As "Presidential" as a fart. The awkward pauses when nobody laughs at supposed punch lines. Keeps on. Keeps on. This a a United States Senator. Not some street performer with a hat down for spare change. And Beto was the other choice!
Fifteen in '21 - it is shameful people have waited that long - 2015-2021 - while continuously denied such a rock bottom labor wage an employer would be forced to pay. Howie Klein:
Regardless of Biden's bullshit about a stand-alone minimum wage bill, it is impossible to find a pathway to overcome the GOP filibuster of this approach to the minimum wage increase, especially with conservative Democrats-- Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema-- making common cause with the Republicans against it. You need 60 votes to bust the filibuster in order to get to the underlying issue and vote on that. 48 Democrats might be joined by 4 or 5 Republicans-- 6 tops-- and that doesn't do it. The enemies of the working class-- and that includes Biden-- are getting their way on this. Abolishing the legislative filibuster would be much easier-- 50 votes would do it. But, again... Manchin and Sinema. And Biden. Jacobin writer Branko Marcetic doesn't beat around the bush when it comes to the way Biden wants to be seen as an ally of working families-- "we included the $15 minimum wage"-- while stabbing them in the back behind the scenes. At best, you could say that Biden sure isn't fighting as hard for the minimum wage as he is to confirm reactionary OMB nominee Neera Tanden.
"A longtime priority of the labor movement and the broad Left," wrote Marcetic of the $15 minimum wage, "the measure was one of the few big-ticket items Joe Biden had agreed to adopt from Bernie Sanders’s platform after vanquishing him in the Democratic primary. Though its impact would be seriously eroded by inflation compared to when it was first proposed, getting it passed would have still been transformational and life-changing for many, given that it would raise wages for 32 million workers, narrow the racial pay gap, and boost incomes for single-income parents, disproportionately mothers.
If Biden had it in him, he'd keep the campaign promise. The opera ain't over.
Try as I might, with some effort, I could not locate Executive Orders on the whitehouse.gov website. Are they unposted? Trump transparency, a/k/a continuity?
On Friday’s “MSNBC Live,” House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC)
reacted to the Senate parliamentarian ruling that a minimum wage
increase cannot be passed under reconciliation by stating that “We are
not going to see the filibuster being used to deny economic security.”
And “I’m not too sure President Biden is going to allow a filibuster to
stop this pay increase.”
Clyburn said, “Now, there are several ways around the
parliamentarian’s rulings. I don’t think that President Biden will want
his vice president to overrule the parliamentarian, but I’m not too sure
President Biden is going to allow a filibuster to stop this pay
increase. The filibuster is anathema to so many in the communities that I
represent. The filibuster was used to deny voting rights. The
filibuster was used to deny fair judges. The filibuster was used to deny
civil rights. We are not going to see the filibuster being used to deny
economic security. So, I suspect that we’ll find a way around what the
parliamentarian’s ruling was. I certainly hope so.”
Strong wording used whether for pressure or as an assurance of solidarity sufficient to get a done deal done, Clyburn has been a Biden campaign barometer, and into the Biden term, Harris is installed. There is inherent charm to the Ilhan Omar suggestion, "Fire the parliamentarian." It mirrors Trump's Session/Whitaker/Barr degradation and tarnish of the integrity sometimes accorded the Justice Department (would Diogenes succeed if looking for justice there).
The SOB is giving no reason so far to vote for him or Harris in 2024. It is that simple.
Student debt relief, Biden-Harris is MIA. Decent healthcare reform, ditto. And with the indecency of not demanding Congress give him a fifteen buck minimum wage bill he is more reprehensible than Greene because he holds the power to be better.
Greene is just an idiot elected by other idiots, while all Biden has handed out is Neera Tanden. BFD. Neera Tanden is unimpressive. Biden's term so far, ditto.
What else needs to be said? Thanks, to Rep. Clyburn? Not from me. No way.
_________UPDATE_______
On the fifteen buck question, ZeroHedge, here and here. Guardian.
Links are given, make of them what you will. This whole question about a livable minimum wage is sick, as is the opposition to healthcare reform via single payer healthcare as a right thinking.
Just Do It. Stow the theater, do the fucking job. It is not difficult, nor should it be wrongly characterized as complicated. Do the job. It is why you creepy guys are getting paychecks. Do it.
Strib nicely carried an editorial board post from Orlando Sentinel. The Crabgrass headline is fourth-from-last paragraph of the Sentinel thought-piece, which closes out:
As much as we would like to
welcome to Orlando a thorough and thoughtful examination of today's
issues based on conservative principles, that's not what we're getting.
Instead, a political clown
car is arriving on I-Drive, driven by Sunday's keynote speaker and
today's undisputed leader of conservatism — Donald J. Trump.
William F. Buckley would weep at the thought.
If "conservatism" is so elastic that Buckley petulent nagging and Trump soulless debasement of everything decent are put under the same rubric, the term "conservatism" now has degenerated into an excuse for an extravagant bitch-in by losers. (Unlike Buckley's "conservatism?")
Of course, opinions can vary. Pence, etc. not taking part. Something too egregions for Mike Pence is severe, given how loyally he endured Trump's shit without a peep of protest until the Trump Jan 6 speech hanging Pence out to dry for refusing to dishonor himself by clownish skullduggery against the rule of law.
Biden won. Trump came in second. Bitch, bitch, bitch at CPAC will not alter that.
Yet, Orlando hosts what it hosts; Florida, land of the Bush election robbery from Al Gore, gets back to what it cares about - voter suppression and theft of elections, which is okay-conservatism, when it was the Bush family doing the stealing.
An image, screen capture of top three speaker image rows, for this coming CPAC.
click image to enlarge, read, and laugh
Oh my! CPAC in listing speakers appears to put its featured favs first, letting Senators and Reps have bottom billing to the likes of Pompeo, Noem, host state's guv, Scott Walker, and, Christsakes, Pete Hegseth!!!!
The Sentinel editors did not get to specifics, but would Bill Buckley have stooped to share a stage or conference with a third-rate FOX stooge? The guess here, yes he would have if the alternative were keeping Hegseth and dumping Buckley. That view of Buckley conflicts with the Sentinel editors' adoration, but Buckley was who he was, and he'd grudgingly share billing with Hegseth - or Scott Walker - rather than doing what "Hang Mike Pence" did, refusing an invitation.
A sad lot of loud and offensive Trumpists, boxed into what "conservatism" means to today's CPAC mavens. It is their dog and pony show, to do as they choose; just who can take that latest instantiation seriously as anything but Trump's-IT-WhatWEGot opportunists and soreheads.
Thug. That she tweets like one is ancillary to her existence as one.
UPDATE: More, here, here and here. A decidedly awful nominee, even for dog catcher. She'd catch dogs of the poor, letting dogs of the rich run roughshod.
Close to the Clintons and Podesta, she's part of the problem, not a part of anyone's solution. OMB offers too fat a chance to serve the wealthy, and Tanden's history is fat chance she'd bite the hands she's been feeding from.
Just a bad person, with a bad history, tied to bad people.
BusinessInsider, headline, "Mike Pence declined an invitation to CPAC, where Trump is the headline guest and the MAGA crowd has taken over."
The CPAC 2021 speaker index; as to cause to decline a slot based upon the Lay down with dogs, get fleas, principle. Cancun Cruz will be speaking. Missing constituent heartache is one thing; missing CPAC is another.
It looks, I may have missed it, but it looks as if Ann Coulter will not be a speaker. Q? Whether or not Q speaks we do not know. Almost any one of that bunch listed could anonymously be Q.
McConnell and Mitt absent too.Latest of "The Week" magazine covers. Too bad we no longer have Paul Ryan to kick around too. Is Angry White Men and Angry Evangelists lopped together into a single basket a coherent base? Is it only a personality clash between Trump and the new Mike Pence (and/or Trump and the same old, same old Mitch, who gets on without a foot really in either of those Angry camps, but is allied to each whether he likes it or loves it).
Liz Cheney? Double check the roster, but expect her absence.
A source familiar with Pence’s thinking told Breitbart News not to
read too much into this decision, noting he is spending the immediate
timeframe after his term in office focused on family and getting pieces
into place–like accepting senior positions at the Heritage Foundation
and Young America’s Foundation, as Breitbart News reported. Expect Pence to be very vocal in the coming months ahead, this source said.
In the meantime, former President Donald Trump will be making his
first post-presidential appearance at the conservative gathering in
Florida next weekend, according to reports.
Trump has been keeping a relatively low profile since he retired from
the White House to Palm Beach, Florida, in January, but reemerged last
week to conduct a series of phone-in interviews to commemorate the death of conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh.
Trump has a long history with CPAC, which played a key role in his emergence as a political force.
[italics added] "focused on family?" It's what James Dobson would want, isn't it?
First 100: Growing Pains Between Biden and the Left -- On education finance, immigration, and the minimum wage, the strains of governing begin to show. by David Dayen - February 19, 2021
[...]
The left has viewed Joe Biden with skepticism throughout
his presidential campaign and the transition to the White House. But a
popular story in recent weeks has been this idea that Biden has tamed
the left, through outreach and hiring of certain personnel and adoption
of certain agenda items. I think the transition was relatively smooth,
and the large relief package has kind of overshadowed everything else
going on.
But this marriage, if you could even call it that, was never going to
last. Progressives simply want more than Biden is willing to give. Yes,
Biden positions himself in the center of the party, and that center has
shifted left. But that’s not going to be good enough for a lot of
people, and there’s still decades of reflexive recoiling from aggressive
policy to cut through.
We have seen this most directly in the debate over student debt
cancellation, which I think we can say that Biden really doesn’t want to
do. He obviously is unwilling to cancel up to $50,000 of an
individual’s debt, which has been set up as the left pole in the debate
since Elizabeth Warren got Chuck Schumer to come aboard with it. But
when Biden talked about this at the Milwaukee town hall, you could see
from his arguments that he isn’t interested. He opposes the idea of
cancelling debt from people “who have gone to Harvard or Yale or Penn,”
who would be eligible whether the threshold is $10,000 or $50,000. (By
the way only 2 percent of Harvard students
have federal student loans; they have need-based scholarships.) He’d do
the $10,000 if Congress gave him a bill but he knows that Congress
won’t; even if the filibuster is abolished it’d be dicey in the current
Senate.
I think there’s a fear that the broad public would get mad about
special breaks for elite college students, but the kind of people who
take out student debt are children of middle-class families. The left is
pretty invested in this issue, and there’s been a lot of pushback. The
latest is that Biden will ask his Justice Department
to review the legality of executive action. But that will take many
months, and kicking things to a review traditionally is how politicians
make them go away.
[...]
You can’t talk about a split between Biden and the left without
making room for the $1.9 trillion rescue package about to move through
Congress. That includes a great deal of long-sought progressive policies
like a child allowance (though it could be better structured), robust
funding to support child care and expanded broadband infrastructure, and
bigger subsidies for Affordable Care Act exchanges. Administration
officials have been pushing for the biggest bill possible.
But even here, a couple moves are concerning. Biden keeps saying, in public and now in private,
that the $15 an hour minimum wage will be taken out of the bill. He
always couches this by saying that he really wants the increase, but
it’s completely unclear how things will proceed. (Admittedly, to set up a
parallel process for passage would amount to pulling it from the rescue
bill.) Biden’s also floating a smaller number like $12 or $13. In addition, with $1.9 trillion a cap in the reconciliation instructions, you’re starting to see bargaining that would cut programs like paid federal sick leave or health insurance subsidies for laid-off workers out of the bill.
How chicken-shit can the man be against those who suffer? He will show us. More and more, he will show us. One term, with disasterous midterm election results is the guess here.
Who really likes Joe Biden? Besides Hunter and Jill, (who out of yearning emotion wants us to call her "Dr. Jill.)" Pretentious? Worse? A symbol of something else? Simply, as it is? "Dr." can prove to be a usage with much elasticity. Per that last link, we await some promising grower to introduce a "Dr. Jill" strain.
Not thinking much of the man, the link exists, and readers can read.
He was Obama's hatchet man; and a big part of the Obama be-less-than-you-might-be presidency. Mediocre as a big city mayor. Suspect in a foreign relations post. Bad choice. Another Neera Tanden kind of brainfart by Biden. Paying off some kind of political IOU he held on Biden, who knows, but far from being a good choice.
Hopefully Biden draws away from Emanuel. Likely he will not. End of post.
Not thinking much of the man, the link exists, and readers can read.
Ellison would have been better for down ballot grassroots victories. Ellison got waylaid by a machine which ended up making the Democratic Party far less than it might have been, and Clyburn/Biden business happened on the Perez watch. Long term disasters sometimes take a bit of time to prove themselves for what they are.
Dominion Voting Systems files $1.3B defamation suit against Mike Lindell, MyPillow over spurious election fraud claims - The federal lawsuit comes after weeks of warnings from the company and beckoning from Lindell for court action.
It is a brief well structured report, so readers should seek out the original.
For this post, only the closing is quoted:
Dominion has also sued Trump's personal lawyer Rudy
Giuliani and pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell over their efforts to
spread claims about the company in a bid to overturn the 2020 election.
Before suing Lindell, the company sent the MyPillow executive at least
three notices seeking retractions of his statements and warning of legal
actions.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to startribune.com for more throughout the day.
What that means is that two lawyers who have made names for themselves, Giuliani and Powell - (think what you will of the how and why they got there) - are basically disqualified from representing Lindell. Who's left? Who will be trial counsel for Lindell and his bedding firm with over a billion of alleged damages at issue?
There are the Trump impeachment trial lawyers. They got the Senate to acquit. There's Wardlow. Wardlow is Lindell's personal attorney; and attorney for the My Pillow firm. There are many, many other choices.
An opportunity for Doug Wardlow: With Wardlow wishing to be Minnesota Attorney General, this would be his chance to show his trial court chops. There is Andrew Parker, who handled the Monahan part of Wardlow's prior run against Ellison. Parker is an experienced and well regarded trial attorney. Might he take the case? If Wardlow were to defend, he'd gain name recognition. However, with a case that could consume much time and run past November 2022 before reaching any resolution, might Wardlow decline the chance?
Of course such questions are secondary to the base question everything hinges upon, can Lindell prove his claims?
UPDATE: While obvious, it helps to expressly say -- Presuming Lindell is not a fool, he would not have encouraged a suit against him and his firm without having his legal team set and ready. Without regard to who actually does the heavy lifting defense, surely Wardlow would have been active in helping Lindell ready himself for the fray. If Lindell and Wardlow decide Doug is up to the task alone or with co-counsel, Wardlow could make a national reputation for himself if Lindell were to prevail.
As Strib's author wrote, it is an ongoing story, so stay tuned.
FURTHER: Another obvious point worth noting, this is now put up or shut up time for Lindell. With Wardlow having clearly tied his political future to Lindell, in a sense it is put up or shut up for him, also. Bleating "law and order" over and over again cannot remove the fact of his tie to Lindell and hence to allegation of election fraud in ways that the Trump white non-college male base embraces. For better or worse Wardlow has "married" Lindell's viewpoint by allying with him and accepting Lindell's paycheck. How that shakes out, net positive or net negative for Wardlow, will be clearer as time passes. The place and role of Wardlow in Lindell's adventures will be an ongoing reality, one well worth watching, however the two resolve future moves.
FURTHER: The AP feed on Lindell being sued is carried online here. In closing of that coverage, a single sentence:
Lindell told the AP: "You bring it on, Dominion, because I want everybody to see."
Hence it seems that the likelihood of a settlement at present seems dim, at best.
Also in the Chan.5 report, "Lindell and MyPillow's general counsel, Doug Wardlow, did not immediately return messages seeking comment Monday." That is to be expected. A hope is that as soon as the Lindell/My Pillow camp files a notice of appearance that event will draw press reporting. Again, we have to presume Lindell's approach included setting a legal team at ready. So that counsel would be able to be prompt in appearing in defense.
____________FURTHER UPDATE____________
Tuesday, Feb. 23, Strib updated its Lindell-litigation report, new info including:
On Monday, Lindell remained defiant.
"They sued Sidney [Powell]
two months ago and they haven't done a thing to her. This is all smoke
and mirrors and just a big play for them," Lindell said.
Yet a significant delay in
Powell's case comes after the company had to hire private investigators
after Powell "evaded service of process for weeks," according to a court
filing. On Monday, Dominion attorneys told reporters that they hope
Lindell follows through on his own previously stated desire for a speedy
legal process.
Speaking just after Dominion
filed its suit, Lindell described having marshaled a defense team that
he called his "offense" and seemed ready to engage in court. Lindell
declined to say who would be representing him in the lawsuit. Doug
Wardlow, a Republican who announced recently that he would again
challenge Attorney General Keith Ellison in 2022, is Lindell's general
counsel.
"I've been gathering
evidence," said Lindell. "I already have my defense, I already have my
evidence. I don't even have to do one more thing."
[italics added] What can be concluded is that neither Lindell nor his firm has filed a notice of appearance since such notice would identify chief litigation counsel as well, possibly, as other support counsel or a firm handling things. Often motions practice lead counsel can differ from trial lead counsel. Will Lindell and Dominion have a "If the glove don't fit ..." moment in things? It surely would make better theater if Johnny Cochran were still alive and a part of Lindell's litigation legion. Will LIndell's funding capacity for a defense spill over to benefit others Dominion is suing? Will Powell and/or Rudy fall on a sword with Lindell skating? Or some different outcome, since similarities and differences apply?
Also, has Lindell's position been that voting fraud occured, simply that, or is he alleging massive fraud altered the outcome of the election. His proof burden to back up assertions he has published would be greater the closer he comes to "Trump won, Stop the Steal." It seems he is keen to assert there was sufficient fraud to alter the election from a Trump win to a Biden certification by electors and various state elections officials all of whom have publicly asserted that no significant fraud happened. We wait to see how big a corner Lindell has painted himself into.
Strib's item links to the Dominion 100+ page complaint, should any reader want to go there. Lindell seems to be redirecting heat from Powell and Rudy, to himself, with his "bring it on" bravado. Wardlow's role, if any, remains unclear.
Look has responded to the ongoing criticism by denouncing the harassment
allegations and claiming instead that the two women are harassing him.
He said at a recent board meeting that he will not step down from the
position he's held the past decade, most recently winning re-election in
November with 64% of the vote.
He likely had 64% of the highway signage that election cycle too. Matt prints signs, Matt posts signs. Like Abeler he owns many signs and each gets reelected - in perpetuity?
A sign of the times. Highway signs have more voter gravitas than Facebook.
God bless if so, since at least signs are more informative than stupid.
Shaking lawyers, asserted in headlining and borne out by Strib's report.
I couldn't be making stuff like this up; it is more preposterous than any inventive streak I may have in making things up:
Joseph Field, an Anoka estate planning attorney, sent two
cease-and-desist letters, dated Feb. 11 and Feb. 12, to both Danylle
Peardon and Rachel Keller, weeks after the women shared their
allegations against Look with the Star Tribune.
[...]
In interviews Wednesday, Peardon and Keller said they're not intimidated.
"I didn't get into this to
have someone's lawyer come after me. I got into this to show what kind
of guy [Look] is because I felt like the public needed to know," Keller
said. "I'm not going to be intimidated and shut up by him because he
thinks he is some wonderful person who has all the power."
Peardon said she will not
remove her online statements. "You can't tell me how to feel. I felt
scared," she said. "Take some accountability, say you're sorry, change
your behavior and move on"
Bill Erhart, an attorney in Anoka County for 40 years, provided legal advice to both women.
"I suggest Mr. Look spend
less time on Facebook and more time on resolving the issues in Anoka
County," Erhart said in an interview. "The truth is a defense to any
libel or slander claim. If they're telling the truth, why would they
have to apologize?
Jeez, all you need as a topoff to the pissing match, is for some idiot to start some ineffectual biased online petition. Short of saying "How about stopping pissing on each other's shoes," what would one sensibly petition for?
Strib reporting mentions DFL joining the fray, because they can, not because it comes anywhere near to being a good idea. I feel embarrassment for them. There are higher and better uses of time and resources. Printing signs or something. These people are doing hand wringing over "libtard" which is not a real word anyway.
As noted I could not be making this stuff up. It is too far over the top.
Grow up and govern? What's wrong with that?This level of due diligence neglect happens and Strib devotes multiple online reports on a pissing match?
Who sets priority for what is necessary news? Somebody is missing the boat. Somebody likes theater over substance.
Gee - fear not those mothers and the trouble - fear walks the urban streets - fear of the urban streets - fear of spreading like a cancer to burbs and farmland - our streets - manage the urban man or suffer -
while if you say by image you are against Antifa, (that is anti- anti-fascists), what does that reduce to, as you? Pro-what? (HINT: The enemy of my enemy is my friend?)
Link. Five minutes of tacky pretentious homemade video, and not one image of Bob Kroll. What is Wardlow up to now? Abandoning his biggest booster? Or is it a possible case - wait, there is more? More than amateur hour video? Show it then.
Yes, the pillow guy is not the most secure paycheck, but to get the AG check you have to earn it. Wardlow is not up to that requirement.
So no big announcement. Just drivel. That video link? Embedded by Alpha News.
Same old, same old, same old. Alpha News. Wardlow. Pillow Man. Kroll surprisingly absent - so far.
CFB shows living in Prior Lake, with two Eagan men as campaign chair and treasurer.
UPDATE: Still using that same trinity - Catch the Fire - code button as Ted Cruz uses, and no surprise, he has already an online campaign give-me-money page.
His slow walking in winter video thing interestingly contrasts with his campaign bucks page from short sleeve warmth, summertime, some time, probably a left over photo from during Wardlow's last failed attempt at the AG paycheck.
And - a never abandoned online fact page about who this candidate is:
FURTHER: Purged his video playlist. Has yet to purge all his Kroll stuff, this still online - so gotta scrub, scrub, scrub. (There had been a Wardlow-posted video on the police endorsed bit, where a great screenshot image was captured, Wardlow and Kroll walking past camera. Alpha male, beta male. At some point it can be moved higher on the sidebar.)
McConnell, voting to acquit but then saying Trump did dastardly things does not hang together, but it is what he did. Link.
Wardlow, if actually trying another run against Ellison in 2022, will want the Trump white rowdy vote, and the evangelicals, where the "Hang Mike Pence" business back on Jan. 6 acts as a separating act between both bigoted GOP blocs. It is as if Trump drove a deliberate wedge between the blocs by vilifying Pence over the rule of law, with Trump wanting to hold onto white anger/Angst, as his, while even playing the shabby Bible clutch in front of the church, a stunt aimed for the most gullible of the Jesus bloc. Or perhaps as a code to unleash pent up grumpiness among white men who are not doing well these days.
The "both ways" boys, we can call the two of them, McConnell and Wardlow.
Then, add in Trump for wretchedly posing the Bible and then incitement of the angry white Jan. 6 crowd against Pence for neither giving in to Trump's "I won" idiocy, nor giving in to those telling Pence to use the 25th Amendment - Pence handling that straddle about as well as he could.
However in saying Pence came out looking better than Trump is like saying the flu, however severe, is not a Covid-19 infection, which though true, fails to make the flu a good thing.
In the foursome, neither Trump nor McConnell nor Pence comes across as a total weasel.
Friend Wardlow, what's he up to? Going to announce Mike Lindell has money?
Enough to buy martial law? What?
Lindell's Pillow has lice? (But only a few?)
Wardlow will run for governor?
That would be an intriguing announcement.
Important? You decide.
_________UPDATE________
Wardlow might have something real hiding it under a hat.
Bob Kroll to run for Senate against Klobuchar?
Bob Kroll to be Lt. Gov. candidate, Wardlow's ticket?
With that prep, Facebooking big stuff; will the man let us down?
We are just waiting, waiting, waiting. Wha's 'appening, Doug?
Let the cat out of the bag.
_______FURTHER UPDATE_______
NOTHING, as of Friday, 12 Feb. - so the big announcement might be on Valentine's Day.
Hopefully it is more than a recycle of stale Strib mid-January speculation -
[...]
Many influential Minnesota Republicans are not willing to
discuss Lindell publicly. For his part, Lindell is now also hinting at
rejecting a party whose state leader publicly backed him for governor
last fall.
"I've got problems with both
parties, are you kidding me?" Lindell said, citing GOP governors in
Arizona and Georgia who refused to join attempts to overturn their
presidential election results. "I don't keep in contact with anybody in
the Republican Party."
Doug Wardlow, Lindell's
general counsel, is also considering again seeking the GOP nomination to
challenge Attorney General Keith Ellison, who defeated Wardlow in 2018.
Wardlow was not available for comment.
Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan wrote in a September tweet that the party was "going to make [Lindell] our next governor.
She has since declined to
comment on any would-be candidates, saying that party rules prevent her
from doing so before someone wins the party endorsement. Carnahan's
previous post backing Lindell for governor inspired state Sen. Mark
Koran to launch a campaign to challenge Carnahan as state party leader.
During a 50-minute phone
interview last week, Lindell oscillated between agitation and bombast,
threatened to hang up and angrily refused to say where he was staying — a
departure from past interviews in which he openly described his busy
travel schedule.
"I don't want anybody to know where I'm at," Lindell said, [...]
That
quote from an item focused primarily on Lindell, third quoted paragraph
down, injects contemplation of another possible Wardlow loss to
Ellison, the only mystery being whether Monahan shows up again or
whether Wardlow's moved on (but perhaps still playing a lightweight Sancho Panza to Kroll's Quixotic demeanor and Gestalt).
_______FURTHER UPDATE_______
A teaser behind a subscription/login wall - run for what? Will Klobuchar be on the 2022 ballot? Imagine, DC Doug surprising everybody.
It would be nice, if any activists or officials really are urging Wardlow to run for something, if they'd say for what, and name or otherwise identify any official or activist who is urging such a candidacy (besides Wardlow himself, who's been rather inactive, while not an official either).
Stupendous, bodaciously audacious announcement can be anticipated at any moment now - we wait to cheer or jeer. Or just guffaw for a minute or two, once the deets are unleashed.
Lundeen does have money, and Wardlow and Lundeen have glommed onto one another as soul brothers. Run Doug run. Hide Doug hide.
We simply must induce labor for the birth of this giant of an announcement. Waiting is so difficult. So vexing. Every day the massive Wardlow fan base is pointing to the sky or waving a sign, needing or asking for a miracle. [On reflection, some would understand the last sentence better than others, and for the latter, it was joking, OK? Also, really the size of any Wardlow fan base, massive or not, I cannot say.]
__________FURTHER UPDATE_________
This sounds as if a third party might be cooking, one where Lindell and Wardlow would fit, hand in glove, with Trump, they part of the true believers, Trump smelling money to grift.
(Feb. 13 - 1605ET): Former President Trump has issued the following statement following his Senate acquittal:
I want to first thank my team of dedicated lawyers and others for their tireless work upholding justice and defending truth.
My deepest thanks as well to all of the United States Senators and Members of Congress who stood proudly for the Constitution we all revere and for the sacred legal principles at the heart of our country.
Our cherished Constitutional Republic was founded on the impartial rule of law, the indispensable safeguard for our liberties, our rights and our freedoms.
It is a sad commentary on our times that one political party in America is given a free pass to denigrate the rule of law, defame law enforcement, cheer mobs, excuse rioters, and transform justice into a tool of political vengeance, and persecute, blacklist, cancel and suppress all people and viewpoints with whom or which they disagree. I always have, and always will, be a champion for the unwavering rule of law, the heroes of law enforcement, and the right of Americans to peacefully and honorably debate the issues of the day without malice and without hate.
This has been yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our Country. No president has ever gone through anything like it, and it continues because our opponents cannot forget the almost 75 million people, the highest number ever for a sitting president, who voted for us just a few short months ago.
I also want to convey my gratitude to the millions of decent, hardworking, law-abiding, God-and-Country loving citizens who have bravely supported these important principles in these very difficult and challenging times.
Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun. In the months ahead I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people. There has never been anything like it!
We have so much work ahead of us, and soon we will emerge with a vision for a bright, radiant, and limitless American future.
Together there is nothing we cannot accomplish.
We remain one People, one family, and one glorious nation under God, and it's our responsibility to preserve this magnificent inheritance for our children and for generations of Americans to come.
May God bless all of you, and may God forever bless the United States of America.
Right, and much to share with supporting folks means there will be cashflow enabling within the "much." With the main cashflow sharing being left to the supporting people toward Trump, not the other direction except for rhetoric going in return and as incitement.
He Could call the third party, "Third Party," or "Trump Party," much as with the ties, vodka and steaks - but envisioning here is calling it "The People," with already a ready recycled logo - just change the TRUMP - PENCE part, and Bingo!
A lookback to 2018, the AG race far closer than I'd imagined it could be:
Votes for Attorney General
Candidate
Party
Total Votes
Percent
Doug Wardlow
Republican
1,150,459
45.08%
Keith Ellison
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
1,249,407
48.96%
Noah M. Johnson
Grassroots - Legalize Cannabis
145,748
5.71%
Write-In
Write-In
6,158
0.24%
Over a million people voting for Wardlow is not suggesting too high a discernment capacity in Minnesota's electorate. One question for Wardlow - where on the "Hang Mike Pence" question does the little guy stand? Yeah, he agrees with his friends.
If Wardlow wants another take another shot at the AG office, what role will Andrew Parker play this time, what bogus baseless story to shill, and what role will retired bad cop Bob Kroll play in the Wardlow menagerie?
Yes, Bob Kroll loves him. Beyond that, what else can you say about Wardlow? Pillow guy gave him a paycheck, there is that, but, what else?
What qualities exist, if any, for Wardlow to run upon? That is his main stumbling block. ALSO - Watch - he will duck the Mike Pence thing, and media will give him a free pass on where his heart is. With Pence and the rule of law? Or with Trump and inciting white guys' hate? What say on that dichotomy will Lindell and his money have, with regard to where Wardlow will stand?
“When I met him, I go: ‘Wow, there’s nobody on this planet I’d rather have be my president than Donald Trump,’” he told The Minnesota Sun. Lindell was launched into the political scene after that summer meeting when he came out in support of then-candidate Trump.
Mike Lindell with then-candidates Donald Trump and Mike Pence
“First of all, let me get it straight. I was never a politician. I
didn’t know a conservative from a liberal before I met Donald Trump,” he
said in an interview. “I went all-in to back him and to get behind him
to be our president. That’s when I actually had to learn what liberal is
and what conservatism was. I had to learn all this.”
The guess here is Wardlow will stand again with Bob Kroll, and that is not hallowed ground. Neither is standing in lockstep with Trump's world view; Trump Uber Alles.
__________FURTHER UPDATE_________
MORE TRUMP UBER ALLES - MIGHT MAKES RIGHT OUTLOOK - KROLL
That
power of the union (or federation) has often stood in the way of
reform, perpetuating old-school racialised policing tactics and
shielding officers from accountability.
Harteau attempted comprehensive reforms as police
chief for five years until 2017 after inviting the US justice department
to examine the conduct of the Minneapolis police. The result was a
strategy, MPD 2.0 A New Police Model,
that put a strong emphasis on community engagement, transparency and
public accountability. Harteau said it was consistently resisted and
subverted by the union.
She said that when she
also attempted to address issues around burnout and mental health of
police officers, and to institute an early warning system to flag up
those prone to abuse, the union characterised the measures as no more
than a way to discipline officers and blocked them.
Former
Minneapolis mayor RT Rybak said the 800-strong police union stood in
the way of attempts by successive administrations to change policing
culture toward African Americans and other minorities.
“I
would say the last five mayors are very different people, but every one
has been deeply committed to reforming the police department. Every one
of them. Collectively we have failed to move enough of the levers of
change,” he said.
Mayor,
Jacob Frey, was elected on a promise to reform the police department,
with a strong emphasis on community policing. But he has said the union
has resisted all such change. In addition, Frey said he is “hamstrung by
the architecture of the system” of the union contract and arbitration
which makes it difficult to discipline and dismiss officers for abuses.
The
single largest obstacle, said Ryback, is Kroll and his leadership of
the federation that is resistant to any change away from a style of
policing that minority communities in Minneapolis describe as acting
like an occupying force.
[...] Before he was federation chief, Kroll had a long record of disciplinary actions against him. He was suspended in 2008
with a fellow officer, while out of uniform and without identifying
themselves as police, for beating a man in the street and then having
him arrested on false charges. Kroll has also been suspended for using a
homophobic slur to describe a gay aide to the then mayor, Rybak.
This
week, Kroll was critical of the current Minneapolis police chief,
Medaria Arrandondo, who is African American, for immediately firing
Chauvin and three other officers since charged in Floyd’s death.
The pair have a long history. In 2007, Arrandondo named Kroll in a lawsuit against the police department
accusing it of racial discrimination. Arrandondo and four other black
officers alleged that Kroll made racist statements in front of senior
officers and “wears a motorcycle jacket with a ‘White Power’ badge sewn
onto it”.
The lawsuit also alleged that Kroll
said then congressman Keith Ellison, who is black and a Muslim, “is a
terrorist”. At the time Ellison, who is now Minnesota’s attorney general
in charge of the Floyd investigation, was pushing for reform of the
police department.
The officers alleged that
the force “has a history of tolerating racist and discriminatory remarks
by its white police officers and engaged in discriminatory conduct
against its African American police officers”.
The action was settled for $800,000 and a promise of change.
[EDIT: Hopefully initial readers were not too confused about the screen capture below --- Lost in earlier modification: "Below is a screenshot of the start of the thorough Guardian report; with much left out in quoting:"]
Betting at Crabgrass - Andrew Parker sits this one out, rather than again getting into the pit as last time with the Monahan "video" hoax. Why would he associate, this time, with the likes of Kroll and Lundell already in the pit knee deep in Trump mania (and in Kroll's case, a history of racism allegation and complaint).
Wardlow is likely betting on progressive dissatisfaction with Biden-Harris cutting into DFL 2022 GOTV, where progressives disproportionately do the GOTV scut-work, together with Trump-GOP racial bigotry enhancing GOP GOTV among angry white men.
And that, readers, is why the "Hang Mike Pence" thing Trump did - hanging Pence out to dry for conforming to the rule of law - needs emphasis with the evangelical GOP base where Pence is recognized as one of them, long time, from well before Trump decided to hoax-pose insincerely in front of a church while struggling to correctly hold a Bible (as if it was burning his hands).
FURTHER AND FINALLY: Reflective evangelicals should weigh fairness and intent behind purposeful commentary of others of faith, in senior positions. published in online news reporting during 2018 election campaigning. (Asserting a claim of uncalled for agitation by Wardlow operatives, in a Wardlow mailing to the public.) The Wardlow item preached against Ellison based largely upon dislike of Ellison's faith (while generally expressing and promoting disrespectful anti-Islam memes and cliche biases to voters).
Link. Reporting does not say whether the miscreant was white or black, but in the absence of reporting of any brutality retribution allegations, what's your guess?
Meisner said she will host a town hall in March or April
to discuss best practices and a code of ethics. The meeting will be held
virtually and feature David Schultz, professor of political science and
ethics at Hamline University, with an opportunity for the public to
comment.
Sen. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, tweeted
Feb. 5 that he supports Meisner's efforts: "Every public board ought to
have a Code of Ethics, including the Anoka County Board."
Kim Hyatt • 612-673-4751
Before that in the Strib item, detail of meeting events is presented, including:
Look addressed his colleagues and a small group of
constituents with a written statement denouncing the harassment
allegations, first detailed in the Star Tribune, as his two accusers sat
nearby.
"I harassed no one. Neither
of the two ladies in either Star Tribune articles were harassed," he
said. "I will not be resigning because I've done nothing wrong."
Danylle Peardon and Rachel
Keller have both publicly accused Look of harassment and reported the
alleged harassment to police, saying the commissioner contacted them
directly after they got into arguments with him on Facebook.
"When I place personal posts
on Facebook in a personal capacity, people are free to agree or disagree
or they can choose to scroll past," Look said. "People have
intentionally misled you … with falsified information in an effort to
exaggerate a nonissue for the purposes of creating division within our
community."
Commissioner Mandy Meisner is
pushing for the board to consider adopting a code of ethics in response
to the allegations, similar to what Ramsey, Dakota and Stearns counties
have for their boards.
"We've got a lot of personnel
and staff policies in place that [deal] with ethics and conduct,"
Meisner said. "However, we as county commissioners don't need to uphold
those and so that to me is an area that … we should be stepping up."
Commissioners discussed her
proposal for about 15 minutes Tuesday before the meeting ended at 3 p.m.
Meisner provided copies of the codes of ethics from the three other
counties in hope that the board could continue the discussion at their
next work session.
Look said the board can
further discuss ethics, while keeping in mind "we still have a First
Amendment right to freedom of speech and I intend to enjoy this
conversation."
[...] In text messages Look exchanged with his colleagues,
obtained through a public-records request, Look referred to Peardon
multiple times as a "libtard."
At Tuesday's meeting, Keller
said people online have been calling her a "liberal nutjob," but she
wore a hot pink "Women for Trump" face mask to prove that isn't the
case.
"It has nothing to do with
that. He's supposed to be nonpartisan," Keller said, adding that Look is
"using politics to get what he wants."
[italics added]. "Libtard" must be some form of slang, judged to be pejorative from context, but in any event, an ethics code might discourage slang, particularly if "hate speech."
As to what hate speech might be, good luck on creating a terse code if getting into the "hate speech" thicket. How any legitimate ethics code might have mattered in the Look vs. harassment contenders teapot tempest, readers should guess.
At the amounts the commissioners get paid, and with pressing governing decisions at each meeting, posturing a conduct code might waste time otherwise spent elsewhere.
If Blame is to be had, blame Facebook. For existing. For its disregard of user privacy. For making a generally unappealing and disagreeable person, Zuckerberg, rich beyond value. For being the communication vehicle through which discord was instigated/propagated. Something can be said for having to stand on a soapbox in earlier days to prognosticate.
IN CLOSING: The reported "contacted them directly" is vague. If there was any face-to-face contact prior to this reported meeting is unclear. All reporting by Strib has indicated there was online texting, only (as well as Facebook posting). What "direct contact" implies is open to interpretation, but nothing read online suggests Look showed up on anybody's doorstep; so take that as likely fact he did not, and deescalate from there.
How direct is texting? One can text a group, or an individual only, but "texting only" should properly be distinguished from any face-to-face match.
UPDATE: Would the usage, "Trump nutjob" be a fair usage, or hate speech? Or simply redundant? It does in a sense repeat itself.
The nonprofit Transformative Circle launched an informal survey this month to gauge interest in changing the city's name. Founder and Director Lori Anderson said the survey is all about starting a conversation.
"I've been wanting to change the name since I moved here 33 years ago," she said. "I learned very quickly to say 'Minneapolis' when someone asks me where I'm from."
Coon Rapids' name is derived from Coon Creek, where landowners in the early 1800s hunted an abundance of raccoons for pelts, according to the city's website.
But the name also includes a racial slur. The Jim Crow Museum at Michigan's Ferris State University describes "coon" as a stock character in minstrel performances and "the most blatantly degrading of all Black stereotypes."
Derrick Biney, a minister at Kingdom Covenant International Fellowship in Coon Rapids, said that if you remove the word "rapids" the city's name is racist.
"As an African American male … 'coon' triggers a bad name," he said. "It's obviously meant for a raccoon, for sure, but it was used for African Americans. Obviously it's dehumanizing."
Transformative Circle's survey was open for five days, during which 464 people responded, with 38% in favor of changing the name and 62% opposed. Fewer than half of the respondents live in Coon Rapids, while about 20% shop or conduct business there and 8% work there.
Anderson said some respondents who shared why they are in favor of changing the name "spoke of embarrassment at the name, humiliation of having to explain the origin of the name knowing that the word … is also used as a racial slur."
Some commented that they didn't know the name included a disparaging term.
[...] Mayor Jerry Koch declined to comment on new efforts to change the city's name.
Newly elected City Council Member Kari Rehrauer is the only vocal supporter on the council for changing the name. The city's name should reflect its growing diversity, she said.
About 8% of Coon Rapids' population identifies as Black or African American, according to the U.S. census.
Okay, the easy: North Burbs, MN is fair and balanced, and has no chance.
Creekside, MN and Riverside, MN both are valid, and have no chance.
Politically Correct, MN - not a winner.
Looking to the Strib-mentioned organizations, "Transformative Circle" and "Kingdom Covenant International Fellowship," is there inspiration? Transformative, MN? No. Then, Kingdom and Fellowship are out as names. If the aim is to be politically correct, gender bias fails, clearly.
What to do?
Reflect back a decade and a half or so. Gov. Jesse Ventura days. and Garry Trudeau had Doonesbury looking at mythical politics, in his chosen town in our state, Coon Rapids, with Duke running a campaign from there, Zonker to help -
click to enlarge and read
Bingo. there we are:
HAPPY TRAILS, MINNESOTA
It is warm, it resonates, and Anoka County has pride in its trail system.
Show up at a city council meeting, and in citizen input, mention the naming question, and suggest Happy Trails. It might move council members off the dime. It might even get a response from the mayor.
Some 64% of Republican voters said that they would likely join a new political party if former President Donald Trump were to start one, according to a Hill-HarrisX poll that the Hill reported Thursday. The poll also found that 28% of independents and 15% of Democrats said that they would likely join a third party if Trump were to start one.
All told, some 37% of US voters said they were likely to join a Trump third party, according to the poll.
[...] Trump reportedly considered starting a new party last month. The name of the party is expected to be the "Patriot Party."
Trump has said he may seek the presidency again in 2024, but is currently facing an impeachment trial set to begin during the week of Monday Feb. 8. An impeachment would bar Trump from holding office again.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released in January found a slim majority of Americans believe Trump should be convicted and barred from holding public office. [...] Trump's first impeachment trial, on charges of abuse of power and obstructing Congress after he appeared to pressure the president of Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son, resulted in an acquittal by the Senate, where Republicans held the majority at the time and denied Democrats' attempts to present witnesses.
Not wanting mass defections, the GOP lives and learns.
Expanding a bit upon the post immediately below this one. An item quoted there contained the paragraph,
On Jan. 11, Peardon texted Braastad, asking who Look's boss is, so she could address her concerns about his Facebook post. Braastad replied that Look answers to voters, and suggested Peardon contact him with her concerns. She also asked for Peardon's name, which Peardon declined to provide.
Italics added. The post below was updated, with information that the complainant, anonymous at the time but later identified in Strib reporting had a criminal history which might or might not be relevant to credibility.
There exists a WordPress blog, purportedly being published from within the Anoka County Board district Matt Look represents.
Whether support of this ANONYMOUS posting person is a help or hindrance to Matt Look's political career is an uncertainty; as is the identity of the posting person.
HOW CREDIBLE IS THIS OUTLET? HOW MORE OR LESS CREDIBLE WOULD IT BE IF THE PUBLISHER PUT HER/HIS NAME TO IT?
This Crabgrass post is not posing an answer. Only posing a question.
Arguably sensible reasons for anonymous posting can exist, e.g., fear of job loss if not posting anonymously; or fear of retributive political hurt.
Freedom of anonymous speech, particularly political speech, has been before the Supreme Court in the context of posting/publishing person(s) will and choice to remain anonymous. In the context of election brochure and or sign erection related to election campaigning speech, see, e.g., McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Comm'n, 514 US 334 (1995).
The right to un-anonymously post things on the internet is a current issue, with Parler closed and Trump accounts closed by internet portal operations.
The right to voice thoughts, however biased, dumb or puerile, should be respected, but readers must ask, if I know the person's name and/or history, can I better assess credibility? Surely so, but often enough, e.g., the Reflections in Ramsey example, a view of credibility is often suitably determinable from the content of what is posted, itself, without knowing authorship.
What the Reflections in Ramsey blogging also shows is a good hint of the background from which the Strib Feb. 3 and Feb. 4 stories discussed in the post below this one originate.
Polarized opinion, anonymously posted IS protected speech. Whether it is at all credible to reasonable people is another separate question.
For readers outside of having personal knowledge of the immediate situation Strib reported. in its local historical and political context, this present Crabgrass post might illuminate a bit of context. That is the intent.
Should you wonder whether Matt Look or any other local politician embraces or renounces things posted via that anonymous blog; you have the right to ask. That right is part of the full penumbra encompassed by the Constitutional right to "free speech."
If you are a voter in Anoka County within any of the Board districts wondering who among candidates embraces or opposes the things posted on any blog or other news or opinion outlet, ask. It is that simple, and any office seeker declining a response can be judged by that as well as if you attain an affirmative yes or no.
Citizens do have rights, especially the right to ask. Career politicians in turn have the right to respond, or not.
If whether a candidate for office supports or disagrees with Trump's assertion the election was stolen from him by voter fraud IS an important question to you in casting a ballot, before election day ASK.
If getting stiffed or a song and dance instead of a clean answer, weigh that in choosing. It is a clear tight question deserving a terse and informative - dissembling free - answer.
_________UPDATE________
Taking another context from today's Strib reporting, another obvious possible area to ask politicians exists. If you care about it enough to ask, the person questioned should care enough about constituents to honestly answer. And credibilty assessment, which is perhaps more subjective than objective, can hinge upon whether an evasive or direct and honest answer is forthcoming. Evasion and declining to reply are opposites to a forthright quick understandable and responsive reply. As to evasion, note how one Justice commented on a porn-speech case, "I know it when I see it."
Background: As a resident of Ramsey since the late 1990's I am familiar with Matt Look and his political thinking, with which I generally disagree. We have talked from time to time - not a friendship thing but about official city and county things - and Matt is aware that I generally have voted against him as my rep, while not publicly expressing, in blogging, any opinion on the last election which to me was, "between two Republicans."
With that as a background I read in Strib, Feb. 3 and Feb. 4 online, of what to me is an escalated pissing match where adults should behave, but where otherwise I do not criticize anything Look did. Leaving well enough alone is a core old saying, but Matt is in politics where judgments can differ but where speech is Constitutionally protected, with "harassment" being substantially more than speech.
Read the two items. Excerpting may be used in the following, but the following presumes that any reader of it who may be confused should go to the Strib items for clarification.
Basically two women are accusing Look of harassing them when there was Facebook posting neither liked and did not simply move on, but got into a pissing match about what Look had posted. If you read the items differently, bless you; because that is what I hope every reader of this post will do - reading the Strib originals. These two isolated instances were separate in time and there is no clear evidence either knew the other, or of the other.
Start with the first Feb. 3 Strib item - from early in the text:
A St. Francis woman says an Anoka County commissioner harassed her repeatedly after she raised concerns about a message he posted on Facebook as the insurrection by supporters of former President Donald Trump unfolded at the U.S. Capitol.
Danylle Peardon said her concern about the post quickly shifted to concerns for her safety.
In her mind, shifting may have happened but actually, use the reasonable person standard, not somebody who instigates a disagreement and then becomes a-twiter over perceptions the reasonable person might see otherwise.
Were I in Look's place, I'd possibly have avoided an escalation - which always was in speech, and not in anything else - but an escalation happened, involving speech, which is soundly protected for many varied good reasons. Political correctness does not trump speech rights, despite some shift in some attitudes. More Feb. 3 Strib -
Peardon contacted other county leaders and staff in hopes of addressing her concerns but was unsatisfied with their response. Now, she is grappling with a reality of governance in the age of social media: Commissioners aren't held to a code of ethics and, like their constituents, can say or do what they want, so long as it doesn't break the law.
"[Look] sees no concerns with his actions," she said in an interview. "Who is holding him accountable?"
No "code of ethics" is going to survive a reasonable freedom of speech challenge, and exercise of free speech is not, NOT, NOT in any sensible perspective unethical. More Feb. 3 Strib -
On Jan. 11, Peardon texted Braastad, asking who Look's boss is, so she could address her concerns about his Facebook post. Braastad replied that Look answers to voters, and suggested Peardon contact him with her concerns. She also asked for Peardon's name, which Peardon declined to provide.
The next day, Peardon got a text from a number she didn't recognize: "Matt Look's boss here. I understand you are trying to reach me. What is the issue?"
Peardon said she did a Google search and found the number belonged to Look Sign Inc., the commissioner's political-sign printing company. The two exchanged several messages in which Look claimed to be with Anoka County administration and Peardon countered that she knew the number belonged to Look and that she, as a constituent, was "1 of your many Boss's [sic]."
If you see anything besides a childish pissing match in all that, bless you. The woman wanted to try to lay hurt on Look, and then fit the "can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen" old saying when Look took umbrage. If I were in his place with someone trying to cause trouble over a Facebook post - while I don't use the damned thing and never will, hypothetically - I'd be honked off too. But again, what is the adult reaction and what is "heat of the moment" in the context of you get into a political move you should expect a counter move.
Next, and to me it's a hoot -
"If you contact me again I will file a restraining/harassment order," she wrote.
Look responded that, based on Peardon's address, she wasn't a constituent.
"I feel in fear for my life, now you are looking up my address which is obviously incorrect because he was on my ballot!" Peardon wrote. "I will be making a police report right now please leave me alone I'm begging you you're making me very scared."
Look responded: "Lol."
Peardon asked three more times for Look to stop texting her, each time eliciting a response from Look. Fearing for her safety as a single mom living with her teenage son, she said she called the Minnesota Attorney General's Office and was advised to file a police report.
You start shit, and it begins to stink to you, remember who started it. Opinions can differ. Escalation happened -
[Apparently after Peardon contacted cops - Strib being unclear] Officer Kurt Greene with the St. Francis Police Department came to Peardon's home Jan. 12, according to the police report.
Peardon told Greene about Look's Facebook post, the report said. "She did not like that a politician was making comments like that."
The report states that Peardon was concerned for her safety since the person texting her indicated they had her address. She shared on Facebook later that day that she had filed a police report, and she posted images of Look's deleted Jan. 6 post and screenshots of their texts.
Look texted Peardon on Jan. 13 asking her to remove her post. Peardon reached out to Greene, who advised Look to stop contacting her, according to a follow-up included in the report.
A classic "I get the last word in" match; no winner expected, but childishness is not illegal (nor wise). Last excerpt from Strib, Feb 3 -
In an interview, Look said his texts weren't threatening and he wasn't lying about being his boss because he owns and operates his own business. He said he got Peardon's phone number from Braastad and texted Peardon to determine the "threat level."
"I don't know who she is, I don't know if this is a prank, I don't know what sort of crazy is going on here," he said. "I didn't say I was coming over. I didn't say I was doing anything to her. I've made no threat whatsoever."
Peardon e-mailed the County Board and Administrator Sivarajah on Jan. 12 to express her concerns about Look. The only official response she received from the county was a Jan. 13 e-mail from Sivarajah.
"Commissioners are accountable to the voters and have no boss other than their constituents," wrote Sivarajah, a former county commissioner. "I have no suggestions beyond the actions you have already taken."
While the gender of the author of the two Strib items is not known, "Kim" generally is a name given to female babies. Feb. 4 item, by Kim Hyatt, as was the Feb. 3 one -
[headlining]
After harassment allegations, calls for Anoka County commissioner to resign
Anoka County's Matt Look says he won't resign; code of ethics considered.
I see bias in that headlining, clearly so, but reader opinions can differ - opening paragraph, biased also?
Constituents are calling for Anoka County Commissioner Matt Look to resign or be stripped of leadership duties and one colleague is pitching a new code of ethics after allegations that Look harassed a resident.
Also, another woman has come forward with accusations similar to those of Danylle Peardon, who said she became afraid for her safety after Look harassed her in texts and suggested he knew where she lived. Peardon brought her allegations, first reported in the Star Tribune, to county leaders and local law enforcement last month.
Commissioner Mandy Meisner said she was "disturbed" to read the details of Look's interactions with constituents, particularly women, because of her volunteer work with Alexandra House, a women's shelter in Blaine. She said she believes elected officials should be held to a higher standard of conduct, and has asked the board to discuss implementing a code of ethics at an upcoming workshop.
"Unethical conduct of an elected official is unacceptable. It shouldn't be repeated," Meisner said.
What about those constituents? This is a glide and slide knifing. Alexandra House is for battered women, ones fearful of a partner's rage; and Meisner should know better than to insinuate stuff even if she faintly or greatly dislikes Look. Fair is fair, unfairness is sometimes too easy.
What about those constituents? Huh, Kim? You're halfway through the writing and another commissioner is not a constituent, it is not possible.
The allegations are similar to those of Rachel Keller, who contacted Ramsey police Sept. 3 after she said Look threatened her on Facebook.
According to a police report, Keller told police that she made a political post on Facebook regarding Look, who then "sent her a private message about the post."
"He at one point told her 'Game Over.' The victim felt this was a threat," the report said. Police advised Keller that "Game Over" was not a "terroristic threat" and could hold multiple meanings.
"The victim understood and did not want me to contact Look for fear he would escalate the behavior," the report said.
"Victim?" Where did "victim' come up? Look reacted with speech after a published criticism with this "victim." I remember schoolyard fights where a big question was who instigated the personal aggression; don't you?
In the very last bottom quarter of this report, after presenting quotes from other board members none of whom said Look behaved wrongly (but unwisely); in that bottom quarter, hearsay from Board member Schulte that a fellow named Thompson contacted him questioning him about Look's behavior; which Schulte did not call nor hint at as gravely wrong, wisdom of it being the point Look's colleagues, if commenting at all, mentioned - none of them suggesting in any way that Look should resign. Ms. Hyatt appears to have contact this Thompson, to get a quote. Not that he is/is not a constituent of Look, since Ms. Hyatt declined to either find out, or present his status that way to her readers, one way or the other.
Buried at the end of the item - that closing quarter of the post:
Thompson said he reached out to Schulte because he believes there should be some kind of discipline for Look.
"I think the whole situation can be summed up in one word: inappropriate," Thompson said. "The only way we are going to recover from this is to have checks and balances and hold people responsible for the things they say on social media, especially if they are an elected official."
Other county residents expressed similar concerns.
Wes Volkenant, of Andover, asked the board to consider stripping Look of leadership responsibilities on committees and the county Regional Railroad Authority board. Volkenant said a code of ethics is a start, but he doesn't think it will fully hold Look accountable.
John Brillhart of Fridley said he thinks Look should resign.
"I don't think Matt Look deserves to hold office," he said, "and I'm disappointed in the rest of the board for their inability to do even the basics of holding him accountable."
Not one constituent of Look's Board district is identified and quoted as being critical of him. Compare Hayatt's opening Feb. 4 paragraph.
THE COUP DE GRACE OF HACK JOURNALISM-
Quoting "Wes Volkenant, of Andover," that way, and not fairly as "DFL S.D. 35 chair, Wes Volkenant, of Andover, " yadda, yadda.
Yes, a long-time ongoing political opponent has harsh words for outspoken Republican Matt Look, and this Kim Hyatt declines to identify the politics at play. That is indirect deceit of most readers, if she knew, and ineptitude if she did not. I know Wes. He's been DFL for years. A fair man, but hiding a political dimension is not sound journalism.
She did a hatchet job. I do not particularly like Matt, but I think he was treated unfairly. Not defamed per New York Times v. Sullivan, but nevertheless wronged.
_______________UPDATE_________________
Relevant or not, readers should decide, but Peardon has a criminal record. One arguably suggesting a degree of unreliability and/or instability per a reasonable person standard of judgment. Or not.
Nothing is known by Crabgrass about circumstances, plea bargaining if any, or police report content. Crabgrass is only aware of what readers, themselves can find online. Matt Look, by email, (Fri. Feb 5, 7:05 PM) called this fact to my attention. Ultimately, two misdemeanor convictions, within the 2010 decade, not more recently is the gist of the record; probation is now over. It appears at one point in one of the cases felony terroristic threat was charged, but dismissed. Why/how of that detail is unclear from the online court records Crabgrass found and reviewed.
