Criminal apologist writes letter to Red Star

For some reason, Minneapolis resident Erika Thorne felt the need to write a letter to the Red Star today, exposing herself as a criminal apologist and anti-police liberal. The letter is titled "It wasn't wrong?", and is a comment on officer Jindra's detaining of a young criminal-in-training, age 14.

Ms. Thorne must have some knowledge of the case that the general public doesn't have because she says "it's surprising" that an investigation revealed no discrimination or excessive force. Her knowledge of the arrest superceded that of even the jury. Ms. Thorne opines:

"Despite the jury's findings there's no question that Jindra inflicted trauma on this teenager. Certainly the verdict was traumatizing as well. As the Star Tribune put it: "Jindra did nothing wrong when he questioned and handcuffed a 14-year-old boy." Was nothing wrong done? Traumatizing a young man isn't wrong?"

Rambix asks: How does this woman know the boy was traumatized? How does she know that the boy isn't a criminal by history, who, like many of his peers, has no respect for the police or authority? How does she know he isn't a gangster with a big mouth? We don't think it's a stretch to imagine some verbal abuse of officer Jindra by the nice young criminal.

More wisdom from the omniscient Ms. Thorne:

"Damani and his family, friends and community have the power to heal. But I wonder if the jurors in this case bothered to wonder how their verdict would affect this young man. Somehow the jurors should have found some other way to say, "Yes, you have been wronged. You didn't deserve this." Would they do any less for a 14-year-old boy they happened to know?"

Ms Thorne, Rambix asks you, what makes you think the young punk didn't deserve to be "put on the ground"? Yes, dear reader, Rambix does make the assumption the young man is a punk and criminal-in-training. That theory might be a good bet.

Urban officers have a tough, tough job, especially in a city like Minneapolis. You are up against criminal apologists like Ms. Thorne; your own administration, which will stab you in the back in an instant; and "community activists" like Spike Moss, who have no real jobs and plenty of time on their hands to make life miserable for our men in blue. God bless 'em all.

Ryback's Minneapolis - The beatings will continue until morale improves

Much blogger props to Swanblog, who amplifies the bus beating story that the Red Star has tried to bury. Memo to Red Star reporters: why don't you do some real reporting and follow up on these stories? Regular folks are interested, because they don't want to receive beat-downs while walking through boy-mayor Ryback's decaying city.

As we've mentioned before, there is a proliferation of crimes that affect the average person, not just the criminals who are out looking for trouble at 3 in the morning. A criminal mugging a criminal won't generate much sympathy, but a criminal mugging your wife as she comes home from work downtown is a very big problem!

Thank you veterans!

Rambix thanks all veterans, all over the world, for defending liberty and freedom and keeping us safe and secure. God bless each and every one of you!

We're not biased. Really, we're not.

The Star Tribune is just a blogger's gift that keeps on giving. It took Rambix approximately 5 seconds to find evidence of liberal bias in today's paper. We report, you decide®.

In an article called "His words are his legacy", Chuck Haga writes about Michael Carlson's patirotic essay, which by now has been heard and read around the world. Please read it if you haven't already; it'll bring a tear to a grown man's eye.

It must have caused physical pain for the Red Star to publish an article which is first of all patriotic, but also has to report that the parents of the now-deceased Michael still believe in the cause of the Iraq war in defense of our country's freedom (For Red Star staffers, "our country" is USA, not France or Sweden), even after their soldier son was killed while on duty.

Here's the bias part. Anyone who listens to talk radio has heard this story discussed, on a national or local level. It's likely that the story was only heard on conservative talk radio. The Strib mentions the radio exposure of the story "on a nationally syndicated radio program". But they don't say which "nationally syndicated radio program" it is:

"The 1,250-word paper was read on a nationally syndicated radio program, and it was published last week -- under Michael's byline -- on the Wall Street Journal's opinion page."

They certainly mention the newspaper in which the essay was published. If the radio program was a liberal program, does anyone doubt they would give the name of the program, the call letters, the frequency, and time the program is aired? Of course they would. This, our good friends, is liberal bias.

You say "Koran", I say "Qu'ran", let's call the whole thing off

The MSM infatuation with Islam is quite a thing to behold. Always the follower, the Red Star must have been giddy with anticipation to publish today's story on page A6 in the Metro Edition, and also online here, titled "Thousands rally against U.S. for alleged desecration of Qur'an".

The story had everything the Red Star looks for in a news event: anti-Americanism, Bush bashing, and reverence for the Koran, er, Qu'ran. Here's a sampling:

"Muslims spat on the American flag, threw tomatoes at a picture of President Bush and burned the U.S. Constitution in protests Friday from Iraq to Indonesia over the alleged desecration of Islam's holy book at Guantanamo Bay prison."

Let's go spend our tourist dollars in the Middle East, shan't we? More:

"Many Muslims were outraged earlier this month when Newsweek reported interrogators at the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, flushed a Qur'an down the toilet to get inmates to talk. The story -- later retracted -- sparked deadly riots in Afghanistan."

There is a similar theme regarding the Newsweek story and other stories that appear in the Red Star. A blockbuster story is hyped and splashed across the front pages, then when a more responsible news organization (or bloggers, as is often the case now) do some actual investigation and force a retraction, but only after it's too late. A front page headline and a page 20 retraction do not cancel each other out. The Red Star is notorius for this, and we'll point out specific examples as often as we can.

"U.S. investigators admitted Thursday that there was mishandling of the Qur'an but contend that it was mostly inadvertent and deny that one had been put in a toilet. Friday's protests were organized before the officials' comments in Washington, D.C."

Two things here: Why pander to the politically correct crowd by using "Qu'ran" instead of the westernized spelling the MSM used for years, "Koran"? And second, can we please fight this war for our civilization without one hand tied behind our backs? Media outlets like the Star Tribune are going to extraordinary efforts to undermine our military and the defense of our country.

Stop it please, now, before we get too soft and open ourselves up to the tremendous evil that lurks from within and without. does anyone aside from the ACLU and anyone on the left really care whether a copy of the Koran was set down on top of a TV, as has been alleged? Have you heard what these lovely people having doing to the Bible lately?

And another thing. They're not "insurgents" or "foreign fighters", they are the enemy.

Power Line down?

Imagine our horror upon reading in the Red Star today that Power Line was down: "Power line repaired, Third Avenue bridge reopened"! But it sounds like they're going to be ok.

Baby steps or token conservative?

The Red Star unleashed the always on point Katherine Kersten in today's edition. She will be a regular columnist, to provide "balance" against Doug Grow, Nick Coleman, the beat reporters, the editorial staff, the Classified Ad department, and the research department (We actually know a guy from research. He's slightly to the left of Lori Sturdevant).

Kersten is a good start, Red Star, but if you want us to believe you're actually going to be "fair and balanced", you will need to add some conservatives to your editorial board. How about just one? Ok, how about someone without Chairman Mao's picture on their desk?

We suspect that because the Red Star has moved even further to the left in recent years, they have had a lot of pressure to put at least one conservative on staff (Lileks is more of a centrist/populist with a lot of common sense, we believe). The rise of the angry white male intolerant hate machine blogs has had an enormous impact. Rambix gives props to the truth-telling juggernauts such as Powerline, Northern Alliance, Anti-Strib, et al.

Let's keep them on their heels.

Nick Coleman's public breakdown

Rambix will not spend a lot of time analyzing the pride and fall of the Red Star's preeminent leftist columnist. It's been done, and frankly, he's not very interesting. However, Rambix has taken note the inordinate amount of column space Coleman has devoted to attempts at one-upping local bloggers, such as Powerline, et al. He certainly is a bitter root!

In today's column he takes issue with the local, high profile bloggers and their meeting with the governor at the mansion. A careful analysis of the piece failed to uncover a purpose for its existence. What is the point? Is it jealousy? Envy?

Coleman feigns surprise and indignation that center-right bloggers were invited to meet with the center-right governor. Never mind that our favorite governor is actually inching toward Coleman's end of the political spectrum. He mentions how he's only been invited to the governor's mansion once in 32 years. Keep in mind this includes many years of liberal governors! No wonder he's feeling blue.

Coleman really ought to stay in his comfort zone, which is human interest stories. He really should avoid escalating his personal battle with the bloggers, because he will not prevail. There is too much talent out there for him to compete with, and bloggers can post day and night, whereas Coleman can only be read several times a week.

On the other hand, fellow bloggers, we know that a nerve has been struck, and Coleman has taken the bait. Every time.

Another daytime attack in Minneapolis - Red Star buries report

There is yet another daytime attack of a woman in Minneapolis, this time on the ill-conceived "Greenway", which is essentially a trench that runs through the heart of the city along railroad tracks. We all know what kind of citizens frequent railroad lines. Its an crime waiting to happen.

In this case, a jogger is attacked; another example of how Minneapolis criminals are terrorizing normal people. Thsi happened at 10am on a Sunday morning. Why isn't this front page news? Get control of your city, boy-Mayor!

TB update - a day late, and a dollar short?

The Red Star is a day or two behind the other local MSM, but they finally report the St. Paul TB case (see original 5/20/05 entry: "TB watch, Red Star reports"). As we predicted, the paper does not mention the Hmong connection. This is as close as they get:

"Approximately 80 percent of tuberculosis cases in Minnesota occur among people born outside the United States."

How predictable. Is it not obvious by now that the Red Star simply will avoid naming any population group in the name of political correctness? Even if the omitted information can be critical for the general safety of the public? Rambix believes that when it comes to public exposure of crime news and disease news, all information should be "in the sunshine".

Visit Minneapolis! We have it all: Crime, weeds, trash...

The Rambixes took advantage of the beautiful spring day today and went to Minneapolis for a bike ride. For a bit of background, we had moved from the City of Minneapolis last summer for a nearby suburb when it became clear that the city was being so poorly run, that it would be sooner rather than later that the decay would come to our once proud neighborhood.

As we biked along the paved trails by the creek and through some south Minneapolis neighborhoods, we discovered that the neglect caused by too many years of incompetent Democratic leadership is upon us.

We are so glad to have escaped, apparently in the nick of time. The once well-tended and scenic trails now look like East LA or eighties Detroit. It was failry shocking, and definitely sad, to see the trails in such disrepair. There are weeds everywhere. The parkland along the trails and the creek looks like it hadn't been mowed or weeded for a month or two, and we wondered whether any upkeep has been done this year.

Some dim bulb decided it would be a good thing to let the shore along the creek turn "natural", and we had seen them the past couple of summers working to put some kind of mesh down and plant some things along the creek. Well, now it looks like a weedy mess. What a travesty. You can't even see the creek in many places; all you can see are ugly weeds. There are plenty of flowers, except now they're dandilions.

We imagine that if the city or park board receives complaints, the incompetents in charge (is anyone really in charge?) will say its due to lack of funding by the Republicans. Well, Rambix doesn't accept that excuse. Memo to boy-mayor Ryback: Make do with what you have. Clean up the parks, buy a lawnmower and a couple gallons of gas, and get it straightened out. You're coming up for election, for crying out loud. It shouldn't be that hard. And while you're at it, take care of the criminals running rampant in your city. You're a disgrace!

Here's your legacy, boy-mayor Ryback. Here's some pictures taken today of the current state of the city. Apologies for the quality; these a from a phone camera:

Note weeds around tree, weeds in the grass, dandilions, etc. Thanks boy-mayor! 

Thanks boy-mayor! 

Spike in violent crime in Minneapolis?

Were the gates to the zoo left open recently? It seems the animals are running wild in Minneapolis. Violent crime in Minneapolis is seemingly out of control, but you have to have an eagle eye to find a lot of it in the Red Star.

Strike the animals comment - even animals don't kill and hurt things for evil purposes. If you go to the last page of today's Red Star "Metro/State" section, you find this:
"Woman sexually assaulted on Marquette Ave". This is an astonishing story, and a very disturbing trend in Minneapolis. The woman was attacked in prime time, right in the heart of the city!

"The woman said she noticed a man behind her as she was walking along Nicollet Mall about 9 p.m., police spokesman Ron Reier said. Minutes later, the man ran up and forced her to perform a sex act along Marquette Avenue between S. 7th and 8th Streets. The woman fled and got on a bus, police said."

This follows numerous recent prime time robberies (see previous logs), murders in public restaurants, robberies on bike trails of all things, in broad daylight. What is going on in Minneapolis?

The Red Star, in its usual responsible manner prints this description of the perp:

" "

Nothing. Here's what we need to do: let the paper know they're worthless, and start printing suspect descriptions, and second, keep your loved ones and spending money out of Minneapolis until they get this mayhem under control. Then thank your legislator for passing conceal carry.

TB watch, Red Star reports

From experience, we know the PC crowd at the Red Star will selectively report incidents, crimes, and various news events. The criteria generally is: Does it involve a white male breaking the law? Front page, above the fold. "Minority" member? Buried or suppressed.

Does anyone recall a couple of years ago a doctor caused an outbreak of Tuberculosis at his hospital in Duluth? You probably don't even know about it, because it was in and out of the news in a flash. It turns out the doctor was an immigrant (gasp!) from Africa, and he brought the disease with him. The powers that be slapped that news story down faster than Jesse Jackson to a TV camera.

Why does Rambix ponder this now? Because tonights channel 9 news reported a case of tuberculosis at a St. Paul elementary school. They also reported that it may have something to do with the recent influx of Hmong immigrants from the Thai camps. This is obviously troubling on a number of levels. For one, don't we screen diseased immigrants any more? Does any one recall that the resettlement program was shut down for a short time recently because they were importing some people with diseases? Apparently they're still coming!

The litmus test will be how the Red Star reports this. They will likely report the TB "outbreak", but will they mention the Hmong connection? Will the liberal PC infection continue to hurt us? Stay tuned!

Osama the Activist?

The Red Star published an article today in the paper version titled "Activists use of explosives, arson called top domestic terror threat". The online version, as of 10:11pm CST, is titled "Terrorism by environmental, animal rights extremists is rising". We would suggest a third option: "Radical leftist terrorists threat to America". We won't hold our breath for that to appear, however.

As to the first headline, which appeared on page A12 in the 5/19/05 Metro Edition, why would the editor refer to the criminals in the headline as a "top domestic terror threat", yet call them "activists" in the same sentence! Is the Strib so loathe to label a leftist a terrorist that they contradict themselves in the same article?

Well, how about that legendary activist, good ol' Yassir Arafat?

Resist, comrades!

The mission statement of the Rambix and the Red Star blog is to expose how our local propaganda sheet shades the news in furtherance of their agenda (see previous entry) in subtle ways. We look at placement of articles, headlines, photos, editing, etc. We look at what is included, and especially what is missing. For these reasons, we don't focus on the editorials, for the reason that the editorials are consistently and unabashedly leftist. You won't see any pro-Bush editorials, for example. They are open in their liberalism, and thus it isn't newsworthy. Its also a waste of time to read them.

Today is the exception. We note a particularly egregious writing in the 5/18/05 edition titled "Newsweek: It doesn't deserve the diatribes". In one short, unsigned editorial the editor(s) lay evidence for the world to see that they are completely out of the mainstream, and a journalistic embarrassment. Here's a sample:

"White House spokesman Scott McClellan flat-out said Newsweek was responsible for causing the rioting in Afghanistan that led to at least 17 deaths. Newsweek editors appear to have accepted that responsibility. They shouldn't have; the White House is simply changing the subject from abuse at Guantanamo to Newsweek's journalism."

How, exactly, is holding Newsweek responsible for death and destruction based on shoddy and potentially malicious reporting related to Guantanamo? Is every occurrence and action of the administration related to Guantanamo, from now until the end of time? Is that really all the leftists have to hang their hat on? Here's an idea: get over it. The White house said Newsweek is responsible, because, well, Newsweek is responsible. There's more:

"Besides, the White House itself committed much more egregious errors in the way it so casually used dubious intelligence to make a case for going to war in Iraq. As the blog Daily Kos pointed out Tuesday, McClellan seems to have a double standard. In his discussion with reporters on July 17, 2003, he was asked: Bush is "president of the United States. This thing he told the country on the verge of taking the nation to war has turned out to be, by your own account, not reliable. That's his fault, isn't it?"
McClellan responded: "No.""

Spin. Propaganda. And for crying out loud, quoting the Daily Kos? You know the Red Star has hit bottom when they quote from a trash site like the Daily Kos. Read on if you have the stomach:

"The White House response fits a pattern of trying to intimidate the press from exploring issues the administration doesn't want explored. Compare it, for example, to the Dan Rather report on President Bush's military service. To this day, we don't know if what Rather reported was accurate or not, or to what degree it may have been accurate. Nor do we know whether the documents he cited were genuine. All we know is that CBS can't verify that they were genuine."

The press is intimidated? Then the media's presidential witch hunt is just a bad dream. And the Red Star doesn't know the president's military documents presented by CBS were forged? Are you kidding? Why is the Red Star the last outfit on the planet that doesn't know the documents were fake?

"Yet the hullabaloo caused by that incident appears to have intimidated other journalists from trying to pin down the full truth about Bush's military service. And now there will probably be less enterprise reporting on prisoner abuse or anything else that might embarrass this administration. It also fits neatly in with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's effort to muzzle public television and radio. This behavior seems so Nixonian, except that the current crew is much better at the press-intimidation game than William Safire and Vice President Spiro Agnew were. For Newsweek and other media that come in for this treatment, we have one word: Resist."

Resist, comrades, resist! We shall overcome!

Social engineering, Red Star style

We've often felt that the Strib (through its writers and editors) often acts, wittingly or unwittingly, as a propaganda machine for the subculture of social lifestyles not practiced by the vast majority of Minnesotans. The paper is based in Minneapolis, and more often reflects that culture over the suburban and rural communities it also "serves".

Anyone who has followed the Red Star's printings over the years can clearly see that the editors and writers value a certain counter-culture. They are socialists, one-worlders and most of all, liberals (obviously). They value modern art, alternative lifestyles - especially homosexuality, a non-traditional mindset, egalitarianism, and large government.

They are hypocrites of the first order: Many of them live in large homes in exclusive areas, with expensive cars in the driveway. Yet they work to separate other people from their money and redistributing that money to the "unfortunates". If they lived what they preached, they would take their own often substantial wealth and distribute that. But they don't use their own; they take your money.

Their method of spreading their message is insidious and pernicious. Examples can often be found in the Variety section. One of theier favorite tactics is to do a profile of a couple who, for example, are house hunting. The story is about house hunting, and is your run-of-the-mill information or human interest story.

The difference is that the featured couple are homosexuals. The paper doesn't highlight that fact, other than a casual mention of "partner" buried somewhere in the story. They pass it off as normal, non-noteworthy, just like any other couple. Adults can see through this, but children can't. They are being indoctrinated by our daily newspaper.

If you know what to look for, you'll see quite a bit of this in the Red Star. Look in today's (5/17/05) Variety section and you'll see a story "promoting" favorably the "growing" trend of heterosexual couples marrying, and the bride not taking the husband's name. Remember, the Strib represents that segment of society that hates tradition. The number of couples choosing non-traditional naming conventions is miniscule, but they pass it off as normal. This is social engineering, Red Star style.

Red Star shines dimly

Follow up from last night. Today's Red Star did not report the bicycle robber in the Camden neighborhood of Minneapolis. And why would they? What's a little robbery among friends? Besides, they're too busy slobbering over the Prairie Home Companion movie set for filming in these parts. Gee, do you think that movie will attract the Farenheit 911 audience? Here's part of the cast:

"Legendary director Robert Altman will direct the film version of Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" at the Fitzgerald Theater in July, his production company confirmed Sunday. The big-name cast includes Meryl Streep, Lindsay Lohan, Woody Harrelson, Lily Tomlin and John C. Reilly, with more big names coming."

We digress. We know the Strib has very little sympathy for potential victims of the robber, so how did they do on the Sashers and their holy disruption of the Catholic Mass? Front page, "B" section. Sympathetic article; the homosexuals are victims of the big, mean Catholic church. Its downright oppressive that the Sashers can't protest at Mass. And what right does the church have to regulate their church services? Never mind that every other issue group will be next. Prepare to weep:

"Wearing rainbow-colored sashes, members of the group sought to take part in the eucharist to celebrate what they called the God-given
sexuality of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Catholics. But instead of a communion wafer, each sash-wearing worshiper received a blessing from the priests conducting the mass. The worshipers returned to their seats and stood,
cupped hands outstretched, for the remainder of the service."

And:

"Singing the civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome," the sash-wearers filed into the cathedral just before noon. After the service, they repeated the song from the front steps of the church."

We shall overcome indeed. We Shall overcome the Red Star's slanted coverage and leftist bias!

Its the Red Star's world, we just live in it

We are giddy with anticipation on how the Red Star on Monday will treat two stories featured on the local news tonight, May 15, 2005. The first involves 13+ robberies in Minneapolis (haven't we been here before?), North Minneapolis that is, by a "suspect" on a bicycle who is terrorizing the Camden nieghborhood. The local news did something very radical that the Red Star rarely will: give a suspect description. The salient descriptive is that its a black male.

By now we all know that when the Red Star reports a crime, and no suspect description is given, its a black male. When the suspect is a white male, we'll know his shoe size, his favorite color, and what brand of underwear he's wearing. Let's see (1) if they report the one man crime wave, and if they do, (2) whether they give even a vague suspect description. Our money is that there will be no report until suppression is no longer an option.

The other story is that of the homosexual sash activist troublemakers, who were at it again today at the venerable St. Paul Cathedral (see previous post of May 6, 2005). We checked the Strib's web site, and they've already titled the article "Priest denies communion to supporters of gay Catholics". If they bothered to read our May 6 posting, they'd know that this order came from the Vatican. In other words, this was not a unilateral decision by the priest. This leaves two possibilities: The Strib can't investigate a story to save their lives, or they are intentionally smearing the local priest and/or parish. Believe us, Archbishop Flynn would roll out the red (or rainbow) carpet for these malcontents if it were up to him.

Naturally, two local socialist leftist parishes gave communion to the rainbow radicals:

"But at least two parishes in south Minneapolis -- St. Stephen's and St. Joan of Arc -- did give communion Sunday to sash-wearers, according to Brian McNeill, a leader of the Rainbow Sash Alliance."

We can't imagine what these south Minneapolis churches have in common with the Catholic faith. Locals know that their (much reported) activities fly in the face of Catholicism and the proscriptions of the Vatican. They continue to embarrass themselves and the church.

More on this story later, but please watch how the local media handles this in the next couple of days.

Red Star takes heat for intoxicated cop story

This blog is diametrically opposed to the Red Star. We believe it to be a socialist propaganda organ of leftist, one-world, liberal sewer rats. That said, we defend the paper for printing news of what Sgt. Vick's blood alcohol level was at the time of his murder. It's not pretty, but it is news.

Many take issue with the timing. It is likely that information about the BAC (blood alcohol content) was available before the funeral. The Strib waited until after the funeral to release the story, but the news had really started leaking before that. We do take issue with putting on the front page, above the fold, but in this rare instance, we will not vilify the Strib. It's news we hate to see, but news it is. It does not diminish Sgt. Vick, nor does it make the murdering piece of garbage killer any less culpable.

The Red Star gives us an endless supply of opportunities to turn them inside out, but this is not one of them. Its certainly not an "atta boy", but its also not a not an "atta boy" (if you know what we mean). Fair is fair.

Hero of the World!

Minnesota's premier senator, Norm Coleman, is the current title holder of Hero of the World. We've met Mr. Coleman, before he became senator, and he is one of the original nice guys. In addition to all of his obvious and seemingly limitless talents, he is also a bulldog with a steel spine. His repartee with British twit George Galloway ought to be printed and framed. Today's Red Star tells us that Senator Coleman implicates Mssr. Galloway in Iraqi oil-for-food corruption, Saddam boot-licking, association with the French, and other unforgiveable transgressions. Of course, none of that is news. The news is Galloway threatening to come to Capital Hill to confront Coleman and refute the allegations. Coleman responds:

"Coleman said he welcomes the encounter. "There will be a witness chair and microphone available for Mr. Galloway's use," he said."

Galloway asserts that the Senate panel rejected his efforts to respond in the past. Coleman locks and loads, and unleashes a fitting response:

"Contrary to his assertions, at no time did Mr. Galloway contact [the committee] by any means, including but not limited to telephone, fax, e-mail, letter, Morse code or carrier pigeon," Coleman said."

As if this weren't enough excitement for one day, the article quotes political professor David Schultz:

"This is a dream come true for Coleman," said David Schultz, who teaches American politics at Hamline University in St. Paul. "You don't lose votes by picking fights with foreign officials. Though if [Galloway] were French it would have been better."

You just can't make this stuff up!

Attention, Red Star: What happened to the Uptown thugs?

Why no follow up on the Uptown thug story, Red Star? This should have been a huge story, and the people deserve a follow up. What kind of a news organization are you? You tried to suppress the story, and you couldn't, and now you're not even making the slightest effort to follow up. It's clear that your paper is declining, as is much of the MSM, but this is your chance to keep and perhaps gather in some new readers. Let's see some crack reporting! Surprise us.

For want of a clue...

Another day, another expose in the Red Star on the (alleged) cop killers Harry Jerome Evans, and Antonio Alexander Kennedy. Although copious tears made reading difficult, we struggled through the woeful, heart-rending tale in the May 11th edition of a couple neighborhood fellas who had bad things virtually thrust upon them. The article is titled "It was a long, violent road to alley in St. Paul". Trouble found them, not the other way around. To wit:

"Harry Jerome Evans, the Chicago native charged in last week's slaying of an undercover St. Paul police officer, was involved since his teenage years in drugs, theft, robbery and bursts of violence that included beating a man with a steel pipe and punching a teacher in the face"

Clearly, Mr. Evans was in the wrong place at the wrong time on several occasions. He found himself in prison in the early 1990s, whereupon we're quite certain the Innocence Project worked to free this wronged young man. There's more:

"In that case (an alleged attack against Miguel Padilla), Evans pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery for striking a man "about the head and face with a steel pipe during a robbery attempt," documents said. The Dec. 11, 1990, attack against Miguel M. Padilla occurred about noon on a street in K-Town, the West Side of Chicago neighborhood where Evans lived."

Because this matter seemd out of character for Mr. Evans, we conducted an exhaustive independent investigation, whereupon we discovered shocking and and potentially exculpatory information! Our investigators determined that it was Mr. Padilla's head that repeatedly, savagely, and viciously struck the steel pipe being carried by Mr. Padilla, not the other way around. Our case file is being forwarded to the Innocence Project for review. Thankfully, someone cares about Mr. Padilla.

There's more!

"After Evans was released from prison for the attempted murder of Padilla, he was caught with 16 Ziploc bags of crack cocaine in October 1993, according to records. One month later, while police were on a routine patrol "in a high narcotics area" in K-Town, they observed Evans carrying a black, .32-caliber pistol with three live rounds."

An observant reader might note that Mr. Evans served approximately two years in prison for the attempted murder (obviously a trumped up charge). The reason he got out so early was due to his exemplary behavior while in the "joint". He simply shunned trouble. Sure, he was caught with 16 bags of crack shortly after his release, but he was just holding them for a friend. The reason he was carrying a gun in the high crime area was to deter drug dealers from plying their trade in the neighborhood. Mr. Evans has a plausible explanation for these various events: "Its all a big mix-up". Who can argue with that?

As for Mr. Kennedy, he helpfully led police to the gun after the shooting, so can we just leave him alone please? And folks, let's cut Mr. Evans a break. He's only misunderstood, and the Red Star is trying very hard to help us understand that.

Red Star light?

Anyone notice the content of the Red Star is, well, lacking? Aside from the ongoing issue of bias, there simply isn't any substantial content anymore (Of course, its debatable if there ever was). Real articles are few and far between, and the paper is just generally thin. We recall recently published survey results that show the Strib in the top 15 or so papers in the country in circulation, and the circulation numbers were essentially static, or growing slightly. Are they hurting worse than we imagine? Are they becoming like the St. Paul Pioneer Press, which sometimes takes 5 minutes to read cover to cover? Here's an idea: balance your coverage, and you may find yourselves readable for the other 50% of the population! Or don't heed our advice, and find yourselves on the scrapheap of history.

Red Star sheds tear over cop killer's rough life

Its so easy to find fault with the Strib, even as it appears to be struggling of late to fill its pages with readable content. Why do normal people loathe the Red Star? Check out the May 9, 2005 above-the-fold front page "Shooting suspect's life marked by crime".

Even a casual reader of local media will note that various news sources, led by the Red Star, are publishing articles sympathetic to the cop killer(s). Hard life, rough times, that's what made 'em do it. Rambix and the Red Star responds: Who gives a *%$# about the criminal? Really, who does? The officer's family and community are grieving and the Red Star has the audacity to print an article about the [alleged] killer's hard knocks? It defies belief. The Strib has no moral compass, and is unapologetic. Why don't they title the article "Ex-cons and career criminals continue their evil ways"? Mad yet? Read this snippet:

"She said she was close to Evans growing up. They went to Sunday school together and sang in the choir at Rising Sun Baptist Church, where he received some instruction on possibly becoming a church deacon."

There you have it - he was on his way to sainthood. Here's another example of the expert way the Red Star minimizes criminal behavior. Evans didn't steal the car, he was with kids who stole the car:

"She said her cousin first got into trouble at age 14 or 15 when he was with kids in the neighborhood who stole a car."

The Strib distances Evans from the crime. See how that works? Note the passive voice in the following:

"Ella Greene said Harry Evans' father, Harry Sr., died in a freak swimming pool accident while in the Marine Corps when Harry Jr. was 5 or 6. He was raised by his mother, Beatrice, who died in the mid-1990s, when Evans was serving time in prison for attempted murder and attempted armed robbery. Michelle Greene said she thought the prison sentence had to do with an assault on a pizza delivery man or the driver of an ice cream truck that took place in the neighborhood."

"The prison sentence had to do with an assault on a pizza delivery man"...
How about: "Evans was thrown in prison for attempting to rob and kill a pizza delivery man". That would be truth in reporting. The Red Star should be taken to task for this irresponsible reporting. Dear editors: we don't care about the criminals! Write a story about how quickly we lock them up and throw away the key, but don't subject your readers to this claptrap about their oh-so-rough backgrounds. Get it?

Murderapolis redux?

Power Line dispatches the Red Star to the bird cage, with "Fiddling While Minneapolis Burns". Scott Johnson hits on the Red Star and crime in the city of Minneapolis, two of our favorite subjects, which are also the general focus of this blog. A must read.

Thanks to Power Line for reporting on this local (Minneapolis area) issue.

Red Star reports sash bash

No communion for the Rainbow Sash wearers (otherwise known as radical homosexual activists) says the Vatican. The Strib editor divinely headlines the May 6th article thusly: "Flynn denies sacrament to sash wearers". Never mind that Archbishop Flynn took his orders from the Vatican, and appears to have had nothing to do with the decision. In fact, Archbishop Flynn has tolerated the sasher's antics for the last several years. Red Star reporter Darlene Prois (French?) writes about the denial of the "gay rights" symbol at communion. Here's Brian McNeil, a homosexual organizer of the alliance:

"The request to take off the sash makes no sense," McNeill said. "The church is saying it only wants closeted gay people going to communion. That's troubling to me as a gay man. I think God would want me to be proud of who she [emphasis added] created me to be."

She?! What is the matter with these people? Is nothing sacred? Why does the Red Star report this in such a sympathetic way with regard to the activists? Mr. McNeill, we're certain that God would want you to be proud of your affliction, but what's the point? Why must you advertise it in church? Nobody cares what you do in the privacy of your home or the bathhouse, but people will get exercised when you put it in their face, especially in the sanctity of the church where people go to seek forgiveness for sinful behavior. No one said homosexuals are unable to take communion, but the Vatican did say they are unable to advertise their lifestyle and activism at Mass. This article is an example of the way the Red Star shades the news to fit their leftist socialist agenda. There is no perspective given on the 2000 year history of the church and it's teachings regarding homosexual behavior, only a sympathetic portrayal of the "maligned" activists

Sgt. Vick - Rest In Peace

Rest in Peace Sgt. Vick. May God bless you, and thank you for your service. And may your brothers on the St. Paul police force quickly catch the animals that took your life and bring them to justice.

The Uptown crime wave and the PC trifecta

We're going to let this one mostly speak for itself. Here's a portion of the latest St. Paul Pioneer Planet update:

"Minneapolis police have captured four teenagers they say could be responsible for 22 "bold and brazen" armed robberies last month that targeted late-night partiers leaving the trendy Uptown neighborhood's restaurants and bars. The teens were arrested early Sunday after police say they pulled a gun on a couple and demanded money. None of the teenagers had been charged as of Monday. The suspects — Abikani Mohammed Ahmed, 19; Abdulkadir Musse Jama, 18; Abdishakur Adan Hassan, 18, and a 16-year-old whose name police did not release — were being held in the Hennepin County Jail."

Could it be any more obvious why this information has been downplayed? Can anyone argue that it hasn't been downplayed? Has the media, in particular the Red Star, just hit the PC trifecta? We'll let the reader decide.

Uptown thugs bagged; Red Star fined for malpractice

Ok, no fines for the Red Star...yet. The Strib reports the capture of the Uptown crime-wave, as represented by four juvenile killer-criminal-wanna-be's. While good people were working, earning money, taking care of the community, attending worship services, and enjoying life, these products of secular culture were out robbin' and hurtin'. You'll pull out whatever hair you might have left after you read the end of the WCCO website report:

"A K-9 searched the vehicle for evidence. The brothers and the woman were taken to police headquarters to identify and photograph them. The woman and one of the brothers were later released, but the driver went to jail. He didn’t have a driver’s license and is wanted in Illinois for an assault."

And if that doesn't make smoke come out of your ears, I don't know what will. Or maybe I do: The Red Star never gave suspect descriptions. The 5/3/05 report, in part:

"The robbing had been going on for a month around Minneapolis' Uptown area, a spree police said was unlike anything they had ever seen in the area. The suspects were considered brazen because they were armed and quickly descended on men or women who were walking in public areas. The crimes happened any day of the week, but usually after 9:30 p.m., when the victims may have had something to drink. The robbers shot one man last week in the eye and knee. After 22 reported robberies, police may have finally caught their suspects."

Annnnnd...then let them go.