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Trump's Call for Race War NBD to Lisa Demuth
Late Thursday afternoon, demented U.S. head of state Donald Trump called for Minnesota to “fight back” against “Somalians” [sic] on Truth Social, the fascist social-media site that he’s somehow allowed to own and profit from. He stated that "the Federal Government will come to your rescue.”
If we want to be stupid, we can say that while it’s inappropriate for a sitting president (or, you know, anyone) to single out a certain ethnic group, we don’t know what he actually meant by “fight back.” If, however, we take into account the past half-century of Donald Trump’s public life, he’s clearly calling for vigilante action, with federal support if it comes to that.
Trump lapdog U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) shared Trump’s post on Twitter, Ed McMahonishly calling the president’s sentiments “perfectly said” while state Rep. Walter Hudson (R-Albertville) took time out from snickering about using the word “retard” to state that, “There are millions of people in his world who hate you and your children with murderous intent. And your government has let them into your country, on purpose.”
So what does Republican gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuth have to say about her president and colleagues spewing raw, racist sewage into the public sphere? Surely, nothing less than a blanket condemnation, right?
Haha, are you new here? “No community should be defined by the actions of a few,” Demuth bravely stated on Friday, echoing her response to Trump’s categorization of Somalis as “garbage people” in December: “There is not an entire community that is bad, and there's not an entire community that is good." She then pivoted to talk about “Somali gangs” and “public safety.” (Several non-Republican local leaders, meanwhile, have condemned Trump's "blatant racism.")
Anyway, we now know what the MN GOP battle plan is for the November election: Big-ticket candidates will largely keep their heads down and say they’re focused on public safety as Trump and bottom-feeders in safe districts like Hudson urge campaign surrogates to shout “Somali fraud! Somali gangs! Somali terror!”
And to think, for a moment the other day, we paused to wonder if we were being paranoid for suggesting this indictment might be politically motivated.
On This Day 10 Years Ago: Ken Bone
On October 9, 2016, a man in a bright-red sweater named Ken Bone posed a question to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump during a town hall-style presidential debate. The question was irrelevant (watch it here if you’d like), but in that moment a star was born. Soon after, Bone was hitting the late-night talk show circuit, landing brand deals, and putting out his own merch.
Before he became a living meme, he also had a (very tenuous!) link to Minnesota. Or, rather, a Minnesotan. Bone was the drummer for Broken Vessel, an Illinois-based Christian covers band with St. Paul native Joshua Burkett.
“[The band was] really lame,” Burkett told City Pages in 2016. “We hit the church crowd hard… It was the most tamest of people. Actually very Ken Bone-style, like you probably saw some of on Sunday.”
While Burkett claims Bone considered moving to the Twin Cities at one point, life took him elsewhere. As is the internet’s way, Bone was eventually doxxed after folks found he made some gross comments on Reddit. Damn you, milkshake duck!
Real Estate Roundup!
Four, count ‘em, four eye-popping real estate quick-hitters for you today.
First up: Back in May the “landmark” Wendy’s in Nisswa, which happens to resemble a log cabin, “abruptly” shut its doors. “You didn’t drive by and think, ‘Oh, that’s a Wendy’s,’” Chamber of Commerce President Kalie VanVickle told Lakeland PBS. “Inside, it was so nice and cozy, it had the big fireplace.” And this month that 15-year-old, 3,799-square-foot, 2.86-acre property hit the market for an undisclosed price. "Ample parking," the listing promises.
Next up: We’ve covered the remarkable story behind Lustron homes before, and a stunning example of the short-lived midcentury architectural system just became available for $375,000 at 4916 Cedar Ave. S. in Minneapolis. “Finished in its original Desert Tan porcelain-enameled steel, this two-bedroom home is part of an increasingly rare collection, with only about 1,500 Lustron homes believed to remain across the United States today,” the listing notes, accurately.
Speaking of architectural history, observe this masterpiece lede from WCCO: “If you've ever wanted to own a house designed by a famous architect, now is your chance.” Sure, any ol’ architect will do! But in this case we’re talking about the most famous, Frank Lloyd Wright, who in 1951 designed the gorgeous brick house overlooking Cedar Lake at 2801 Burnham Boulevard. It can be yours for $2.5 million. "It's unlike anything I've ever worked on here in the cities… really viewing this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," listing agent David Stickney says of the National Register of Historic Places-listed property.
And, finally, the 10,440-square-foot Lake Minnetonka mansion at 20670 Linwood Rd. in Deephaven set a state record this month when it sold for $18.25 million, the Strib’s Jim Buchta reports (gift link). Listing agent Jeffrey Dewing has been sworn to secretary via NDA about seller and buyer identities, but Buchta reports the seller, listed here as an LLC, enjoyed the gargantuan home as a non-primary residence, considering it’s not homesteaded. In related news: Racket’s staff struggles to afford basic healthcare. Helluva country.
Drunk History on the Battle for the World's Biggest Ball of Twine
Did you know they're still making new episodes of Drunk History? They are! Derek Waters's Funny or Die web series turned Comedy Central show returned as a short-form web series last month.
On the latest episode, which aired earlier this week, national treasure Patton Oswalt consumes an alleged bottle and a half of Scotch whiskey (never am sure how true those title cards at the beginning of each episode are) and takes viewers through a historical event of local renown: "the ball of twine civil war between Minnesota and Kansas."
Colin Hanks, Seth Green, Steve Agee, and "Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota" hitmaker “Weird Al” Yankovic help bring to life Oswalt's drunken ramblings, which... we will not belabor by describing further here. Just watch the dang episode and enjoy it below!
