August 4, 2020

Truck guy attacks Black Lives Matter sign that got Mary Kay lady fired

There are two possibilities for the video you'll see below.

First, a couple weeks after Tom and Linda Bergerson took down a Black Lives Matter sign on the roadside in Grand Marais, some random guy was overcome by the same impulse, and did the same thing.

Second, the guy knew of the Bergersons' weasely little act of protest -- perhaps even knew it got Linda canned from the Mary Kay cosmetics pyramid scheme -- and did this anyway.

Either way, Andy DeLisi is pissed. DeLisi owns both the sign and Big Bear Lodge, the resort it's posted outside of, and where he's stationed a surveillance camera. Today, DeLisi shared two short clips of a man traveling as the passenger in a white pickup truck that pulled over next to the sign.

Read more and view video: http://www.citypages.com/news/truck-guy-attacks-black-lives-matter-sign-that-got-mary-kay-lady-fired/571968321

August 4, 2020

Opponents of statewide mask mandate rally at Minnesota Capitol

A week after Minnesota’s face mask mandate took effect, opponents gathered on the grounds of the State Capitol on Aug. 1 to criticize Gov. Tim Walz’s executive order.

A few hundred people turned out for the rally, with some carrying signs, others American flags, and a few with firearms visible. In announcing the rally, organizers said they’re not opposed to people wearing masks — just any statewide rule or law requiring it.

One sign at the rally called the coronavirus pandemic a “fake crisis.” Another called the wearing of masks “dehumanizing.”

Ben Carrick, who said he’s from southern Minnesota, was among the crowd on the Capitol grounds.

Read more: https://www.southernminn.com/faribault_daily_news/news/state/article_d319d2e7-8efa-5b95-9759-4d294c2a95a0.html

August 4, 2020

Poaching among the plutocrats

A liberal education vs. student debt

In April 2019 the chewed-on leather boots, belt buckles and rifles of three rhino poachers were found in an African national park, evidently eaten by a pride of angry, hungry lions.

In another incident the partially-eaten body of a rhino poacher was found by a police patrol. This poor fellow had been crushed by an elephant but was not on the elephant’s menu so was later digested by a neighborhood lion.

And so the world goes. Rhino horn, thought to be a terrific medicine by many Asian cultures, although it is made of the same material as our finger and toenails, sells on the black market for about $30,000 a pound. The average rhino’s two horns weigh a total of about 10 pounds, so the average kill could bring in about $300,000. That’s a good pay day.

Rhino horn has been a part of traditional Asian medicine and myth, particularly in China and Vietnam, for hundreds of years. It has been used to treat fevers, arthritis, gout, headaches, high blood pressure, typhoid, snake bites, hallucinations, cancer, erectile dysfunction, and impotence.

Read more: http://duluthreader.com/articles/2020/07/30/21338_poaching_among_the_plutocrats

August 4, 2020

Walz asks feds to free up loans for Minneapolis businesses following looting, fires

ST. PAUL — Gov. Tim Walz on Monday, Aug. 3, announced that he had again requested federal disaster aid to help rebuild Minneapolis following extensive arson fires and looting there following the killing of George Floyd.

In a letter Friday, Walz asked that the federal Small Business Administration declare a disaster for Hennepin County that would free up low-interest loans for business owners affected by the damage. The Federal Emergency Management Agency in July rejected a prior request for disaster assistance and Walz said he planned to appeal the decision.

“We need to work together to support Minnesotans who lost their homes and businesses to this destruction — that’s why we’ve asked our federal partners to step in,” Walz said in a news release. “We remain committed to working with the impacted communities to restore their vitality in the wake of this damage.”

The governor earlier this month wrote to the Trump administration noting that there were more than $15 million in damage and cleanup costs in Minneapolis and St. Paul that could qualify for federal reimbursement. More than 1,500 businesses were damaged or destroyed during the riots that lasted several days.

Read more: https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/government-and-politics/6601395-Walz-asks-feds-to-free-up-loans-for-Minneapolis-businesses-following-looting-fires

August 4, 2020

Upper Midwest state lawmakers, lobbyists say federal coronavirus aid to states is 'harmful'

ST. PAUL — Ten state legislators from the Upper Midwest have signed a letter critical of a federal government "bailout" to states amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Published by the conservative interest group American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) on Tuesday, July 28, dozens of nationwide lawmakers, lobbyists and stakeholders have signed onto the letter. The letter says that a federal payout to states in Congress's next round of coronavirus aid "would be harmful to taxpayers, federalism, and ultimately the states themselves."

Five legislators from South Dakota, two from North Dakota, two from Minnesota and one from Wisconsin signed onto the letter, along with each of the four states' directors for Americans for Prosperity's state-level units. AFP is a Virginia-based libertarian lobbying group backed by Charles Koch and his later brother, David Koch.

Of the 10 total Upper Midwestern legislators, all Republicans, several hold prominent leadership positions in their respective Capitols: South Dakota's Rep. Lee Qualm is the state's House Majority Leader. Minnesota's Rep. Pat Garofalo is the Republican lead on the House's Ways and Means Committee, and Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer chairs the Senate's State Government and Election Finance Committee. North Dakota's Rep. Craig Headland is vice chairman of the House's Finance and Taxation Committee.

Read more: https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/government-and-politics/6601275-Upper-Midwest-state-lawmakers-lobbyists-say-federal-coronavirus-aid-to-states-is-harmful

August 3, 2020

Bush Presidential Center, Boy Scouts, Texas Tech among hundreds hit in Blackbaud ransomware attack

The George W. Bush Presidential Center, Boy Scouts of America and the Texas Tech Foundation have notified donors that they were among a growing list of nonprofits and universities targeted by a ransomware attack.

South Carolina-based Blackbaud, one of the world’s largest cloud-based data storage and software providers for institutions of higher education and nonprofits, revealed to clients and the public that it was the subject of a May ransomware attack two months after the fact on July 16.

The attack hit more than 200 institutions across the globe, according to the Texas Tech Foundation, the university’s fundraising arm. The Irving-based Boy Scouts of America was also affected by the attack, as were the ACLU, the Cancer Research Institute, the Louisiana Tech University Foundation and others.

According to a message sent to donors by Boy Scouts of America, which cited Blackbaud, “the data security incident started on February 7, 2020, and possibly continued intermittently until May 20, 2020.”

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/technology/2020/08/03/bush-presidential-center-boy-scouts-of-america-texas-tech-foundation-among-hundreds-hit-in-blackbaud-ransomware-attack/

August 3, 2020

El Paso Electric's $4.3B sale to JPMorgan-tied fund completed; new CEO named

The deal is finally done.

El Paso Electric is no longer a publicly traded electric utility.

It’s now owned by the JPMorgan Chase-tied Infrastructure Investments Fund, or IIF, which on June 1, 2019, agreed to buy the 117-year-old electric utility for $4.3 billion, including assuming $1.5 billion of the utility’s debt.

The sale was completed Wednesday afternoon.

El Paso Electric and IIF also named a new chief executive officer: Kelly Tomblin, who most recently served as CEO and president of INTREN LLC, an electric and natural gas utility contractor based in Illinois. A new company board also has been named.

Read more: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2020/07/29/el-paso-electric-sale-completed-to-jpmorgan-tied-fund/5532839002/

August 3, 2020

Scientists are growing colored cotton, the latest in sustainability fashion

Scientists at Australia's national science agency, CSIRO have made headway in sustainable fashion--colored cotton. With their new discovery, it has the potential to transform the global textile industry, as reported by ABC Landline.

The article goes on to say, that while cotton is renewable, recyclable and biodegradable, it still needs to be dyed, and the use of sometimes harmful chemical dyes is considered a blot on the industry's environmental copybook.

The fashion industry plays a large role in the environment, and does more harm than good for the Earth. According to the UN Environment Program, the fashion industry produces 20% of global wastewater and 10 percent of global carbon emissions. Textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of water globally and it take around 2,000 gallons of water to make a typical pair of jeans.

The scientists at CSIRO have been able to genetically modify cotton to make it naturally colored. Perhaps the most fascinating achievement in their research has been the team's work to breed naturally black cotton, which would replace black dyes. Black dyes are the most polluting of textile colors, according to ABC Landline.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/life/style/fashion/article/Scientists-are-growing-colored-cotton-the-latest-15454122.php

August 3, 2020

South Dakota Man Burns Gay Pride Flag on Facebook Live: 'Burn, Burn, Burn, You Queer Sons of B-ches!

South Dakota Man Burns Gay Pride Flag on Facebook Live: ‘Burn, Burn, Burn, You Queer Sons of B–ches!’


A South Dakota man may face criminal charges after burning an LGBT Pride flag on Facebook Live while screaming, “Burn, burn, burn, you queer sons of b–ches!”

The man, Darrin Pesall, allegedly stole the flag from the home of gay resident Troy Kriech in Webster, South Dakota, on July 24. Kriech, who has since moved to Minneapolis, erected the flag to mark LGBT Pride Month in June. Pesall’s Facebook Live video surfaced one day after Kriech’s flag went missing.

“Right here, there’s a flag that deserves to be f–king burned,” Pesall says in the video. He later removed the video, but Kriech posted a copy of it.

“Right here, we’re burning the f–ker. All you pansy-ass f–king queer degenerate sons of b–ches, watch it!” Pesall says, dousing the flag with lighter fluid but saying he needed to wait until after work to actually burn it.

Read more: https://www.towleroad.com/2020/07/south-dakota-man-burns-gay-pride-flag-on-facebook-live-burn-burn-burn-you-queer-sons-of-b-ches-watch/

August 3, 2020

White Supremacist Trump Supporter Tackled After Punching Woman in Face at Florida Restaurant

Restaurant staffers scrambled to tackle a self-proclaimed white supremacist Aryan Trump supporter after he violently assaulted a female employee at a restaurant in Nokomis, Florida on Friday. The man, who identified himself to police as Nicholas Arnold Schock, also told them that he has “psycho problems” in videos posted to Facebook. It’s unclear what prompted the man’s rampage.

“Call Donald Trump, he’s gonna come get me out of prison,” said Schock to staffers before screaming, “I’m a white supremist, Aryan Nation will rule the world! People covered in tattoos are gonna be my closest relatives I promise you.”

When asked to keep his voice down because of children, the man said, “I don’t give a f**k, call Donald Trump please.”

The man then yelled out “I will buttf**k this bitch on the table right now” before punching a female employee who was attempting to stop him from entering the bar area of the restaurant.

https://twitter.com/davenewworld_2/status/1289692804386562049

https://www.towleroad.com/2020/08/trump-supporter-tackled-punching-woman/
(no more at link)