history, politics, equal protection, or all of them.

But if you won't put your views to the test of a legitimate discussion about them, stop whining.

So far, nothing from Adkins.

Update: There is going to be a debate on the marriage discrimination amendment at St. Thomas on Thursday, October 13th! Here's a bit about the participants:

Maggie Gallagher, President of The Institute for Marriage and Public Policy and Dale Carpenter, University of Minnesota Professor of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law will present their views on the Same Sex Marriage Amendment at the Murphy Institute's inaugural debate on public policy issues for the 2012 elections.

It's free, but you have to register at the link.

Drinking Liberally: upcoming attractions

We have some great programs scheduled for the Minneapolis - St. Paul chapter of Drinking Liberally, programs you won't want to miss.

This week, on Thursday, October 16th 13th (what was I thinking?), we will talk about the first week of the Occupy Minnesota protests. There will be several people there who have been there on one or more days of the protests. Bring your pictures of erudite or funny signs you've seen at the "People's Square." My personal favorite is: Where is our Ferdinand Pecora? What's yours?

On October 20th, our guest will be Bill Hillsman, described by many as the best political pitchman in America. He was instrumental in the upset wins of Paul Wellstone and Jesse Ventura. Bill is the CEO of North Woods Advertising and the author of Run the other Way. Bill's remarks will begin around seven o'clock that evening; he'll talk about the art of the political message.

And on November 10th, Javier Morillo-Alicea, the president of SEIU local 26 and a well-known local political activist, will be DL's guest. That program will also begin at seven.

Drinking Liberally Minneapolis - St. Paul meets every Thursday evening, from six o'clock onward, at the 331 Club in northeast Minneapolis.

Update: And if you're in New York, be sure to check out the new Occupy Wall Street chapter of Drinking Liberally; it meets on Wednesdays near -- of course -- Wall Street.

But where are the light sabers?

When I saw Rachel Stassen Berger's snapshot of Tim Pawlenty's portrait last night, it seemed eerily familiar. And not in an oh, it's the former governor kind of a way. Here's the snapshot:

After a bit, I figured out that Governor Gutshot reminded me of these guys from the Values Voter Summit. After conferring with Avidor, it turns out I was right.

Who are these caped men, you ask? They are the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property. Apparently, they are a precision marching, bagpipe, drum and cross twirling society.

Even though Gutshot might be a little too, um, Prod for them, he does seem to fit right in, doesn't he?

Tea Party or Occupy Minnesota?

Word arrived in these remote precincts last evening that Mitch Berg had cast his trademarked pall on the proceedings at Occupy Minnesota sometime on Sunday.

Anticipating the inevitable jeering -- yet ponderous -- post about the visit, I decided to make a little video comparing Mitch's baby, the Tea Party, and Occupy Minnesota. Here it is. Watch carefully; there are a couple you might miss.



This one is for you, Mitch.

You can read Mitch's post, if you are so inclined, anticipated when the video was made, but now sprung on an unsuspecting public, here.

Update: I saw several tweets about Paul Krugman writing on the significance of the OWS protests. Here is a graf from his op-ed:

What’s going on here? The answer, surely, is that Wall Street’s Masters of the Universe realize, deep down, how morally indefensible their position is. They’re not John Galt; they’re not even Steve Jobs. They’re people who got rich by peddling complex financial schemes that, far from delivering clear benefits to the American people, helped push us into a crisis whose aftereffects continue to blight the lives of tens of millions of their fellow citizens.

Be sure to listen to the second interview on the video carefully.

Further update: Eric Black has more about the protest signs at Occupy Minnesota.

And yet another update: (I am getting into Glenn Greenwald territory; I know that.)  Say what you will about the dress of the Occupy Minnesota crowd, but I didn't see anybody who looked like this:

Sashes and brooches, oh my!

The photo is from slide show at TPM of the Value Voters Summit.

Katie takes a victory lap!

It's far better than writing about something new!

The hed for the column tells all you need to know about whether Katherine Kersten is going to give this one a rest: TiZA is gone, but lawsuit and questions remain.

Katherine writes today -- as she has so often in the past -- about a public charter school that was too Muslim; in truth, it looks like it was. (You might want to read the column, because it is probably the only time you'll ever read Katie praising ACLU - Minnesota.)

The subhed is almost as good: How is it that so few were willing to challenge a public school with an overtly religious curriculum?

Of course, Katie is quick to remind us that she is one of the "few," and how she was nearly martyred for her courage in speaking out.

The thing that is funny about Katie donning the breastplate of the Establishment Clause is that she would throw it out in a heartbeat for a public charter school that was found to be too "Christian," or for sectarian school vouchers (Free Exercise!); you'd be amazed at how fast she would turn on ACLU - Minnesota then.

But I don't think that Katie has to worry about that. If you go over a list of some of just the names of public charter schools, it is pretty apparent that the ACLU - Minnesota is way too feckless to take on a Christian charter.

Occupy Minnesota: Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer

Here's Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer talking about something the Occupy Minnesota crowd can do when the rally is over; it's a pretty good idea, too.



The site that Jack referred to is www.mnasap.org. Here's a chart at the site:

Occupy Minnesota: Keith Ellison

Here's the first of three or four short clips from the Occupy Minnesota Rally at the Hennepin County Government Center on Friday, October 7, 2011.

Send Mike Parry to Congress!

Really? I mean, really? You would really send a poisonous windbag to Congress who would let Mississippi ignore the civil rights laws of the United States because "it's their state?"