Heel and Toe--Bachmann 2.0
1 Comments Published by Loosestrife on Tuesday, July 24, 2007 at 3:12 AM.
'Tis official, there is a new Michele Bachmann.
With the publication of of the Kim Ode's "Watching Her Step" in the Strib, Bachmann enters the Minnesota pantheon of normalcy. The fawning puff piece, part of the occasional Minnesota Profiles series that apparently defines "our" identity, portrays Bachmann as a impetuous 51 year old school girl who has grown up in her brief time in Washington.
She has had bunions. She regrets her time away from her family. She has learned to be "more wary," meaning, I suppose, that she will never ever ever kiss the President on the mouth again.
Oddly enough, that rather passionate act at the end of Bush's State of Nation address has been reduced by Ode to "gripping President Bush's shoulder as firmly as a mother at Target. . ." in her article. What the fuck does that mean, by the way?
What it means is that the rehabilitation and preparation of Bachmann for higher office has begun.
To state it another way, Bachmann is being Klobucharred and Pawlentied. Husband Marcus recedes to the background in Ode's article, while Michele's compelling life story and her Minnesota bona fides take the spotlight: Lutheran, Norwegian, hardworking, volunteering--in a bulky down jacket. You get the picture.
Gone--for the moment--are the batshit crazies, the deep abiding homophobia, the foolishness for christ, the showing of the pink, and the saliva exchanges.
But it was not long ago that Bachmann was purporting that she had inside information on an Iranian plan to carve up Iraq--a story originating from the mainstream media as a conference call interview with the press, as pointed at by the Hammer at Three Way News, not by the blogosphere with "a taste for blood."
And Eric Black pulls this rabbit out of his butt just a little too late. Had his story of Michele's evocation of that good ol' old testament/street justice at the Repug 6th District endorsing convention appeared while he was still at the Strib, we might not need to cringe so much--well at least not at Bachmann's brand of idiocy.
Nonetheless, Black's untimely revelation points to something important: Bachmann is ambitious and ruthless. She has only two Minnesota offices in front of her that could be tempting. Governor Bachmann? Somehow I don't think so.
But Senator Bachmann? That has a nice ring to it. I am sure that if Norm stumbles, she'll be ready, but I think this Strib/Bachmannalia love fest is in fact the opening of the 2012 Senate race wherein Bachmann will engage in a titanic struggle against Amy Klobuchar, that harlot from the city posing as a good mother.
No doubt, God has ordained it.
--Loosestrife
With the publication of of the Kim Ode's "Watching Her Step" in the Strib, Bachmann enters the Minnesota pantheon of normalcy. The fawning puff piece, part of the occasional Minnesota Profiles series that apparently defines "our" identity, portrays Bachmann as a impetuous 51 year old school girl who has grown up in her brief time in Washington.
She has had bunions. She regrets her time away from her family. She has learned to be "more wary," meaning, I suppose, that she will never ever ever kiss the President on the mouth again.
Oddly enough, that rather passionate act at the end of Bush's State of Nation address has been reduced by Ode to "gripping President Bush's shoulder as firmly as a mother at Target. . ." in her article. What the fuck does that mean, by the way?
What it means is that the rehabilitation and preparation of Bachmann for higher office has begun.
To state it another way, Bachmann is being Klobucharred and Pawlentied. Husband Marcus recedes to the background in Ode's article, while Michele's compelling life story and her Minnesota bona fides take the spotlight: Lutheran, Norwegian, hardworking, volunteering--in a bulky down jacket. You get the picture.
Gone--for the moment--are the batshit crazies, the deep abiding homophobia, the foolishness for christ, the showing of the pink, and the saliva exchanges.
But it was not long ago that Bachmann was purporting that she had inside information on an Iranian plan to carve up Iraq--a story originating from the mainstream media as a conference call interview with the press, as pointed at by the Hammer at Three Way News, not by the blogosphere with "a taste for blood."
And Eric Black pulls this rabbit out of his butt just a little too late. Had his story of Michele's evocation of that good ol' old testament/street justice at the Repug 6th District endorsing convention appeared while he was still at the Strib, we might not need to cringe so much--well at least not at Bachmann's brand of idiocy.
Nonetheless, Black's untimely revelation points to something important: Bachmann is ambitious and ruthless. She has only two Minnesota offices in front of her that could be tempting. Governor Bachmann? Somehow I don't think so.
But Senator Bachmann? That has a nice ring to it. I am sure that if Norm stumbles, she'll be ready, but I think this Strib/Bachmannalia love fest is in fact the opening of the 2012 Senate race wherein Bachmann will engage in a titanic struggle against Amy Klobuchar, that harlot from the city posing as a good mother.
No doubt, God has ordained it.
--Loosestrife
(((A repost of last year's thoughts on the anniversary of the Minneapolis police opening fire on strikers in Minneapolis.)))
On this date in 1934, over a 100 Minneapolis police opened fire on unarmed striking Teamsters in at 3rd and 6th, killing 2 and injurying 67. Many workers were shot in the back as they attempted to flee.
The outrage that followed brought an end to protracted battle between labor and the Minneapolis "Citizens Alliance," an association of local employers and civic leaders that operated as a de facto shadow government insuring that Minneapolis remained a "open shop"/anti-union town.
The Citizens Alliance through a fine-tuned system of thuggery, propaganda, philanthropy, and political influence had held off union organizing in Minneapolis for decades. Labor's growing strength forced the capitalist hand in 1934, as Citizens Alliance organized gangs roamed the streets in open battle with striking Teamsters.
While the Citizens Alliance was essentially crushed by labor's victory in 1934, its spirit of capitalist/corporate control of the city's life carries on in various Minneapolis institutions.
The pro-business voice of the StarTribune is a muted but recognizable continuation of the elitist cant of the daily papers of open shop Minneapolis. The Citizens League continues the Alliance's work in a think tank form, influencing public policy in well-written reports that assume that the business has all answers. R.T. Rybak and Peter McLaughlin, opponents in the Mayor's race, both represent the compliant business oriented politics of Minneapolis politicians, required by the business community both then and now.
The Employers Association perhaps continues the "work" of the Citizens Alliance most identifiably, albeit under the auspices of being "your strategic partner in HR and management." Dig underneath that slick home page and the standard HR training functions though, and you find some interesting stuff. EA offers services in "Union Petition Avoidance," as well as consultation in how to effectively deal with unions. EA originated in 1936 as Associated Industries of Minneapolis "to help employers resolve labor-management disputes peacefully and to harmonize employer-employee relations."
So when you looking for the origins of Minnesota Nice--be sure to include 1934 in your search. Forced to give up their open animosity towards all things working class, the Citizens Alliance types reinvented themselves as peace-loving corporate managers looking for harmony between employers and employees. The managed consent of local politics, the cool quiet of public debate, the elevation of the public/private partnership to the level of nirvana, and the lavish praise afforded corporate giving all have roots in the 1934 Truckers strike.
As does the sunny corporate mug of the Target Corporation. I have posted before on the hypocrisy of local progressives' attacks on WalMart while they pull their punches on Target. Really, the people of northwest Arkansas see WalMart almost exactly as the people of Minnesota see Target, as a benfactor contributing jobs and money to the local community.
Target is our own personal WalMart, appealing to Minnesota's need to feel superior to the unwashed south while developing ways to better surveil us, plastering our city in red and white plastic, and keeping unions out of its stores. The abyss is close to home.
This week, the Strib listed "Top Donors in Key Minnesota House Races," and one learns that Target is a leading contributor to the reelection campaign of John Kline in his 2nd district race against Coleen Rowley. Kline's voting record is horrendous, and he is arguably the worst of Minnesota's congressional representatives. He is anti-enviroment, anti-education, and anti-civil rights.
Yet, Target glides on by while labor and the progressive community avert their gaze.
So, on this day, raise your Target marketed glass to the workers in 1934 who fought hand to hand to wrest this town from total corporate dominance. Then smash that glass on the sidewalk in front of the Target corporate head quarters downtown. You'll be on camera, but you are anyway.
And when the cops come to take you away, ask them if they are willing to toast the workers who, by being shot in the back by Minneapolis' finest, helped the same to win their collective bargaining rights.
--Loosestrife
On this date in 1934, over a 100 Minneapolis police opened fire on unarmed striking Teamsters in at 3rd and 6th, killing 2 and injurying 67. Many workers were shot in the back as they attempted to flee.
The outrage that followed brought an end to protracted battle between labor and the Minneapolis "Citizens Alliance," an association of local employers and civic leaders that operated as a de facto shadow government insuring that Minneapolis remained a "open shop"/anti-union town.
The Citizens Alliance through a fine-tuned system of thuggery, propaganda, philanthropy, and political influence had held off union organizing in Minneapolis for decades. Labor's growing strength forced the capitalist hand in 1934, as Citizens Alliance organized gangs roamed the streets in open battle with striking Teamsters.
While the Citizens Alliance was essentially crushed by labor's victory in 1934, its spirit of capitalist/corporate control of the city's life carries on in various Minneapolis institutions.
The pro-business voice of the StarTribune is a muted but recognizable continuation of the elitist cant of the daily papers of open shop Minneapolis. The Citizens League continues the Alliance's work in a think tank form, influencing public policy in well-written reports that assume that the business has all answers. R.T. Rybak and Peter McLaughlin, opponents in the Mayor's race, both represent the compliant business oriented politics of Minneapolis politicians, required by the business community both then and now.
The Employers Association perhaps continues the "work" of the Citizens Alliance most identifiably, albeit under the auspices of being "your strategic partner in HR and management." Dig underneath that slick home page and the standard HR training functions though, and you find some interesting stuff. EA offers services in "Union Petition Avoidance," as well as consultation in how to effectively deal with unions. EA originated in 1936 as Associated Industries of Minneapolis "to help employers resolve labor-management disputes peacefully and to harmonize employer-employee relations."
So when you looking for the origins of Minnesota Nice--be sure to include 1934 in your search. Forced to give up their open animosity towards all things working class, the Citizens Alliance types reinvented themselves as peace-loving corporate managers looking for harmony between employers and employees. The managed consent of local politics, the cool quiet of public debate, the elevation of the public/private partnership to the level of nirvana, and the lavish praise afforded corporate giving all have roots in the 1934 Truckers strike.
As does the sunny corporate mug of the Target Corporation. I have posted before on the hypocrisy of local progressives' attacks on WalMart while they pull their punches on Target. Really, the people of northwest Arkansas see WalMart almost exactly as the people of Minnesota see Target, as a benfactor contributing jobs and money to the local community.
Target is our own personal WalMart, appealing to Minnesota's need to feel superior to the unwashed south while developing ways to better surveil us, plastering our city in red and white plastic, and keeping unions out of its stores. The abyss is close to home.
This week, the Strib listed "Top Donors in Key Minnesota House Races," and one learns that Target is a leading contributor to the reelection campaign of John Kline in his 2nd district race against Coleen Rowley. Kline's voting record is horrendous, and he is arguably the worst of Minnesota's congressional representatives. He is anti-enviroment, anti-education, and anti-civil rights.
Yet, Target glides on by while labor and the progressive community avert their gaze.
So, on this day, raise your Target marketed glass to the workers in 1934 who fought hand to hand to wrest this town from total corporate dominance. Then smash that glass on the sidewalk in front of the Target corporate head quarters downtown. You'll be on camera, but you are anyway.
And when the cops come to take you away, ask them if they are willing to toast the workers who, by being shot in the back by Minneapolis' finest, helped the same to win their collective bargaining rights.
--Loosestrife
More on Kira Simonian Vigil
0 Comments Published by Loosestrife on Thursday, July 19, 2007 at 7:00 AM.
From Crime Blog.
Remember MCAD Graduate student and Whittier resident
Kira Simonian
By joining in a candlelight Vigil
Thursday, July 19th, 9pm
Fair Oaks Park
(SW corner, 24th St & Stevens Ave)
All are welcome to help honor her memory
Josie Shardlow
Community Organizer
Whittier Alliance
10 E. 25th St.
Minneapolis, MN 55404
Phone: (612) 871-7756
Fax: (612) 871-0650
--Loosestrife
Over at Crime Blog, amateur sleuths continue to speculate without any new information.
Buried in the mix is an announcement that there is a vigil tomorrow night at Fair Meadows Park. That is Thursday, July 19, 2007 at 9PM--three weeks after Kira Simonian's body was discovered. I haven't been able to confirm this, but I will assume that under the circumstances the announcement is legit.
I only post this because a fair number of hits have come my way from people looking for information on this case. It's an awful burden to know grieving people are coming to my lowly blog looking for information on this heinous murder.
It is galling that it is necessary, but this is will possibly draw some media attention back to the case, which has apparently dropped off the fucking radar.
We need something. It's been roughly three weeks since the murder, and the media and the police are silent--without even an intimation that an arrest is pending.
--Loosestrife
Buried in the mix is an announcement that there is a vigil tomorrow night at Fair Meadows Park. That is Thursday, July 19, 2007 at 9PM--three weeks after Kira Simonian's body was discovered. I haven't been able to confirm this, but I will assume that under the circumstances the announcement is legit.
I only post this because a fair number of hits have come my way from people looking for information on this case. It's an awful burden to know grieving people are coming to my lowly blog looking for information on this heinous murder.
It is galling that it is necessary, but this is will possibly draw some media attention back to the case, which has apparently dropped off the fucking radar.
We need something. It's been roughly three weeks since the murder, and the media and the police are silent--without even an intimation that an arrest is pending.
--Loosestrife
Kira Simonian was found brutally murdered on June 28 in my old neighborhood. She died of "complex homicidal violence." There were "multiple causes of death" according to the medical examiner.
The press has told us that her husband, a fairly well placed Target employee, was incommunicado immediately after the discovery of her body. But he was located and is "cooperating" now. Beyond that we know that "Captain Mike Martin" says that the public is not to worry.
In the information vacuum, speculation, fear, and depression rule. You can go to crimeblog.us and read Steve Huff's fairly even-handed early take on the murder and 100+ comments that will test your faith in human beings. (Be prepared for the fairly creepy experience of hearing Simonian's voice if you follow the link.)
What I can't understand is how this story was buried by the local media almost immediately, almost like it didn't matter. Is it somehow representative of local attitudes about the worth of an Armenian woman in her thirties, childless, with an artistic bent and a bit of attitude that we can't be bothered? Is it all just too unpleasant? Did she have it coming, living in a decadent and bad part of town? Is it because she ain't from around here?
Or is it that this is a situation that needs to be managed?
At times like these, someone recently remarked to me, we really need a good old-fashioned tabloid in town to keep this murder in our face. With out said tabloid, we get the eerie silence of Minnesota stoicism and business as usual.
Kira Simonian deserves something better. We all do.
--Loosestrife
The press has told us that her husband, a fairly well placed Target employee, was incommunicado immediately after the discovery of her body. But he was located and is "cooperating" now. Beyond that we know that "Captain Mike Martin" says that the public is not to worry.
In the information vacuum, speculation, fear, and depression rule. You can go to crimeblog.us and read Steve Huff's fairly even-handed early take on the murder and 100+ comments that will test your faith in human beings. (Be prepared for the fairly creepy experience of hearing Simonian's voice if you follow the link.)
What I can't understand is how this story was buried by the local media almost immediately, almost like it didn't matter. Is it somehow representative of local attitudes about the worth of an Armenian woman in her thirties, childless, with an artistic bent and a bit of attitude that we can't be bothered? Is it all just too unpleasant? Did she have it coming, living in a decadent and bad part of town? Is it because she ain't from around here?
Or is it that this is a situation that needs to be managed?
At times like these, someone recently remarked to me, we really need a good old-fashioned tabloid in town to keep this murder in our face. With out said tabloid, we get the eerie silence of Minnesota stoicism and business as usual.
Kira Simonian deserves something better. We all do.
--Loosestrife
