By Association

A few years back, many left-leaning commentators – up to and including Geraldo Rivera and some who are on the George Soros payroll – tried to bury Michelle Malkin in a wave of anti-Filipina bigotry.And while many people, left and right, rose as one to condem this ugly racist display, a number of left-leaning commentators were as silent as death on the subject. Among the silent – and thus, complicit – were:

  • Steve Perry, editor of the big-buck-lefty-supported Daily Mole (and, at the time, editor of the City Pages),
  • Karl Bremer, foul-mouthed Stillwater screechmonger, who has found via the local alt-meda a ready outlet and ravenous market for his raving vein-bulging screeching inner lout.
  • Minnesota Monitor
  • Every leftyblogger that attends “Drinkiing Liberally”, an organization of regional leftyblogs, which sets the agenda for local left-leaning alternative media.

The inference is clear; Perry, Bremer, Eric Black and the DrinkLib bloggers think the only place for a Filipina woman is writhing around a greased pole on a stage, or turning tricks by a navy base.

For that matter, on this blog I’ve commented many times at great length about the pre-1945 German trait of eliminationist anti-Semitism, as identified by Goldhagen. Who was silent on this subject? Perry, Bremer, MinMon and Drinking Liberally.

Their silence tells the tale; obviously, they hate Jews and want them all murdered.

Let us not forget that four years ago, DrinkLib participant and leading local leftyblogger Mark Gisleson called for the lynching of Vice President Cheney, among many other things. Whose silence again rolled like a hurricane storm surge? That’s right; Karl Bremer, the MinMon, the DrinkLib bloggers, and…well, OK, Steve Perry did sort of wind up giving Wege a muted “tut-tut” online.

The meaning is clear; all left-of-center alt-media commentators are racists who want to murder jews and lynch Dick Cheney.

Their silence is the proof.

When will leftybloggers rise as one and attack Steve Perry, Karl Bremer, the Minnesota Monitor and all of the Drinking Liberally leftyblogs?

———-

Stupid, right?

Yep. Intentionally so.

If only Steve Perry’s “Daily Mole” could say the same thing about Karl Bremer’s grindingly, corrosively stupid “Reader Op-Ed” hit ‘n run on Tracy “Anti-Strib” Eberly and, by the way, every single center-right blogger in the Twin Cities.

What happens when a leading local Republican blogger publishes a virulently racist screed that refers to Native Americans as “dirt worshipping heathens,” “domestic terrorists permanently stuck in the Stone Age” and “humanoid animals,” and describes them as a race “so primitive that they created nothing of any lasting value, nor did they contribute anything of note to the world”?

In Minnesota, evidently nothing—at least from his right-leaning compatriots in the Minnesota Organization of Bloggers and the mainstream media.

Wow. That’s pretty damning stuff. Where could that have come from?

Minneapolis regulatory affairs consultant Tracy Eberly published such a piece on his local blog Anti-Strib on October 11. Those are just a few salient quotes from it. If you want to read his further defense of genocide against Native Americans, you’ll have to visit his website yourself. Suffice to say it would make Andrew Jackson proud.

Um, yeah, Karl/Steve. About that.

Bremer knows how to put links into web copy; he provides copious links to the other Minnesota Organization of Bloggers (MOB) blogs that he wants to smear by association. So why – in the left-leaning “Mole”, publishing to a left-leaning audience – can’t he provide a link to Eberly’s actual piece?

Does he (and, by association, Perry, MinMon and the Drinking Liberally bloggers damn, now I’m picking up that awful habit), know is audience isn’t going to bother googling and digging to find the article? Is he counting on inertia (a reasonable assumption) to keep his audience from knowing the actual context in which Eberly was writing?

So read Eberly’s piece. I did. For the first time. I didn’t like it much, and don’t agree with it. Of course, I understand where it comes from – and it’s not racism.

To know that, of course, the reader would need to know the context of the story as well as the pull-quotes Bremer has elected to highlight. But that would undercut Bremer’s foamy-mouthed, self-righteous “point”. It’s unsurprising, of course – Bremer, a long-time anti-Michele Bachmann zealot, writes for “Dump Bachmann”, a blog whose entire oeuvre is built around crimes against context (and which also refuses to condemn the attacks on Malkin, the Holocaust, and to renounce the attack on Dick Cheney Crap. It’s catchy, and hard to kick).

More on that later. Bremer next lets his imagination romp and play – with results that some of his associates might find…hinky?:

Eberly is a member of a group known as the Minnesota Organization of Bloggers, or more appropriately, MOB. Self-described as “a group of mostly center-right bloggers,” MOB includes virtually every Republican blogger in the Twin Cities, including GOP-affiliated Minnesota Democrats Exposed, TCF-connected Power Line, and St. Paul Pioneer Press editorial board member Craig Westover.

Bremer slips from omission into lying, here. PowerLine is not “connected” with TCF, any more than Karl Bremer is “connected” to the Nazi Party for whom his deafening silence about the Holocaust is a sure sign of support (dammit) my employer is “connected” to my blog (I’m going to make sure Scott Johnson sees that, however; Steve Perry might want to see to the “Mole’s” “fact”-checking).

More importantly (to me)? The MOB is rigorously non-partisan. As one of the group’s “organizers” (there is no “organization”), I am the one, along with Chad the Elder, Brian Ward and King Banaian, to state this for the record; the MOB eschews politics completely, as a matter of principle. The group is a blogroll and a twice-annual gathering at a bar. Not only that, but we have made a point of reaching out and inviting leftybloggers to our semiannual MOB parties; not only as blanket invitations on our blogs, but specific emailed invitations to the leftybloggers themselves. These invitations have included several sent to specific City Pages writers (Paul Demko among others) while Perry ran the place.

Karl Bremer’s “boss” at DumpBachmann, Eva Young, attended the last MOB Party. She seemed to have a great time! And – what’s this? Tracy from Anti-Strib attended! Eva must hate Indians, too!

Some “right-leaning” group, that MOB, huh, Karl?

Eberly reportedly finished third in the runoff for their little club’s “mayor,” so he clearly has their respect.

For the benefit of any “Mole” reader who reads this; the “Mayor” race is the MOB’s equivalent of a “Miss Congeniality” award and – again, I say this as one of the MOB’s Capi di tutti capi, the mayor election is not an official MOB function. It is something the Kool Aid Report does for the fun of it.

Yet since Eberly’s “dirt-worshipping heathens” column ran last month, the silence from the usually fawning MOB mob has been deafening.

Let’s make sure we provide the context that Karl Bremer (anti-filipina, anti-semite and pro-lynching-advocate-by-omission that he is Jeebus, this “smear by omission” thing is a slippery slope!) is apparently afraid to, yet again.

Anti-Strib is a rant blog. It is not the Weekly Standard. It is among local center-right bloggers what “Norwegianity” is for the local center-left; the loud, unrepentant, sometimes gauche, sometimes dead-on (well, Anti-Strib, anyway), shoot-first-ask-questions-later portion of the local center-right psyche. They are South Park conservatives of the most unrepentant stripe; they whiz on Political Correctness with the sort of glee that PZ Meiers piddles (or tries to piddle) on faith, or “Crayola Boy” Avidor pees on…I dunno, artistic talent?

And – take note, Karl Bremer – just because we share a label doesn’t mean we think, act or believe the same. I’m not a screedblogger, so sometimes the Anti-Strib is off-putting. It’s a “big tent” groupblog, so the writing is mighty uneven, ranging from amateurish and awful to really good (sort of like the City Pages).

Do I care for the tone of Tracy’s piece? Of course not. Of course, unlike Bremer, I know some of the backstory that is probably opaque to Bremer and his readers; as he notes, Eberly is reacting to “Doug”, a malignant comment-section tumor (one of only four people that’s ever been banned from this blog) who claims to be (among many, many things) Native American, and who relentlessly romanticizes Native culture. “Doug” is such a remorselessly abrasive jagoff that if he were to start advocating for unicorns and puppies, I’d be tempted to rhetorically warm up the .270 and the meatgrinder. And I hate that – because while I deeply respect Native culture (I’ve spent a lot of time reading about hunter-gatherer and aboriginal farming cultures in recent years) within their cultural context, Doug’s relentless preening is enough to make Russell Means break out a copy of Fort Apache out of pure snotty spite.
Tracy’s article is an attempt to let the air out of a really obnoxious balloon. Was it coarse and un-PC and maybe just a tad less artful than I’d shoot for, myself? Sure. Remember, I banned Doug rather than indulge in a reaction I’d rather not have; after almost six years of this, I’ve learned to pick and choose my stressors. Tracy sees it differently; that’s Tracy.

I don’t endorse his reaction; neither do I think it’s a sign of racism or lousy character or bad breath or anything other than wanting to give the relentless prig Doug a rhetorical wedgie.

Suffice to say every regional leftybloggers had best be very careful about their own flippant bigotries.

And, of course, “logical fallacies” – like the kind Bremer smears all over himself in the next bit:

Minnesota Democrats Exposed is authored by Michael Brodkorb, a paid consultant to the Minnesota GOP, Norm Coleman and many other past GOP campaigns. Brodkorb calls Anti-Strib.com a “daily read,” and it’s the first permanent link on his website, where he has been flogging Al Franken relentlessly lately for Franken’s statements about Native Americans.

The “daily read” list is in alphabetical order. And – lest the distinction be lost on anyone dim enough to take Karl Bremer as an authority on anything – Tracy Eberly is not running for US Senate.

Even Westover, with his bully pulpit on the Pioneer Press editorial page, has remained on the sidelines

Bremer, again, fails to provide a link to allow the reader to note that Westover has “remained on the sidelines because his blog has been moribund for six months. Clearly, Westover’s “silence on Al Quaeda” during that time means he also supports stoning gays – by Bremer’s logic.

Substitute “Blacks” or “Jews” or “Christians” or “Catholics” for “Indians” in Eberly’s harangue, and what do you think the reaction would be, even from the right?

That’s easy. “That’s stupid enough to be a Karl Bremer opinion”

Isn’t it time Republicans and their internet and media cheerleaders [Hahahahahahaha! – Ed.] quit pointing their fingers at liberal political groups and their TV ads, and cleaned up the hatefulness in their own back yard? A good place to start would be a repudiation of one of their own family members, Tracy Eberly and Anti-Strib, for the shame he’s laid upon their doorstep. Because as long as they remain silent about fellow MOBster Tracy Eberly and his “earth-worshipping heathens” slurs, they will all wear the mantle of racism in my eyes.

OK.

Tracy; don’t insult Native Americans. Please.

Now – Steve Perry? What do you think about the fact that Karl Bremer has selectively misreported key facts of this story? If these misstatements aren’t corrected and atoned for, you will forever wear the mantle of “hack” in my eyes. And I know that’d hurt you to the quick.

Eva Young (Karl’s boss at “Dump Bachmann”) – either Karl misrepresented the MOB, or you are a closet right-winger because you attended the last MOB party. Clearly, if Bremer is correct, your participation in the MOB party means you Hate Native Americans! Where’s the correction – nay, the outrage?

See where this leads?

Karl Bremer is a Stillwater writer and part Cherokee Indian.

Good thing he’s got “aggrieved minority” to fall back on.

37 thoughts on “By Association

  1. Eberly referred to Native Americans in the past tense, and nothing he wrote couldn’t truthfully be said about the Germans or Gauls of two millenia ago.
    Nevertheless his words were cruel, bigoted, and insensitive. As a rule native Americans revere there ancestors to a far greater extent than the descendants of Europeans.
    A person in the public eye would be wise to distance him or her self from Eberly.
    Though Karl Bremer can Kiss my part Cherokee ass.

  2. For the most part, I am right with you, and agree with the premise of your screed. Although Tracy screed was pathetically inappropriate and racist, so I do call you on your revision of Websters.

    back to the MOB:

    “”The MOB is rigorously non-partisan. As one of the group’s “organizers” (there is no “organization”), I am the one, along with Chad the Elder, Brian Ward and King Banaian, to state this for the record; the MOB eschews politics completely, as a matter of principle. The group is a blogroll and a twice-annual gathering at a bar.””

    As a blogrolled member, I agree with description above, but it is the term itself that has been hijacked by other members, and used to describe the Far Right (hardly center Righ) tendencies of the majority of the members. The dilemma, however, is it would be impossible to maintain the lack of structure and independence of the members, if you then started policing those that misuse the term MOB as a way to identify Right Wing Minnesota Blogs. So you are correct in calling Perry on his misunderstanding on what the MOB is, but may need to give him a pass, based on how MOB members themselves represent who the MOB is.

    Flash
    Charter Member, MOB
    Centrisity.com

  3. a contextual note;
    “dirt worshiping heathens”
    is a phrase authored by David Milch ( a jew ) for character Al Swearengen in the HBO cable series “Deadwood” which puts Tracy’s use artlessly tongue-in-cheek

  4. MoN:

    Funny, I was typing my comment while you typed and posted yours.

    Curious, I have a full time job, Beautiful wife, three teenagers in the house. Blogging, and the blogosphere itself is really just a play ground for me. To expect me to monitor Mitch, or anyone 24/7 for quick response is somewhat unreasonable. But I do appreciate you expectation that I represent . . . I don’t know, the voice of something . . or someone.

    So my question, how do you find the time, cause I just don’t have it!

    Flash

  5. Flash,

    I was referring to your silence to Tracy’s original post that is the subject of this thread, not to Mitch’s post. So in that regard you’ve had plenty of time.

    But more than that, my comment was satire, in the same vain as the first half of Mitch’s post. You’re ability to detect satire, even obvious satire, is strange.

    Congratulations on your full life. but

    how do you find the time, cause I just don’t have it!

    we posted at the same time. Can you see the humor in that?

  6. “You’re ability to detect satire, even obvious satire, is strange.”

    More lack of ability. I am too much of a realist, so my satire meter, when the satire is disguised in a serious context, is very weak.

    I wasn’t really aware of Tracy’s post in a timely manner. I post in the AM, then read Mitch, and go towork. I stumble over to MDE a couple times during the day when I have a little down time. That is the extent of my Blog Surfing. By the time I was tipped to Tracy’s post, it was no longer timely.

    “”we posted at the same time. Can you see the humor in that?””

    Flash

    Off to lunch with the lovely Mrs. Flash!
    More irony than humor, but yea *laughing*

  7. I’ll re-state my original content

    /////// WARNING, SATIRICAL STATEMENT AHEAD ////////

    Isn’t flash in MOB? His silence is deafening.

    //////// EXPLANATION OF SATIRICAL CONTENT //////
    //
    // Per Mitch’s post, nobody really expected flash, as a member
    // of MOB to make any statement with regards to Tracy’s post.
    // Expecting any or all MOB members to do this would be absurd (see
    // above post by Mitch for further guidance).
    //
    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    Hope this helps. I’ll be more careful in the future. Have a good lunch.

  8. OK Berg, I take semi-umbrage to a couple of characterizations.
    The loud We maintain a stringent decorum, based on established and sternly enforced Rules Of Conduct (snicker).
    unrepentant Granted, as there is precious little to repent of. It’s awfully hard to be humble when you are so dad gum right all the time
    sometimes gauche Now you are just going too far. Most of my fellow droogs don’t have the faintest notion of what “gauche” means, although they can recognize it as French, and therefore something to be mocked mecilessly
    sometimes dead-on (well, Anti-Strib, anyway) Sometimes? SOMETIMES? You need to visit more often. We are frigging awesomly correct, and back up what we say with facts, not that “this feels so wrong BS the Left tenders
    shoot-first-ask-questions-later We answer any and all comers, even dour cast-offs like Doug. Hell, I’ve even publicly apologized to Doug for an off-hand remark in a comment thread. You will not find a more inter-active blog in the MOB, period. And unlike Learned Foot, we actually have traffic
    They are South Park conservatives of the most unrepentant stripe You finally hit the mark. Once again, repentance is not an issue. We is what we is, and if you don’t like it feel free to go get your effing shinebox. Making some liberal feel empowered is not even on the radar
    they whiz on Political Correctness Not just with glee, but with the power of bladders unencumbered by bashfulness. Feel free to bring your PC bull, b ut bring your own towel

    Notice to all of the whiny, self-satisfied, holier than thou Left-Wingers out there: We are here, we are not going anywhere, and you are most likely wrong about whatever ill-conceived notion you are peddling. And we are going to tell you as much.

  9. There is no way to top Kermit’s response.

    Here is the dry, boring straight take on the points I wanted to make to Doug.

    http://anti-strib.blogspot.com/2007/10/native-american-issues.html

    As for the rest, it’s a freaking Blog! Get a life! There are about 70 million out there, if you don’t like ours, find another one.

    The fact that we are getting this much attention for a goof on an incredibly annoying poster is evidence that not only do we have an audience, but we are also hitting the mark pretty regularly.

    That series of posts was specifically aimed at the ridiculous lengths that people like Doug go to to find cultural equivalence. The mere mention that Western Civilization might just possibly better than Native American culture sends the left into a rage. Playing on that rage has been a source of fun and page hits for about a month now.

    PS. Thanks for the defense Mitch, I think?

  10. “Doug” is such a remorselessly abrasive jagoff

    That’s really cruel to remorselessly abrasive jagoffs, Mitch.

  11. Paul, Learned Foot can’t be held accountable for his hobbies. One must respect his tenacity, however.

  12. *”remorselessly abrasive jagoffs”

    *”Paul, Learned Foot can’t be held accountable for his hobbies. One must respect his tenacity, however. ”

    This from an agent of the blog that caused the Wege to write a post I actually agreed with for the first time ever.

    Mitch! The irony’s dying here. Better look into that before it spreads.

  13. Ooh! An Irony deficiency! Perhaps a supplement would help. Perhaps one of the multitude of KAR commentors could provide some.

  14. Gents,

    I’ll mix it up with Ken Avidor and Karl Bremer and Steve Perry and Mike Mosedale and The Wege until the stars blink out.

    But I’m not going to referee a blue-on-blue scuffle.

    I’m a uniter, not an enforcer.

  15. DU has lots and lots of commenters. And the quality there is just gangbusters!

    Folks come to KAR for the main event; not for what some semi-literate loser leaves in the comments. This is why I don’t issue invitations to join my thunderjournal to every licknob that leaves one.

    Well, there’s the Open Threads for Sisyphus, and the fake Eva comments. But that’s it.

  16. That’s it! Quality, not quantity! Hello? Hello? Echo echo echo…
    If a blogger posts and there’s no one there to read it, is it self manipulation?
    Developing….

  17. Again, guys – not refereeing a blue-on-blue.

    And by “refereeing”, I mean “hosting”.

    On my blog, the good guys save the aggression for the bad guys.

  18. As a relatively new and intentionally obscure member of the MOB, I appreciate this post, Mitch. I’ve not met you, LearnedFoot or anyone else in the MOB personally yet. I enjoy what you do and I’m happy to have a link to your blog on my favorites list, because you run a good operation. So does LearnedFoot, for that matter, who also gets a link from me. But I sure the heck don’t take orders from you guys or anyone else on the topics I blog about.

    I grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, so I know a little about political hacks who deal in guilt by association. And what’s so amusing about all this is how guys like this Avidor character and so many of these other clowns like the guy who runs “The Blog House” for the Strib do precisely what they accuse us of doing. Freud had a term for this, I think.

  19. Republicans/conservatives/people who care about freedom = Good Guys. At least on this blog.

    Don’t spit on the floor.

  20. Mitch, thank you for the mental picture of Michelle Malkin writhing on a greased pole.

    Plus, it would be less demeaning than what she does now.

  21. angryclown said:

    “it would be less demeaning than what she does now”

    I will have to take your word for it, angryclown. 😉

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