Privacy

Esme “Rabid Bulldog” Murphy, the dowager dean of Minnesota political reporters and tenacious, utterly impartial reporter on all things political in the state of Minnesota, who has never, ever been fairly or accurately accused of softballing DFLers, twote in re Rep. John “Burn Hugo Down” Thompson and allegations that he snuck out of a not-generally accessible back stairway from Minneapolis City Hall to avoid reporters who, to my amazement, seem curious about his verbal claims of racism and written but unacknowledge claims of multiple residences:

Well, that settles that.

If there’s one thing no DFL pol ever needs to worry about, it’s Esme Murphy violating their privacy. Or asking them anything more involved than their favorite flavor of ice cream.

But let’s pump the brakes – I’m all for respecting peoples’ privacy.

With that in mind, all I really want to know is, which of Thompson’s residences should I plan on not protesting at – the one on the East Side of Saint Paul, the one in Superior, some other residence not yet publicly discussed, or any or all of the above?

Thanks.

42 thoughts on “Privacy

  1. I have yet to read anything about the irony of Thompson, who made his fame by going to a Saint Paul Police captain’s house and threatening him, claiming his residential address must be kept secret because he fears for his safety.

  2. Mr. Thompson is the poster boy for what the always right about everything Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs laments as, The Minnesota Paradox

    “Why,” they ask themselves, can Minnesota be “the best state to live in, [but] the worst state to live in for blacks.”

    How can a state that spends gobs of money on social justice fall further and further behind the social justice curve?

    Their conclusion is of course: raaaaacism.

    But could the problem be, that a state which spends gobs of money on social justice be attracting the wrong type of person ………say like John Thompson?

    Here they identify the problem – but then try to dismiss it with an industrial strength spin machine.

    By the 1990s, good liberal whites were outraged by what appeared to be the widening racial gaps in social and economic outcomes. In a characteristically Minnesotan manner, political leaders blamed the problems of rising numbers of violent murders, mounting welfare caseloads, and deteriorating school performance in the black community on migrants from Chicago, Detroit, and Gary, Indiana. The problem was a problem of the dispossessed of other urban cores. This was not Minnesota. This was outside influence.

    The “outside influence” thesis reinforced among many whites, particularly white public welfare managers, law enforcement officials, school officials, and housing authorities, negative views towards the new migrants. The result was the perpetuation of institutions of racism and racial discrimination wherein disparities began to be normalized within the structure of life in Minnesota.

    Let us not forget the 100,000 Somalians imported from a dysfunctional culture in Africa.

    In other words, “if you build it, they will come.”

  3. In a characteristically Minnesotan manner, political leaders blamed the problems of rising numbers of violent murders, mounting welfare caseloads, and deteriorating school performance in the black community on migrants from Chicago, Detroit, and Gary, Indiana.
    Despite its origins in academia, this is an op-ed. There are no citations given for the above claim (or any of Myers other claims).
    The way modern social science works is to discover something really interesting, and then run away from it while trying to hide the path that led you there.
    For example: in 1960, the population of Minnesota was < 5% non-white, even in the twin cities the population of non-whites was < 5%. It is now nearly 25% in the Twin Cities (somewhat less out state).
    https://mn.gov/admin/assets/2015-04-06-overview-MN-demographic-changes_tcm36-74549.pdf
    It appears, in fact, that it would have been correct to say, in the 1980s, that the increase in social pathology in Minnesota's black community was caused by immigrants from other black communities.
    Myers wants you to ignore this remarkable, obvious fact. Instead:
    The lesson that Minnesota leaders must learn is that until and unless we acknowledge and remedy the internal roots of the racial disparities in our midst, we run the risks of future disorders.
    It’s the white people’s fault.
    Myers (who is black) is a prisoner to his identity. He has the mentality of a slave. “I am a slave, a subject, I don’t do things, things are done to me. I have no free will. But my master, he is an object. He not only is free to act on me as he will, he freely chose to keep slaves, so he is wicked.”
    To a slave, his identity as a slave is central to his identity. To a slave master, his identity as slave master is not central to his identity. Myers is looking for a slave master and when he can’t find one, he makes up phantom slave masters and rails against them.

  4. Inside the mind of the poor slog who has to review a tall pile of resumes before forwarding them on to the hiring committee:

    “Deshawn Brown…..probably a black guy…geez, been bouncing from job to job……not unusual in this industry. but.is this guy a race hustler? Does he have a chip on his shoulder….Can he get along?….hmmmmm..”

    “Billy Bob Owens….who the hell lists their name as ‘Billy Bob’ fer Christ sake? …bounced around too….not unusual in this industry…but is this guy a redneck whose gonna have problems with fancy pants willy and I AM WOMAN Sarah?….”

    “Cindy Olsen……from where? Never heard of from where….probably a farm girl….that’s not bad…..bounced around a bit…but hell she moved up the ladder….”

    So ask yourself, what resume gets passed up the chain?

  5. You’re making category errors in your effort to have the conversation you want to. Borderline threadjack.

    John Thompson hasn’t had a problem making a living. He’s a machinist, and now a “state rep.”

    His beef is that his very good friend was shot to death by a piece of shit cop, Jeronimo Yanez, who stopped Philando for driving while black. Which he really did.

    Now, I don’t myself think John Thompson is an impressive enough man to be a state rep. And that’s a low bar…. But his political energy is specifically defined, and has a justification.

    Is he wrong about this tiff and is he unethical with his flings? Yes.

  6. Thompson was a machinist but now he’s a legislator. I would have thought that’s a big step down in pay but I might be wrong:

    State Rep pay is $46,500 plus $66 per diem plus $1,800 per month lodging expense (does that cover Wisconsin residences, I wonder?)

    I suspect per diem and lodging are tax free but even if they’re taxable, that brings his total take over $60,000. Not too shabby for a part-time job. And no minimum quals to meet, just skin color and mouth size, both of which he has in spades.

    Nice work, if you can get it.

  7. kraphead comes in to tell us what is “correct”, and what is “incorrect” about our discussions. What would we do without him?

  8. I see… so it is perfectly OK for Thompthug to scream Burn Hugo Down while invading privacy of police capt. Natch! Do as I say, not as I do… laws are for little people.

  9. JPA – was my observation that it’s “OK”?  No, and he is a hypocrite.

    Kinlaw – you’d be the dumbest guy here if Allen S wasn’t around.  But yeah, I’m bemused at how fast any discussion of race here devolves into a particular subset of axe grinding rather than stay on topic.

    Joe – his machinist job is at St Paul Public Schools.  So, they have a workshop right, where they have a job title that is “machinist”.  These aren’t, I bet, $50/hr machinist jobs where you do lathe and Bridgeport and CNC etc.  He’s probably still doing that job, he’s doing both.  Which explains the new Infiniti SUV.  And the new Infiniti SUV explains the child support debt…  He’s not an impressive man.

  10. Our racist society forces black men such as Thompson into Infinitis, George Floyd to be at the wheel of a Mercedes, and Winston Smith to drive a Maserati.

  11. When the “do you know who I am” card doesn’t work Thompson defaults to the race card. He treated the officer exactly how he wouldn’t want to be treated. The truth in the video hurt his case.

    Anyone hoping for progress needs to realize that individuals like him do not help us move forward.

  12. ^ Pretextual stops do need to evolve so that officers aren’t pulling black guys over for wholly disingenuous reasons, like that Philando matched a BOLO description such that Yanez could attest to that driving 40 mph as he passed in the opposite direction.

    Unfortunately for Thompson, his is still a good stop, being out in the early morning on deserted streets and passing a cop with no front plate.  Anyone gets stopped for that.

  13. Crap, when you said at 10:02 that “His beef is that his very good friend was shot to death by a piece of shit cop, Jeronimo Yanez, who stopped Philando for driving while black. Which he really did.” you implied that it was OK for Thompthug to burn Hugo down. Because why else would you bring it up? You want to unequivocally say Thompthug is a piece of shit for going to cap’ts house, now is your chance. But i will not holding my breath – you will just obfuscate and move the goalposts.

  14. I did not imply that. You read it as if I did though. My writing can certainly be a problem in that respect.

  15. OK, right… I used the word ‘justification’.

    What I meant is, John Thompson’s got a political origin story (..being Philando’s friend), and the story there has a sensibility that’s not wrong or wild… it’s perfectly fine…The energy from Philando’s shooting that has motivated him is “justified”.

    Is he justified protesting in front Bob Kroll’s house?  Sure he is.  Is the Police Federation justified in protesting in front of John Thompson’s house?  Sure.

    Should John Thompson say his mob should burn Hugo down?  No.  Not smart, is provocative, is not productive, its very dumb.

  16. Does Thompson even have a house in Minnesota? Not listed on his campaign filings or on his Wisconsin driver’s license.

  17. JD,
    Yea, and big mouthed Nakima Levy 240 Pounds Armstrong chimes in that it’s OK for black thugs like Thompson to keep their addresses secret. Since he probably doesn’t have a Minnesota residence, that makes sense to hide it. I believe that it’s long past time that we doxx these lefties. After all, if it’s OK for their side, it’s OK for ours.

  18. that Philando matched a BOLO description such that Yanez could attest to that driving 40 mph as he passed in the opposite direction.

    Sorry, but that is utter bullsh*t.

    Yanez was a low-grade moron who should never be given a badge, gun or even a squad to drive.

    Right there on his Mobil Data Computer (MDC), it read that Philandro had:

    1) No criminal history. None, Nada, Zip. What are the freak’n odds that a 32 male with no priors is going to hold up a gas-station?

    2) The MDC also said that Philandro had a permit to carry….thus he had been vetted.

    3) Yanez cited a ridiculously vague BOLO as an excuse, Philandro had been pulled over 49 times in the past – because of the way he looked, because of his demeanor, because he was driving in the wrong neighborhood……whatever the reason, it was not based in facts related to his criminal behavior, rather his appearance.

    If this wasn’t a case of “driving while black”, I don’t know what the hell is.

    I have absolutely no sympathy for John Thompson or the race hustlers, or the scum that infects our streets – but that is no reason for sweeping law-abiding people up in the net.

    In other words officer, when you are thinking of pulling someone over,LOOK AT YOUR F*CKING MDC AND REFLECT BACK TO YOUR CRIMINOLOGY 101 COURSE OR GET THE F” OUT OF THE BUSINESS

  19. Greg, sounds like you know something about police procedures. I don’t so maybe you can help me out. Walk me through it, please:

    I’m the cop. I’m driving my squad. I see the driver of an oncoming vehicle and think, “Holy crap, that guy looks just like the bank robber.” I flip a U to get behind him and then what do I do?

    I don’t know who’s driving because I haven’t stopped him yet, so I can’t run the ‘driver’ through the Mobile Computer. I could run the license plates through the Mobile Computer but all that tells me is the name of the ‘owner.’ Maybe the bank robber stole the owner’s car?

    At what point does the Mobile Computer tell me the driver is clean?

    Also, does the Mobile Computer have a hit-counter? Does it say, “This driver has been pulled over 49 times already: Do Not Stop Him Again” so I know not to bother the poor guy? How do I, as the cop, know about the other 49 times?

    Hey, while we’re at it, how come cops don’t write tickets for every stop? Why do they give verbal warnings, instead? If they quit giving warnings and wrote the tickets, then Castro wouldn’t be the victim of racial profiling, he’d be a 49-time loser and probably have his license yanked. Why do cops let crooks slide?

  20. It’s bullshit, Joe.  Cop’s assertion that he thinks a driver matches a BOLO because he can discern driver is black, has dreads, and has a wide set nose… while going 40 mph, passing oncoming from the other direction… is bullshit.  He’s lying, Yanez lied, and you can hear him formulating the construction of his bullshit pretext on the before radio traffic with his partner.

  21. I’ll give you the answer to who slides. Black guys on Larpentuer get tickets, when not getting shot, and middle class white women and men living in the city limits get warnings.

  22. Is he justified protesting in front Bob Kroll’s house? Sure he is. Is the Police Federation justified in protesting in front of John Thompson’s house? Sure.

    Wow. Just wow! You are a fucking animal. And you were upset with Alien? Fuck, he has NOTHING on you!

  23. Back to the subject, I wonder when Esme is going to pull Thompson’s voting records. Where, if anywhere, did he vote, and which state gets to prosecute him for perjury first for lying about where he lives, where he’s eligible to vote, where he’s allowed to run for office, and the like?

    Or, for that matter, when are Minnesota and Wisconsin law enforcement going to step up to the plate and do this?

    To indulge the bit of off topic, I think that giving certain groups a “pass” about things like this is one of the big reasons these groups have trouble in society. The government may look the other way, but employers, landlords, and acquaintances do not.

  24. Again, I ask who actually has the privilege? It certainly ain’t me.

  25. I’ll give you the answer to who slides. Black guys on Larpentuer get tickets, when not getting shot, and middle class white women and men living in the city limits get warnings

    I dunno, I’ve not seen those stats that make “middle class white women and men” as equally likely to rob banks (commit crimes) as “Black guys” (not just on Larpentuer). But I’m a rube living out in the sticks and don’t understand the intricacies of Big City living.

  26. The government may look the other way, but employers, landlords, and acquaintances do not

    Does the the government look the other way with employers and landlords?

  27. jdm, it’s ok for libturds to make up numbers and facts as they go along, as long as they believe those facts are true. Fake but accurate. Talk about privilege of being able to exist in a make-believe world.

  28. I’m the cop. I’m driving my squad. I see the driver of an oncoming vehicle and think, “Holy crap, that guy looks just like the bank robber.”

    Let’s start there.

    Say the bank robbery happened an hour earlier and the notification was for a “a black male with dreadlocks and a beard wearing a white Timberworlves jersey and that is what you see……

    Versus…a vague three day old description of “a guy with a broad nose.”

    Big difference.

    I don’t know who’s driving because I haven’t stopped him yet, so I can’t run the ‘driver’ through the Mobile Computer. I could run the license plates through the Mobile Computer but all that tells me is the name of the ‘owner.’ Maybe the bank robber stole the owner’s car?

    Unless your mobile computer is running MS-DOS, you have the driver license photo of the registered owner right there on the screen. Assuming you got a glimpse of the driver, sufficient enough to suspect they were a particular bank robber, you should be able to match the photo.

    Now maybe it is not their car…..okay, but how lets weigh an hours old bank robbery with solid ID against a days old vague description.

    If you kinda suspect that is the guy, shoot a text to the detective handling the case, dispatch will tell you who, and tip them off – works better than a rookie playing Sherlock Holmes by hassling civilians.

    At what point does the Mobile Computer tell me the driver is clean?

    Instantly.

    Once a plate is run, the owner of the vehicle is identified then the following things happen within milliseconds (and the time is not an exaggeration, it is literally milliseconds).

    1) The name/dob are run against the Hotfiles (warrants/protection orders and the plate is run against a list of stolen vehicles)
    .
    2) At the same instant, the name and dob are run against Minnesota Criminal History at the BCA.

    3) Concurrently, the name/dob is run against NCIC (FBI)

    4) The same search is done against NLETS, the BCA’s counterpart in 50 states, Canada, Mexico and a few other entities.

    All of this comes back to the mobile computer, along with a marker of whether the owner has a carry permit.

    All of this is available and takes seconds to review.

    Also, does the Mobile Computer have a hit-counter? Does it say, “This driver has been pulled over 49 times already: Do Not Stop Him Again” so I know not to bother the poor guy? How do I, as the cop, know about the other 49 times?

    No, this does not exist and why not?

    The cost would be trivial.

    It would save lives…

    ….and maybe even prevent a riot or two.

  29. Dude…part of what makes me and probably the Emory’s too howl with the laughter of derision is that you think “libturd” is clever.

    You be you, bud.

  30. Greg, thank you. That’s very helpful. My previous understanding was based on Blued Brothers (“I bet those guys have SCMODS”).

    Some commenters are convinced the identification was bad but I’m ignoring that issue that since it’s already been litigated in favor of the officer in both criminal and civil court. What interests me is the on-the-scene, in-the-moment, step-by-step process of deciding whether or not to stop a driver. It’s relevent to Mitch’s post because Thompson claims the Sergeant who stopped him made a pretextual stop based on race. Your explanation confirms the Sergeant knew Thompson was Black before the Sergeant hit the lights. That’s good to know.

  31. Falcon Heights gave Valerie Castile $3 million the day after the trial concluded. That’s not actually the civil court favoring Yanez.

    But there I go again gainsaying!

  32. So here is the thing.

    Rudolph Giuliani and Bill Bratton cleaned up New York using the Broken Windows Theory of policing. Essentially, they saturated high-crime areas and aggressively attacked quality of life violations, like turnstile-jumping, litter, graffiti and riding a bike without a license.

    Once they stopped an individual, they padded them down for firearms and checked warrants.

    It worked wonders.

    Minneapolis instituted the same program under the banner of CODEFOR.

    While it worked, it was toxic. People who simply lived in a neighborhood got pulled over, cited for chicken-shit violations and felt under siege.

    The effects can be seen in the number of times Philandro Castile was pulled over.

    I don’t want to diss the dead, but the poor guy was not on top of every detail of his life……but he wasn’t a bad guy. The object of policing is to protect the Philandros of the world from the bad guys and maybe even a little from themselves.

    As a cop, say you spot a Philandro without a tail-light. You identify him as the driver and you see from his criminal history that he has never committed a felony. You should be able to trigger a fix-it letter mailed to the owner address from the DMV……

    You see, the actual purpose of policing is to bring about compliance with the law, not gather revenue through ticketing.

    There is another term for that, that has totally disappeared in America, it is called customer service.

  33. Just to clear the air, unless anyone thinks different from reading this, I am not nor ever have been a cop.

  34. That’s not actually gainsaying, JK, but do please wear that crown if it suits you.

  35. At the risk of getting too chatty on this thread…

    It’s relevent to Mitch’s post because Thompson claims the Sergeant who stopped him made a pretextual stop based on race. Your explanation confirms the Sergeant knew Thompson was Black before the Sergeant hit the lights. That’s good to know.

    Not necessarily.

    While some agencies have implemented License Plate Readers (LPRs) that will run a plate with a minimum of prompting. From what I have observed from a number of ride-alongs, the officer will hit the lights, pull the car over and come to a complete stop before running the plate.

    Think about it, when you are driving, you don’t want to be fiddling with your phone, much less a computer. Besides, coming to a stop, putting the car in park, and running the plate, gives some time for reflection and allows the adrenaline to dissipate.

    On the other hand, so what if the officer noticed that Thompson was black from his license photo on the computer?

    I doubt if that barely entered his consciousness. I mean, gosh, coming across a black guy in Saint Paul is so rare.

    I think it was different in Philandro’s case. He was in a first tier suburb and I believe he looked a bit scruffy. That is where, the data provided should trump first impressions.

  36. Let’s not get sucked into a diversion away from the discussion of Thompson’s pathetic attempt to lie his way out of being a Deadbeat Dad who was Driving While Suspended after falsely claiming to be entitled to a Wisconsin driver’s license and having no verifiable residence within his state house district.

    Yanez was not convicted of a crime.
    Yanez was not found liable in a civil trial.
    Yanez never admitted fault.
    The people calling him a murderer and a liar are entitled to their opinions but not to libel a person when they don’t like the result produced by the justice system.

    The notion that it’s always improper for a police officer to stop a Black man is contributing to rising crime rates (the ‘Freddy Gray’ effect). Thompson’s stop was not pretextual. He shouldn’t get away with committing a string of crimes solely because of his race.

  37. There’s pretty much a shared belief that Thompson is wrong on his claim, a bit of a mess, and kind of a disgrace. Maybe more than kind of.

    You’re strawman-ing the shit out of the Philando / Yanez discussion Joe, in order to cop suck and defend your bigot racial prerogatives.

    I didn’t call him a murderer (yeah, murder requires adjudication).

    He is a liar.

    Of course he never admitted fault.

    There was no civil trial because Falcon Heights settled Valerie Castile’s claim before one took place.

    A criminal justice adjudication aligning with our superficial sensibilities is not required for anyone to understand it was an abomination and an injustice.

  38. Let’s not get sucked into a diversion away from the discussion of Thompson’s pathetic attempt to lie his way out of being a Deadbeat Dad who was Driving While Suspended after falsely claiming to be entitled to a Wisconsin driver’s license and having no verifiable residence within his state house district.

    Totally agree. Scumbags like Thompson will always wrap themselves in the mantle of victimhood.

    The easiest way to identify a career criminal is to find someone who believes that nothing is ever their fault.

    Yanez was not convicted of a crime.
    Yanez was not found liable in a civil trial.
    Yanez never admitted fault.

    Lousy judgement and incompetence is not a crime, nor should it be – but there are two courts: one of law and one of popular opinion, call the first legalese, call the second common sense.

    As for the last point, I know…I know…. but Philandro Castile, a man with a clean criminal record, was pulled over 49 times and died during the last stop.

    There is no getting around that, regardless of scumbags like Thompson, it is still a problem.

    One that must be solved.

  39. The people calling him a murderer and a liar are entitled to their opinions but not to libel a person when they don’t like the result produced by the justice system.

    I find it quite hilarious that courts exonerated Yanez and it is WRONG DAMMIT! Yanez should hang. But courts convict Chauvin and any criticism of that verdict is WRONG DAMMIT! Ahhh, to be a libturd is never having to say you are sorry…

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