#pres minnesotan moment

[minnarchy]

Documentation is Important, or, The case of the negative Cutter number

I had a juicy cataloging mystery while working on the reference desk on Tuesday, something I do two hours a week; our library is free and open to the public, and it helps me in my archivist position to work with patrons to see how they use our tools and collections. I love a good mystery, and will usually drop everything if I can to figure it out, because the satisfaction of finding something that is difficult to find is so high, and the hunt is fun (especially when you have a colleague to help you, as I do). Luckily, there weren’t very many patrons during my shift, so I was able to jump pretty deep into problem solving at that moment. (A general caveat: I’m not a cataloger, and I alternately use call number and locator number when describing archival collections’ box number/physical location-type information. I try to be consistent, but…?)

General background on us: We were established in 1849 and have been collecting since then (all types of past library, archives, and museum practice are well represented in our collections and documentation, lol). Our library and archives collection contains many different types of materials, including books and other printed materials, photographs, audio/visual material, archival collections, maps, posters, newspapers, and microfilm, which are all in our online catalog and used in our reading room. Our institution also has a 3D objects collection which is separate, and has its own online catalog. Each of these types generally has its own classification or organization system. At one time, our institution had several different reading rooms in different buildings, like one just for newspapers, one just for photographs, etc. In 1992, our current building opened, and it was the first time everything was housed together. There are always new classification/organization systems that I am discovering! Some of them are our own special creation and found nowhere else. Institutional knowledge is especially important at a place like this, because even though we have a lot of documentation, sometimes there are important details that aren’t documented, or they’re not documented consistently.

So, while I was on the reference desk, someone had a couple of request slips with call numbers already written down for Civil War-related archival collections they wanted to look at. They were what we call negative Cutter numbers (as in the Cutter Expansive Classification system, pre-Library of Congress), which is a very old way that staff used to catalog archival collections (e.g. A/+H725, or A/-H725, the plus or minus indicating different collections. Very confusing. I don’t know if the +/- thing is just something we did locally, or was used more broadly). A collection with this type of number tells me that it was acquired a very long time ago (100 years or more), and may not have been looked at in awhile. 

The patron showed me where they had found one of them, the George T. Campbell papers, which was listed as a source for an article on one of our institution’s many websites (not the catalog) and which listed the collection name and call number (A/-.C174). Since it was listed on one of our sites, I didn’t check that the call number was correct. We submitted the slips to be retrieved, and the patron also wondered about an item also by Campbell that was in our 3D collection. I pulled up the record in our 3D catalog, and it was a manuscript that was being treated like a 3D object. Now, this happens sometimes (there is some overlap among our holding areas, depending on artifactual value versus content value, etc.), but it did seem strange to me that a typewritten reminiscence was in the 3D collection.

The reference assistants were unable to find the negative Cutter collections on the shelf in the stacks. This is when I had to start investigating. Starting with Campbell, first I had to verify that the call number was correct. I searched our library catalog for the collection name as written on the website the patron showed me. This did not yield anything. I also searched by call number and browsed the subjects for Campbell, but neither panned out. I then went to our paper copies of finding aids, which are organized by call number, to see if there was an inventory there, but there was not. I searched our 3D catalog again using the same collection name, and the manuscript-3D object the patron had initially found popped up as it had before. How curious. I looked again at the website where the patron had first found the collection information, and saw that it was originally published in 2013, and last updated in 2015. I knew that it was possible that the Campbell papers had been recatalogued since then and had a new call number, but what was it? It was very unlikely that the papers had been deaccessioned, given the subject matter (Civil War), so I knew they had to be around somewhere. For a minute, I had a wacko theory that the papers had been transferred from archival collections to the 3D collection in the last 5 years, but had no idea why that would be.

At this point, there was nothing else I could do while stationed at the reference desk, so I brought out the big guns. I asked a cataloger and the curator of the collection for their help, to see if they knew anything. It wasn’t an emergency, but they came right away anyway; like me, they like to solve mysteries, maybe more than any other job duty, and they are very good at it. Mystery solving comes up quite frequently here, with all of the potential for 150+ years’ worth of outdated call numbers, different physical locations over the (many) decades, etc.

While I was in the reading room, they were downstairs, looking at old accession registers, the accession file, and a set of what we call dead shelf-list cards, which list old locations for archival collections that have been assigned a new location/call number. The dead shelf-list cards were the key, because that was the only place that linked the old negative Cutter number to a new call number. (Say it with me: documentation is important.) The cataloger had recatalogued this particular collection at some point in the last few years, pulled the original shelf list card and put it with the dead ones, and annotated it with the new locations. Then she made a new shelf list card with the current information, and put it with the active/live shelf list cards, which we still maintain.

It turns out that one of the updated locator numbers was incorrect on the dead shelf list card. More importantly, however, it showed that the collection name, Campbell, was different than how it appeared in our 3D catalog and on the website that had the original citation the patron found. As soon as the cataloger searched our library catalog using the other spelling, Cambell without a P, it popped up right away. I felt so silly, as it never occurred to me to try a different spelling⸺but that’s because the other spelling was used on websites that I trusted.

Once I had the right spelling, I was able to find the George T. Cambell papers in the library catalog and write down the new call number, which staff then found in the stacks.

There are several positive outcomes for all of this time spent. First, I asked for the name misspellings and the outdated call number on the other websites to be corrected. Second, the dead shelf list card will have the correct new call numbers; and I showed the patron that we really wanted them to get to access what they came to the library to see. Access and accuracy are what we’re all about, and it’s always good when we can improve. Third, the curator will compare the item catalogued as a 3D object with what’s in the archival collection to see if they are different and should be (re)united (the curator hadn’t known there was a manuscript-type object in 3D and was extremely interested in it).

Mysteries like these pop up regularly for us, where we try to track down where the dang box is (we have over 90,000), when old finding aids or index cards or catalog records differ, where one series of documentation was updated but others were not, and we turn to several different sources to track what happened. Usually we can figure it out. I’m grateful we have so much documentation, but sometimes that also makes it difficult when the all the different types of documentation don’t agree.

My main takeaways from this experience are:

1. Always check call numbers in the library catalog, even if the patron seems experienced, even if other sites have different information. Where did this citation come from? Is it recent and up to date? Are you sure you spelled the name right? Are you sure it’s spelled right in sources you used? Why are you sure? Humans are creative with names, and anything is possible as far as names go. (There is another Minnesotan who served in the Civil War with a similar uncommon name spelling that has tripped me up before. It is spelled differently in different sources⸺Mathew/Matthew Marvin. Sometimes people spelled their own names differently over time, or were just plain inconsistent, making finding all of the resources on or about them at one time difficult.)

2. Documentation is important!

3. If one website is updated, all websites should be updated, if at all possible. Otherwise staff and the public alike will get confused.

Coda: There was a second negative Cutter collection that staff couldn’t find on the shelf, but that one was easier to find. The patron had written down the collection name, H. Adams, on the request slip, but I found out it was incomplete when I searched. I searched the catalog with what they had written down and added “Civil War.” That led me to the catalog record, with the complete name, H. Adams Hair, and an updated call number. Happy patron, happy staff member.

Catalog record for George T. Cambell papers: https://mnpals-mhs.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma990017350490104294&context=L&vid=01MNPALS_MHS:MHS&search_scope=MyInstitution&tab=LibraryCatalog&lang=en

#archives #classification #historymystery #dangyoucutter

[dieuleveut]

April 14th, 2018

I’m in Los Angeles.

I’ve been here since February 10th. So...a little over two months? People here still consider me new and fresh, and they’re not wrong. I’ve been doing a pretty great job at learning the new geography, all the neighborhoods and freeways.

Let me update you.

I’ve been living with Jordon who went to Bradley University with me. But I’ve been sleeping on an air mattress in his living room. Totally fine, I’m pretty low-maintenance anyway. Except I had told him I did not plan on crashing in his living for any longer than a month and up until now it had been over two months. Cue liar-anxiety. Then we find out that his roommate Drake will be moving in with his girlfriend in May/June and that his room may be up for grabs. I’m super interested and thus I’m staying in this living room, hoping to squat and slide into Drake’s room. Now, Jordon tells me he has a friend from high school who is moving to LA in June that he prefers to live with. Totally fine. Cue apartment-hunting anxiety again.

Now, my work situation. I moved here to do production work, but it doesn’t pay the bills (yet), so I got hired as a server at Tatsu Ramen at the end of February. The pay is pretty darn good. $13/hr and tips are about 1/3rd times the pay and I’m working close to full time. Insurance once I’ve hit 3 months. Almost everybody is really fun and sweet. Emily is the second newest hire and probably someone I can consider a friend (the first I’ve made in LA outside of Jordon!) She let me crash on her couch after a sleep deprived night and Jordon was hosting a loud brunch party. Vince is someone I would recently consider a friend! We’ve been hanging out quite a bit this past weekend and he’s a pleasant person to do stuff with! Sadly, he’s moving to New York City later this week so it kinda explains the accelerated friendship fun.

He came out drinking with me at some bougie place called The Bungalow that charged $15 for a margarita and $9 for a PBR. Emily met up with us after she got off of work and arrived at 1:30am, which apparently is when LA bars decide to close and stop serving alcohol. So slightly drunk Vince and me and stone-cold sober Emily walk down to Santa Monica beach, because I’m drunk and I hadn’t been to the beach in the two months I’ve been in LA. It was pitch black, sand cold as fuck. Vince and I (separately) break the pee seal in the sand dunes. Public urination FTW. We continue walking towards the ocean, I walk ahead of them in a drunk euphoria. I fucking love the ocean. I kick off my shoes and feel the wet, stiff sand under my feet. I only go ankle deep into the water but I’m content. Behind us, it seems like we’re not the only people in the entirety of Los Angeles who like to come to the beach at night. But it’s dark and the lights of the pier make them into indiscernible shadows. The lights also reflected off of the wet sand, like an upside down world mirrored from the pier. I’m wearing Vince’s denim jacket, barefoot and impossibly happy. My friends are taking pictures, laughing and playing in the water. I hope they were as I happy as I was.

Today, we had plans to head to Manhattan Beach. However, Emily backed out, still feeling the after effects of last night. I showered, got dressed. If anything, I would go alone. I don’t mind doing things on my own. It’s a common theme in my life. Then Vince texts me back saying he’s down. I drive to his place and the sweet man brings out a bottle of water for each of us and recommends we eat at a place nearby called The Public School. It’s cute and school themed, though I spent most of my life trying to avoid school themed things. Before meeting up with Vince, I was honestly nervous hanging out one-on-one with him. I just didn’t know who or what to expect outside of the comfort zone of Tatsu or drinking as a social buffer. And to my surprise, he’s actually really easy to hang out with. I don’t feel a need to impress him and yet I feel like I do. Conversation isn’t forced, it in fact flows really smoothly. And we don’t even crutch on Tatsu talk. We talk about hobbies, thoughts on LA and New York, families. Actually. Now that I think about it, we talked a lot about me. Vince and I are going to the Getty Center Museum tomorrow afternoon. I need to remind myself to ask Vince about himself more.

We also went to the Museum of Jurassic Technology yesterday too! That was fucking weird. But mutually agreed the best $8 spent. Cheaper than a can of PBR. They had such weird artifacts...and facts. Miniature models of mobile homes, paintings of the Russian dogs sent to space, a garden with tea and doves. “I can not think of a better person to have done this with,” Vince concluded after we exited (I only mention this part verbatim because people? like? hanging out with me?). We were supposed to finally hit up Manhattan Beach at this point, but I had an appointment to drop off my new apartment deposit and rent so we agreed to take a short intermission as I dropped him off to his apartment.

I arrive at my new apartment, which is located in a beautiful little family neighborhood. It seems like it has great air and it’s quiet. I would be absolutely ecstatic to be moving into this place if it weren’t a 45 minute commute on my way to work. I guess it balances out the 15 minute commute on my way back from work at 3:00am. And it makes me feel a little better that my roommate Hillary would be commuting over an hour. The apartment itself is super spacious and has beautiful hardwood floors and appliances.

We drop off the checks, go through the inspection and we plan on moving in tomorrow. Luckily, I only have the things that I can pack into my car, so I don’t have much to move. Except that Vince is giving me his mattress, bed frame, TV stand and possibly his TV so I have to find some way to move those.

When we finish all the apartment things, Vince calls me and tells me he actually had something come up and that he won’t be able to make the beach with me. Initially I’m disappointed but then I resolve to go anyway alone. That was my plan from the beginning and actually, this day folded pretty well. I got quality time with Vince and I still get to go to the beach. Parking was a bit of a nightmare but I eventually find a really tight spot (and tight as in literally, not in the dudebro connotation).

I get there and I’m in love. The sand between my toes, the wind, the air, the birds and the ocean waves crashing. The sky is completely spotless and blue, save for the occasional aircraft. Even though it’s a beautiful Saturday evening, the beach is pretty spread out and spacious between everyone. I easily find a spot to sit and enjoy the ocean without people close to me and no one in my view of the sunset. 9/10 absolutely would go again, despite the 30-40minute drive. Only glaring negative was the random middle aged guy who started talking to me. I only engaged in conversation once he mentioned he was from Minnesota (how can I turn away a fellow Minnesotan). But this guy talked to me forever, basically until the sun literally went down. Angry face emoji. It’s fine, except I could not tell what he wanted? Was he just being friendly? Was he trying to hit on me? Was he networking? Why me? The answer to that last one (or I guess all of them) is “because you’re a girl alone on the beach.”

I’m writing a lot. I’m aware. But one last thing I should catch you up on is Jun. He comes last because I honestly have mixed feelings about him. So we had a bit of a pre-dating thing going. You know, where the two of you flirt and are hyperaware when y’all brush up against each other and stuff? We were drinking after work at Emily’s place with a few other coworkers and after everything died down, we crashed on her couch. We stayed up talking for another couple hours, stroking hands and touching until he gets up and kisses me. I’m fucking giddy because I’m kissing Jun and Jun is kissing me. He puts a hand on my breast and starts playing with my nipple, which I put an immediate stop to because fucking Josh (one of our coworkers) is sleeping on the floor near us and Jun’s got me physically wanting to climb him like a tree.

The next night we both work together again and he invites me to come back to his place. We sit and chat for a while over a couple beers before picking up where we left off the night before. I want to keep the dirty deets to myself but in a nutshell, we fucked three times. I came once, which honestly surprised me because it took me a hell of a long time to come with Matt. Jun and I also did it three times without protection. Which yes dear reader, I know it’s fucking stupid and this is the second guy I’ve done that with; having gotten caught up in the moment and just submitting to the moment without caring about the consequences. But both times I eventually convinced myself to take Plan B. I also know that Plan B is not a form of birth control. I still have two months worth of the pill from when I was dating Matt, but I won’t start them unless I’m consistently sexually active. No point in fucking with my hormones if I’m only smashing once in a blue moon. So yes, I went out and bought condoms. A girl will be prepared, even if she hates condoms.

Anyway, Jun. He tells me he doesn’t want anything serious. He tells me he’s going out for drinks with a girl the next night. Twice now he’s been too tired to hang out after work (which is definitely warranted because we’re both up til 3-4am every fucking night closing at Tatsu). As far as it looks, doesn’t seem like any more than a one and done. Which is a bummer. I could mentally/emotionally prepare for a no-strings-attached deal, I just wanted to be with Jun in some capacity but it seems like once we smashed, he didn’t want the same. I can hear my mom’s voice saying some shit like “Guys only want one thing and once they get it they’re out.” First of all, everyone has a fluid amount of sexual drive but everyone also has emotional needs and connections with people. I could easily fuck and chuck Eric from Peoria and be exactly the kind of “guy” my mom thinks guys are. But then there was fucking Ravi who I fucked one time and the guy would not leave me alone. He relentlessly messaged me on Facebook, found my Instagram, Snapchat? Some guys don’t just fuck once and leave, some stick around for more. It’s dependent. Which is why is sucks that the situation with Jun is what it is. But looking at “fate” or whatever, it makes sense. There were just small instances where I felt like I was being told, “hey this isn’t meant to happen.” Things that are meant to happen will be pushed in the right direction. Like today with Vince and the beach. Life told me that I should hang out with Vince by getting lunch and experiencing The Museum of Jurassic Technology, and then it told me that Manhattan Beach is just for me.

Despite my lack of romantic success, I feel good. Things seem to be falling into the right place at the right times. I have an apartment, I have people who I enjoy being with and doing stuff with. I have someone who believes in my skills and my potential (Vince, who has been pushing for my promotion at Tatsu and providing me some serious support.) Everything that will be will be.

---

1:34am (technically April 15th)

I just remembered something that Vince told me last night at the Bungalow that I want to write down for my fragile ego’s sake:

“Apparently you have a fan base at Tatsu. I had a customer come in yesterday and ask me ‘is Juliet working tonight? I have some friends I want to bring in to meet her, is she working this weekend?”

Vince couldn’t tell me the name or face of the guy who asked but I am beyond thrilled/happy/giddy that a CUSTOMER knows my name, my face and LIKES me enough to want to have his friends meet me *flips hair.* As someone who obsessively checks the Yelp reviews for mentions of a “cute helpful Asian waitress” or my actual name, this will be an integral part of my self-esteem :)

[miracleonicefanfiction]

Working for the Weekend (Dave Silk)

This was my first Miracle story ever! Based on a video where Dave Silk describes the annoying habits of his roommate. Hope you enjoy! ———–------------------------- Everyone’s watching, to see what you will do

Everyone’s looking at you Everyone’s wondering, will you come out tonight Everyone’s trying to get it right

Everybody’s working for the weekend

Dave Silk was sitting on the bench in what turned out to be a horrific and gruesome Friday night practice. Apparently, Herb had a meeting with Lou Nanne (and some other guys who’s names Dave didn’t know) following today’s afternoon team meeting. All he knew was that these guys could make or break his Olympic dreams, and that was enough to send his hockey anxieties into overdrive. Therefore, practice was set to be from 7:00-9:30P.M. and right now, with 30 minutes left, this was becoming (what Dave thought was) one of the worst practices of the one month that the team had been together. No one was playing well, and it was probably due to the fact that the colliegate boys should’ve, would’ve, been out at Stub and Herb’s right now.

This was why Dave’s mind was focused more on a nice, cold Corona than anything else when his coach called out his line. 

“Silky!” Herb shouted, taking Dave out of his dreamland. “Get your head out of your ass and play hockey! Let’s get moving some time tonight, please!“ 

With an eye roll, Dave knew that his dreams would stay dreams tonight, because once practice was over, he justed hoped that he could make it to his room before collapsing. "Weave, weave, weave, but don’t weave for the sake of weaving!" 

The sounds of his coach were drowned out by the sound of two players colliding. Dave stopped short to see Rammer and McClanahan on the ground. Ouch… Dave thought. Nobody wanted to be rammed into by the 6'3”, 190lbs defenseman. Better him than me… Maybe that will shut him up for a while, or at least, tonight…

When the team had arrived in Minnesota, staying at the U of M’s unoccupied dorm, Dave had been less than eager to find out his rooming assignment. He was only familiar, only comfortable, with the guys from BU and Jack Hughes, who was from Harvard. Yet, he figured he would be rooming with Buzz Schneider, since it was most likely going to be alphabetical. Buzz was 25, mature, and married, so Dave figured that it wouldn’t be so bad having him as a roommate. But boy, couldn’t he have been more wrong. When he and his fellow Bostonians heard the rooming assignments, Dave could barely form a sentence, let alone a word. 

“I bet Verchota is a nice guy,” Rizzo said. “Can’t wait to room with him." 

Dave shook his head. "I wish I could say the same. I’m rooming with McClanahan." 

OC gave Dave (what attempted to be) a ‘look on the bright side’ pat on the shoulder. "Maybe, it won’t be so bad, Silky.”

Now, at practice, sleep was replacing alcohol as Dave’s ultimate fetish. Watching his roommate suffer almost caused Dave to crack a smirk before he was nudged in the side by his linemate.

“What the hell, Verchota? Are you trying to break my ribs or something, because, well, good job…” He shot his blonde-haired teammate an angry look.

“No, but if I was, it would be more of a favor then the warning I’m giving you,” Phil replied with an eyebrow lift.

“What? What warning?” Dave questioned. Seems like practice was starting to pick up afterall.

“Just beware of grumpy Mac, okay Silky?” Phil shot his linemate a sympathetic grin, which Dave was not receving. “Look, what I’m trying to say is try not to get murdered tonight.”

Just as Dave was about to retort, he was cut off by Mac, who was now on his feet, yelling at Rammer at the opposite blue line. “You think that’s funny, huh, Rammer? Crash into me on purpose?”

As the chaotic scene was unfolding, Phil and Dave were joined by John Harrington. The three viewed the scene in unison, then looked at eachother and broke out into laughter. “Gosh, I feel so bad for Rammer. The poor kid just wants to go home like the rest of us,” Bah spat out between chuckles. “Robby is such a big baby sometimes. How the hell do you live with him, Silky?”

Dave shrugged. “I’ve contemplated jumping into an outdoor pool during a thunder and lightning storm before. Or at least playing pick-up sticks on the freeway.”

Phil and Bah began, once again, laughing, which apparently caught the attention of Coach Brooks, who blew his whistle.

“This is absolutely ridiculous, boys. I’m coaching an Olympic hockey team, not babysitting a bunch of kids from daycare! You all better have your brains screwed on properly by tomorrow morning, and bring your game. Practice is at 9 A.M.” With that, their head coach exited the arena leaving everyone baffled.

“Herb is letting us go early?” Neal piped up from the bench.

“It appears so,” Craig Patrick responded as he skated towards the bench. “I expect everyone to regroup themselves by the A.M. hour. No more silly mistakes at practice.” He turned towards the group of Robby, Rammer, OC, Johnson, Suter, and Strobel still at the blue line opposite from Dave. “And let’s be nice, please.”

Bob Suter gave Mac a punch in the arm. “Yeah, Ricky, be nice!” Mac, not having any of the teasing today, gave Suter a shove back.

“How ‘bout you shut your fat face!”

“Whoa, Robby relax, alright! He’s just joking with you. Calm down,” Johnson reasoned while grabbing his linemate by the waist to prevent what could unfold very soon. “And Rammer didn’t mean to hit you. It was an accident, okay?”

“Accident my ass,” Mac snorted. Mark sighed, wishing his teammate wasn’t always so difficult.

Doc and the team’s trainer, Gary Smith, who had gathered their supplies, began to leave. “I think everyone should get a good night’s rest, tonight, alright boys? See you all tomorrow,” Doc called out.

Some of the boys began heading to the locker room, when Rammer spoke up. “I’m really sorry for hitting you, Robby. It was just an accident. You know that we’re all still trying to pick up this new European style of hockey, it’s foreign to us. I mean, just look at Rizzo and Electric. They collided last week.”

Mac huffed, rolled his eyes, and skated off the ice.

“Why is he so bitchy today?” Koho, whom Mac had given that nickname, spoke up, while the rest of the team began to skate towards the locker room.

Jack O'Callahan laughed, “how 'bout everyday!”

While a couple of guys laughed at the remark, Steve Christoff spoke up. “Aw come on, OC, you know that Robby is a nice guy.” Eric and some other Minnesota guys nodded.

“Riff is right,” Neal squeaked, “he just has to warm up to some of you more intimidating guys.”

“At least you don’t have to room with him when he’s like this, OC,” Koho chuckled. Dave cracked a smirk and shook his head.

As the boys got into the locker room, Mark and Robby were having a 'whisper’ fight.

“I don’t want to!”

“You have to!”

“Mark..”

“Robby..”

“Ugh, alright! Fine!” Rob threw his hands up, surrendering. He went over to where Rammer was untying his skates and looked at Mark, who shot him back a 'do it now or else’ glance. Sighing, Rob began, “Um, Rammer, I, uh, just wanted to, um, you know,” Rob gritted his teeth, “apologize for, uh, getting angry at you earlier. I’m a bit tired and cranky, so I’m sorry for being a bitch and taking it out on you.”

Before Ramsey could respond, some guys began chantings of “hey” and some began whistling. Rob apologizing was something Dave thought he would never see while on this team, or at all during his lifetime. Sure enough, the team began chants of “Robby, Robby”.

“Geez, I guess I shouldn’t have said anything at all,” Mac chuckled.

“Alright, alright,” Ramsey shut the chanting down. Holding no resentment towards his former gopher teammate, Ramsey stood up, smiling. “I forgive you, Mac!” He exclaimed, pulling Robby into a bear hug.

Robby wrinkled his nose. “I hope you guys enjoyed that because it’s never happening again.”

The boys proceeded to shower and change into their street clothes. Dave and his friends walked back to the dorms together.

“Wasn’t that a sweet team bonding moment?” Rizzo inquired. “I just love it when everybody gets along.”

Jack shook his head. “Eh, I wouldn’t get used to it, Riz. They’re still Minnesotans and we’re still Bostonians.”

Arriving at the dorms, Dave could not wait to rest his aching muscles, filled with lactic acid. When he discovered that his room was unoccupied, Dave was hopeful that he would be able to fall asleep before Mac came home. However, his friends had other plans as they hung out in his dorm room.

“Since when did you decide to start being neat?” Jimmy questioned, observing the pile of clothes (once on the room’s floor) folded on Dave’s lower bunkbed.

“I didn’t.” Dave’s eyebrows furrowed. “Robby must have folded my clothes.”

“Wow, you have your own personal maid!” Jack laughed.

“I guess so,” Dave pondered, “It sure does make up for his annoying habits.”

Just then, Craig Patrick knocked on the open door. “Come on boys its already 10:20. Room checks are in 10 minutes.”

“Alright, we were just leaving anyways,” OC yawned. “Gotta catch up on our z’s.”

Left again to his empty room, Dave changed into his sweats (which he and many others called pajamas) and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth, still aspiring to get to bed before his roommate. However, that dream was crushed as once he was finished in the bathroom he returned to find Robby on the floor also in sweats, doing sit-ups.

“Stop making me feel guilty,” Dave mumbled. He had never seen someone so dedicated that it almost made him uncomfortable. He was climbing into bed while his roommate was doing sit-ups. Dave was debating getting on the floor and doing the same thing, but he was too tired and lathargic. Once Mac finished his pre-bed workout, he went into the bathroom to go brush his teeth for probably the third or fourth time today, and Dave took it as the perfect time to try to fall asleep. Since he had the bottom bunk, he got to dictate the radio station that they listened to. Rob was never opposed to Dave’s night music anyway, since he usually fell asleep in 5 seconds flat. Dave tuned into STAR 107.9, which was playing Loverboy’s 'Working for the Weekend’.

Everybody’s working for the weekend

Everybody wants a little romance

Everybody’s goin’ off the deep end

Everybody needs a second chance, oh

You want a piece of my heart

You better start from start

You wanna be in the show

Come on baby lets go

Dave shut his eyelids as Robby stepped on his bed and hoisted himself up to the top bunk.

“Goodnight, Silky,” Rob whispered.

Dave cringed, knowing what was about to come. “Goodnight, Mac.”

It hadn’t even been 5 minutes before Dave’s desire of sweet dreams had been disrupted by Rob’s snoring. You have got to be kidding me. Dave turned up the radio in an attempt to drown out his roommate’s obnoxious snorting. Everything had failed, and Dave found himself tossing and turning, clenching his ears with his head under his pillow. He was exhausted, but he could not fall asleep like this. Meanwhile, Mac was out cold. The minutes seemed like hours until he finally fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion, three hours later…

Everyone’s looking to see if it was you

Everyone wants you to come through

Everyone’s hoping it’ll all work out

Everyone’s waiting they’re holding out

Rob’s 6:45A.M. alarm clock (it took a while to tape those sticks) startled Dave as his eyes opened and he sat up with a gasp. Every single fucking morning. As he yawned and scratched his head, he shut the alarm clock off and went back to bed. Practice isn’t even until 9:00A.M. 15 minutes later, Rob’s second alarm went off (just incase he slept through the first one) just when Dave was about to drift off again. You have got to be kidding me. Dave shut the alarm clock off again and stuffed his head under his pillow. After another 15 minutes (Robby didn’t want to risk being late to practice) and another scare, Dave vocalized his frustrations.

“Robby, would you shut your fucking alarm clock off, already?” When he received no answer, Dave climbed out of bed and performed the action himself, proceeding to climb up the bunk bed to where Robby was still asleep. “How is that humanly possible?” Dave grabbed a pillow and whacked Mac in the face with it. “Get the fuck up! Your stupid alarm woke me up three times!”

“Good morning to you, too,” Robby mumbled, still dazed from his wonderful sleep. As Rob jumped down, he yawned and got dressed, while Dave got back in bed. “Have you seen my sneakers?” Rob questioned, searching the room. Dave, still angry that his sleep was interupted, picked up one of Mac’s shoes beside the nightstand and flung it at him. “Ouch! Why so grumpy?”

Dave got out of bed, giving up trying to sleep. “Because every single fucking night you ruin my damn sleep,” Dave shouted, putting on shoes and slamming the door behind him.

Everybody’s goin’ off the deep end

Everybody needs a second chance, oh

As Dave stormed down the hallway, he realized that he had been so frustrated that he didn’t even think about where he was going. “Fuck… if I pull another stunt like that, there’s no way I’ll be here much longer.” Dave shook his head as he exited the building in a hurry, still with no destination. Now, it was 7:30 and he was starting to get hungry. Dave began contemplating apologizing to Mac for his tantrum because there was no way Herb would bring him to Lake Placid if he couldn’t get along with his teammates, let alone Herb’s golden boy. Besides, Dave couldn’t control how his roommate behaved, what time he woke up and went to bed, and whether he snored or not. Get it together, Silk.

40 minutes later, after a nice walk around campus, Dave had finally blown off steam and cleared his head. Even though he felt he should apologize to Mac, the problem was that it still wouldn’t cure the fact that Robby was causing him to severly lack sleep. “Maybe I should just confront Robby about the snoring,” Dave pondered to himself. He re-entered the dorm’s lobby, to where some of the team was eating breakfast, Mac being one of them. Talking a deep breath and approaching Mac, Dave decided that the best thing to do was to call out his roommate on his behavior if he ever wanted the issue solved.

“Mac, you may not like what I’m about to say, but too bad, alright? Your obnoxiously loud snoring needs to stop because it prevents me from sleeping. And you can’t set three alarms if they don’t even wake you up, because thrn they only wake me up, and maybe I don’t want to get up that early. Especially after not being able to fall asleep until 1:00A.M. if I’m lucky. If you’re not willing to do anything about it then we are going to have a big problem because I need sleep, just like everyone else does.” Dave exhaled in relief, as he was satisfied to get that off his chest.

The rest of the guys were chattering amongst themselves as Mac rolled his eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Silky. I never snore. And the fact that those alarms don’t wake me up shows you why I need them.”

Dave scoffed. “Did you here a word I just said? I need sleep!”

“Yes, and I don’t snore so I don’t see what the problem is.”

Mac turned back to the conversation that he was currently having with OC. “Anyways, it’s a fancy term that means being scared of the guy that lives next door,” Mac continued.

Dave crossed his arms. “How would you fucking know if you snored? You’re asleep, you asshole!” With that note, grabbing the team’s attention, Dave spun on his heel, took a bagel, and scurried back to his room.

“Wait 'till we get to Lake Placid, we’ll see who absorbs who,” OC chuckled.

Dave practically stomped his way down the hall. “I’d rather get on a plane back to Boston then room with that jerk until February.” Opening and shutting his door with a slam, he rushed to get ready for practice. Throwing on some shoes, Dave packed his duffel bag and hitched a ride with Rizzo and Jimmy to Bloomington Ice Arena, where Saturday’s practice was being held. During the whole practice, Dave went out of his way to not speak to, or even look at, Robby. After two and a half hours of pure skating drills, Dave decided he was finally going to get that Corona tonight.

“So Silky, what was that little blowup at breakfast about?” Verchota asked, while they made their way to the showers.

Dave cringed. The whole team saw your little tantrum. You’re too old for this, no matter what the cause. “Let’s just say 'grumpy Mac’ better sleep with one eye open tonight.”

“He’s that bad to you, huh?” Verchota gave him a sympathetic smile. How does he like Robby? How do any of the Minnesotans? If Dave was fed up after almost one month, how had they lasted over three years with Mac?

“You have no idea,” Dave responded, shaking his head. Now, it was less about Dave’s sleep loss itself and more about the fact that Rob was in denial about it. Letting the hot water sooth his aching muscles, Dave contemplated how he was going to handle this situation further. He figured that all would be decided after he got his long awaited fixing of alcohol. After getting dressed, Dave had realized that he had left his wallet at home. Having enough of the chitter-chatter atmosphere, he made his way out of the locker room, desiring some alone time. Or at least time to him and his Coronas.

Arriving back at the dorms, Dave realized that he had forgotten his room key. “Dammit!” After taking out his anger on the door, he remembered that Mac had left a spare key under the welcome mat (because even the most deteriorating of college dorm rooms needed a home-away-from-home feel).

Absolutely drained, Dave was completely oblivious to what was lying on his bed (which must have magically got made). Searching for his wallet, Dave almost entirely missed the small square box, before stopping dead in his tracks. It was covered with green wrapping paper and topped with a small white bow. Shaking it, Dave wondered what it could be, while he attempted to open it. “If this is some sort of prank, I swear…” Removing the cover, he found what appeared to be a set of earplugs. Taking them out of the box, he found a little note:

Sorry for your troubles. Maybe this will help.

-Rob

#moinetwork #submission #mcclanahansbackhand #hockey fanfiction #p: silky #p: mac

[wamuvolunteers]

Diane Rehm: From Volunteer to Legendary Talk Show Host

By Diane Elliott

When you interview Diane Rehm, you might as well accept the fact that, at some point in the conversation, somehow, she’ll find a way to interview you. Rehm, known for putting guests at ease while keeping them on their toes, seems to have been born to be a radio interviewer.  Actually, she fell into the job while volunteering.

After 14 years as a stay-at-home mother, Rehm decided to volunteer “just to get out of the house.” Her husband, John Rehm, worked for the State Department, and she joined a related organization, The Hospitality and Information Service (THIS for Diplomats). “It seemed to me a perfect partnership with what John was doing,” she says. At that time, Rehm explains, “the organization helped the wives of diplomats interact with Washington women who were involved in a great many things, who could provide a social network.” Rehm was also a beneficiary of that social network. She befriended Fay Armstrong, a Canadian diplomat’s wife who volunteered with THIS. Armstrong mentioned her other gig, helping out at WAMU on The Home Show. Rehm’s classmates in a one-semester course at George Washington University had previously suggested she should “try broadcasting.” As Armstrong described her work behind the scenes on the radio show, Rehm says, “something happened to me.” It was a light bulb moment of extraordinary wattage.

You know that nightmare where you step through a door and you’re on stage, with everyone looking expectantly in your direction? Rehm’s first day of volunteering at WAMU was kind of like that. It was 1973, says Rehm, when WAMU had “two full-time employees. It was a very, very tiny operation.” When Rehm arrived at the station, nervous about her first day, the station manager met her with the news that The Home Show host, Irma Aandahl, was out sick. Expecting to turn around and go home, Rehm was instead pulled into the studio to co-host that day’s show, which featured a representative from the Dairy Council. “Now, as a homemaker for 14 years, I certainly knew about milk and cheese and meat and so on,” says Rehm, “and I felt that the Department of Agriculture had the food pyramid all wrong, and I said so.” She was polite but firm in challenging the guest’s sweeping statements; a style was born.

Apprenticeships are becoming popular again, Rehm notes, and she feels that her time volunteering for WAMU was just that. “You take an apprenticeship to learn the job on the job with someone who is a good and generous teacher. That’s what I had in Irma Aandahl. Irma taught me how to cut tape, she taught me how to edit. And once I said to her, ‘Is my voice okay?’ She said, ‘Diane, it’s not your voice that matters, it’s what’s up here.’ (Rehm points to her forehead.)“ I’ll never forget that. That helped me through the spasmodic dysphonia portion of my life.”

For the first year after Rehm took over the show in 1979, it was a one-woman operation. “I was doing the entire show alone, and that meant booking, researching, writing, and broadcasting. I’d leave home at about 7:30 in the morning. I’d come home at about 8:30 at night, and after about a year, John Rehm said to me, ‘You just cannot keep doing this.’ So, what did I do? I hounded my bosses and said, ‘You’ve got to give me help.’” The station found additional volunteers. “Without volunteers, I could not have kept going.” The staff eventually grew to include six full-time producers and one part-time producer. One of those producers, Sandra Pinkard, started out as a volunteer. She’s been with The Diane Rehm Show for 23 years.

Rehm encourages WAMU volunteers to make use of their abilities. Her advice begins with the basics. “Show up. Be the best that you can, offer to do as much as you can, bring ideas about what you are doing, interact with others who are volunteering. Don’t be afraid to do that. If you have an idea for something you think would be good, offer it.” At a recent volunteers’ luncheon, Rehm circulated for hours, chatting with volunteers, sharing experiences, thanking them for their help, and, of course, asking questions.

Over the years, Rehm has made use of volunteers’ skills for everything from reviewing potentially featured books to providing snow rescue. In her younger days, if she was snowed in at home, Rehm would walk outside, put up her thumb, and hitch a ride to the station. She laughs, recalling those times. “Eventually, my husband said to me, ‘You’re not going to do that anymore,’ so he went with me. We hitched together.” In 2014’s pre-Valentine’s day blizzard, WAMU volunteer Deborah LaLond, a Minnesotan with four-wheel drive, saved Rehm’s thumb from reliving old times by picking her up and driving her to WAMU so she could do her show.

Rehm will retire from her daily show at the end of 2016, but she’ll continue working at WAMU helping to raise money for the station. She’ll also create and host a weekly podcast (details to be announced). Somehow, this still leaves time for her to return to her roots as a volunteer. “I’ll be working on right-to-die issues, and I’ll be touring nationally in a play about Alzheimer’s disease” (“Surviving Grace,” by Trish Vradenburg), she says. When it comes to volunteering, she’s excited about the future and grateful for the past. “Being a volunteer at WAMU created the pathway to my entire professional life,” says Rehm. “I mean, really. I just feel so fortunate.”

#wamu #npr #diane rehm #public radio #wamu885 #washington dc #The Diane Rehm Show #interview #interviews

[kacydeneen]

'Trump Democrats' Give GOP Hope for a Midterm Win in Minn.

For much of her life, Jacqueline Koski considered herself a Democrat. The Minnesotan almost always backed the party down the ballot. She voted for President Barack Obama twice. During the 2016 primary she threw her support behind U.S. Sen Bernie Sanders, an independent vying for the Democratic nomination.

But after Hillary Clinton won the nomination, the 52-year-old store owner started to rethink her longtime political allegiances. She was tired of what she saw as a cloud of controversy trailing the Clintons. And while she didn't like Donald Trump much either, she deemed him the lesser of two evils.

How US Birthright Citizenship Emerged, Endured

"We really didn't vote for Trump," Koski explained. "We voted against Hillary."

This year, Koski once again found herself facing a difficult choice in a heated campaign. She lives in Duluth, a port city on Lake Superior in the heart of one of the most competitive House races in the country. 

Fact Check: Trump Off Track on Birthright Citizenship

Up for grabs is Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District, where Democrat Joe Radinovich and Republican Pete Stauber are jockeying to succeed outgoing Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan. The race is seen as one of the GOP's best and only hopes for flipping a seat held by Democrats this year and has attracted national headlines, along with more than $7 million in spending from outside groups.

Whether voters like Koski swing back to Democrats or stick with the GOP this November could have consequences that go beyond who represents the district's residents.  

Ben & Jerry's Unveils Pecan Resist Flavor Ahead of Midterms

This article, part 6 in a series, examines one of the key battleground races for control of the House of Representatives in the Nov. 6 midterm elections. Carried by grassroots momentum, Democrats must take 23 seats from Republicans to win the balance of power. They are contending with Republicans' experience and organization, and an outspoken but polarizing president.

The Eighth District covers a vast swath of rural northeastern Minnesota that stretches from the Canadian border through the iron ore deposits of the Iron Range to the Twin Cities' northern suburbs. Strong labor ties forged through the mining and shipping industries rendered the region reliably blue for most of the past seven decades. But Trump and his message of economic populism struck a chord. He won the district by about 15 points in 2016.

Nolan, the Democratic congressman, managed to eke out a victory that year, but the president's landslide win put the already-targeted seat on the radar of national election handicappers, who predicted the midterms would deliver another tight race. Nolan's decision not to seek another term promised to make it even closer.

"The Iron Range used to be solidly Democrat," said David Schultz, a professor of political science at Hamline University in St. Paul. "Now, it's become 'Trump Democrats.'" 

This year's race pits Radinovich, a 32-year-old former state legislator and Nolan campaign manager, against Stauber, a 52-year-old county commissioner, retired police officer and minor league hockey player. Skip Sandman, an independent candidate who ran for the seat as the Green Party nominee in 2014, is also on the ballot.

As in many swing districts nationwide, the economy, health care and trade have been the subject of intense debate.

Both candidates have pledged to keep Medicare and Social Security intact — positions crucial for winning over the district's sizable aging population — and voiced support for Trump's steel tariffs, which helped raise the price on local iron ore and steel. 

But they diverge on other key issues, like health care and the Trump tax cuts, both of which Stauber supports.

"He's got really good business sense and he's propelling it with his administration," Stauber said of the president's performance on jobs and the economy in a recent debate hosted by Minnesota Public Radio.

Democrats believe those issues give them an edge. Radinovich's embrace of progressive policies, like a "Medicare for All"-type system and a $15 minimum wage, helped him sail through a five-way primary, and he has criticized Trump's tax cuts as overwhelmingly helping the rich, not the district's voters. Just last week, the pro-Democrat House Majority PAC announced a six-figure TV ad buy hitting Stauber on health care costs and claims that the GOP's proposals would raise prices for seniors.

Stauber, who has criticized the Affordable Care Act, says he would not roll back protections for pre-existing conditions. He often cites his own experience raising a child with Down Syndrome, which is considered a pre-existing condition by insurance companies. 

"Health care, the economy, social security, all of these issues are still at the forefront of this election," said Tamara Jones, a 41-year-old Democratic operative in Duluth. "I think people are looking for someone who can solve these problems." 

But the race has taken a deeply personal turn. Republican-allied groups ran TV ads hitting Radinovich over past traffic tickets and a drug paraphernalia arrest when he was 18. Radinovich, whose campaign did not agree to an interview for this article, responded to those attacks in a heartfelt video in which he opened up about losing his mother in a murder-suicide committed by another relative when he was a teen.

"These millionaires and billionaires and Washington special interests flooding our airwaves with negative ads want you to believe we should be forever defined by our mistakes, by our lowest moments, by our struggles," Radinovich said in the video. "What I know is my struggles have made me stronger and given me a deeper understanding of what community's about and what's at stake in this election."

Democrats have countered with attacks on Stauber's integrity, accusing him of flouting the law and county ethics policy by using his government account to communicate with the National Republican Congressional Committee. The Minnesota arm of the Democratic Party this week won a judge's order, making those exchanges public.

The onslaught of ads, most of which are attacks on Radinovich, appears to have left a mark on voters. A recent New York Times/Siena poll showed Stauber leading by double digits, a major shift from a month before, when the two were running neck-and-neck.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report moved the race from a toss-up to leaning toward vote Republican. Cook only rates two other seats currently held by Democrats as toss-up or better for Republicans: one in Pennsylvania where court-mandated redistricting will likely benefit Democrats statewide, the other a toss-up race along Minnesota's southern border. 

 In the Eighth District, Democrats hope an energized base and advantages in the state's gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races (both Senate seats are up for a vote due to former Sen. Al Franken's resignation last year) will lift them to victory, despite the odds.

"I think this will be a referendum on this administration," Jones said. "The Democrats are fired up to win. They're out knocking doors. They've got a field program."

But if it does indeed come down to a referendum on the administration, the president himself may be a trump card for Stauber. While his approval ratings have plummeted statewide, Trump's numbers remain strong across Northern Minnesota.

He drew large crowds at his two campaign stops in Minnesota this year, including one in Duluth to stump for Stauber. Other White House surrogates, including Vice President Mike Pence and Lara Trump, have also come to the GOP nominee's aid.

"The popularity of President Trump in Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District is as intense, if not more, than on election night," Stauber, whose campaign did not agree to interview requests, told The New York Times. "He's fighting for our way of life, mining, manufacturing timber harvesting, low unemployment." 

Whether support for Trump in the district translates into a win for Stauber will be closely watched by political strategists, and not just because of what's at stake on Nov. 6. The results in the Eighth and across Minnesota might also forecast what's to come in the 2020 presidential race, according to Schultz.

"Is 2016 an indictment of Clinton in the upper Midwest or a sign that an area that used to be pretty reliable for the Democrats — and the state that's been the most reliable state in the country for the Democratic presidential candidates — is changing?" said Schultz, who wrote a book on presidential swing states.

Koski, the swing voter, has few regrets about her support for Trump. She's happy with the economy and fed up with what she sees as personal attacks against the president coming from Democratic lawmakers like Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. 

Koski also sided with Republicans during the Supreme Court confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanuagh, whom she believes faced unfair and politically motivated allegations of sexual assault. 

Still, deciding which congressional candidate to support this year wasn't easy. While she was drawn to Stauber's experience, she had reservations over his response to a long-running personal issue she's had with officials in the county involving deaths in her family and a custody dispute. 

And while she worries Radinovich's policy positions are "reckless," she didn't appreciate the GOP "kicking a dead horse" by attacking the Democrat over traffic fines.

"More often than not people have trouble paying their bills," Koski said. "More people are going to relate to Joe on that."

In the end, she decided to continue her Republican streak and support Stauber over Radinovich. But even more than seeing her candidate win, Koski is ready for the heated midterm fight to be over.

"It's no doubt that this is a really important race," she said. "When you can cut tension with a knife between neighbors because of lawn signs, it's insane."

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. 'Trump Democrats' Give GOP Hope for a Midterm Win in Minn. published first on Miami News

[newsnigeria]

Check out New Post published on Ọmọ Oòduà

New Post has been published on http://ooduarere.com/news-from-nigeria/world-news/somali-affirmative-action/

Somali Affirmative Action Cop FINALLY Charged in Justine Damond Murder

—Minneapolis Police Continue Cover-Up

  The Somali immigrant Affirmative Action cop whogunned down Australian Justine Ruszczyk Damond in Minneapolis last July 15 has finally been charged with murder and manslaughter.

Justine Damond had called police at about 11:30 p.m. to report a suspected rape in progress behind her south Minneapolis apartment. A squad car responded, but as Damond approached the car in her night clothes, Officer Mohamed Noor fired across his partner, Matthew Harrity, killing her.

Noor is charged with third-degree murder “perpetrating eminently dangerous act and evincing depraved mind” and second-degree manslaughter, “culpable negligence creating unreasonable risk” in the shooting, which drew international attention and led to the ouster of Police Chief Janeé Harteau.

“A person sitting in a passenger seat of a squad car takes a gun, hears a noise, maybe sees some object…He reaches across in front of his partner, shoots a gun at an object that he can’t see. That’s evidence of a depraved mind in my view,” Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said at a Tuesday afternoon press conference announcing the charges. While Freeman said he believes they have gathered enough evidence “as humanly possible” in the case, “We have a daunting task in front of us.”

Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor turns himself in on murder, manslaughter charges in Justine Damond killing

Charges say his partner Matthew Harrity ‘feared for his life.’

By Libor Jany, Star Tribune, March 20, 2018

Freeman’s task is “daunting” because Noor has refused to cooperate with the investigation, other than to say that he was startled by an unidentified noise.

Incredibly, other police officers involved in the incident have also refused to co-operate. Both Noor and his partner Matthew Harrity had apparently “forgotten” to turn on their bodycams, a violation of procedure. A cover-up is obviously underway. [Tension rises between county attorney, police union in Noor investigation | Police union president challenges Freeman’s efforts to gain testimony, By Libor Jany , Star Tribune, March 1, 2018]

This is the history of the Minnesota law enforcement agencies. They have called Muslim jihad attacks on Minnesotans “failed robberies” in at least two cases I know of, including that of Morgan Evenson who was attacked by a Somali while walking home from work on Dec. 13, 2017. She said in a video that the Somali attacker never even reached for her purse as he stabbed her 14 times. ( See ‘Interrupted theft’ led to stabbings at Macy’s in Mall of America, By Pat Pheifer, Star Tribune,November 13, 2017 and Weeks later with no arrests, Uptown stabbing leaves residents feeling uneasy, By Christina Palladino, Fox 9, January 2, 2018]

The Minneapolis Police also failed to make a single arrest in the three-day terrorizing by a Somali mob i n late June 2016 at the Linden Hills neighborhood in Minneapolis. (I documented this incident in my book Stealth Invasion: Muslim Conquest Through Immigration and Resettlement Jihad.)

Note that Noor was the subject of three previous complaints about the way he treated women while on patrol. [Officer Identified as Firing Fatal Shot Has 3 Complaints on File, City Records Show, KTSP, July 17, 2017] But terminating him would have required answering to the city’s powerful Muslim advocacy groups, something no Democrat in Minnesota wants to do.

Justin Damond’s killing received spotty coverage in the U.S. Main Stream Media, which was busy hyping the Black Lives Matter movement and not interested in some white woman killed by an immigrant cop from East Africa. But the case garnered international interest, particularly from Damond’s home country of Australia.

Noor entered the country as a child refugee and was the first Somali to be employed by the Minneapolis Police Department’s 5th precinct. He was one of five Somalis on the entire force and the city is making a special effort to recruit Somalis as part of its affirmative-action plan.

The city’s Affirmative Action program requires it to give preferential treatment to minorities, not only those hired by the city but by all contractors awarded contracts of more than $100,000. [Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights Affirmative Action Planning]

By mid-2014, with the Ferguson farrago i n full swing, Minneapolis’s civic leaders were panicking about the fact that they could not come up with more black police recruits. With 100 new openings due to retirement, the city was apologizing for the fact that at least 71 percent would be white, saying it had tried everything to recruit more blacks over the years, including a pre-high school academy that nurtured young black kids who showed an interest in law enforcement, with only marginal success:

Minneapolis police have about half the black and Hispanic officers they need to accurately reflect the city’s population, records show. This comes despite years of diversity plans, legal action and a federal mediation agreement sparked by low levels of minority representation within the police

[Minneapolis Police Struggle to Hire Diverse Force, by Matt McKinney, Star Tribune, August 19, 2014]

The mediation agreement was a weapon used by the racial-socialist Obama Justice Department to pressure the city into hiring more black and Latino officers.

So, a few months later when the department hired Mohamed Noor in March 2015, it was a big deal. The mayor herself, Betsy Hodges, issued a public statement boasting about the hire on Facebook [May 24, 2016]

I want to take a moment to recognize Officer Mohamed Noor, the newest Somali officer in the Minneapolis Police Department. Officer Noor has been assigned to the 5th Precinct, where his arrival has been highly celebrated, particularly by the Somali community in and around Karmel Mall.

Given that Noor was not only black but a Muslim refugee, he was a twofer in the mayor’s drive for a more diverse police force. This plan, according to city documents, uses Affirmative Action in an attempt to hire minorities to city positions in the exact same ratio that they are present in the city’s general population. Because blacks represent 18 percent of the city’s population, they should make up 18 percent of the police officers on patrol, according to the city’s Office of Civil Rights.

The Somali community itself represents 60,000 to 70,000 residents within the city, most of them imported by the United Nations Refugee Resettlement program, which has delivered more than 140,000 Somalis to American cities and towns since the late 1980s.

Now there is criticism that the city rushed Noor into duty without the proper training in order to meet its diversity quotas. Before joining the department, he worked in commercial and residential property management in Minneapolis and St. Louis and was general manager of a hotel in Eden Prairie.

Ironically, while Minneapolis was recruiting Somalis to become police officers, al-Shabab and the Islamic State were recruiting them just as heavily to become terrorists.

Andrew Luger, the Obama-appointed U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, admitted during a press conference announcing the terrorism-related arrests of six more Somalis in April 2015 that “Minnesota has a terror recruitment problem.”

More than 40 young Somali men from Minnesota have left the U.S. to fight for al-Shabaab in Somalia and for ISIS in Syria and Iraq. (See US Attorney: Minnesota Has Terror Recruiting Problem, October 19, 2016—a report that starts with the words “Six Minnesota men …”.)

The hiring of Noor was supposed to show the world that male Somali refugees could grow up to become model citizens, not just terrorists.

A month before Damond was killed, the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rightslaunched a new “hate crimes hotline” encouraging citizens to take special note of its local police and whether they were exercising “bias” based on one’s race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity or religious background. [Minneapolis Civil Rights Department leader defends herself amid controversy, By Maury Glover, Fox 9, February 23 2018]

Of course, given the political makeup of the city’s leadership and its desire to hire more black officers, especially those with roots in the Somali community, it is highly unlikely that investigators will seek to find out if Noor was motivated by his own religious “bias” in the killing of Justine Damond.

One question that needs to be answered: was this shooting a mistake or was it a “cultural seizure” by a Muslim officer who snapped and acted irrationally at the sight of a woman in her nightgown?

“The shooting makes no sense, and Noor comes from the mandated cover-up women culture,” former Rep. Michele Bachmann, a 2012 candidate for the GOP Presidential nomination, told me last year. “That’s why I’m wondering if they’ll ask whether his cultural views led him to shoot her. That’s something, if true, I can’t imagine the progressives would allow to get out.

“Minneapolis race-baiters traffic in imagined bias,” Bachmann added. “This may have been real bias. But will we ever know?”

Justine’s longtime fiancé, Don Damond, spoke at a press conference three days after the shooting and said the family was not only grieving, but was tormented by the lack of information on what happened to their loved one. On Tuesday, members of Damond’s family issued a statement calling the arrest

…one step toward justice for this iniquitous act. While we waited over eight months to come to this point, we are pleased with the way a grand jury and county attorney Mike Freeman appear to have been diligent and thorough in investigating and ultimately determining that these charges are justified. We remain hopeful that a strong case will be presented by the prosecutor, backed by verified and detailed forensic evidence, and that this will lead to a conviction.

Full Statement From Justine Ruszczyk Damond’s Family, AP (NYT) March 20, 2018

End note: none of the Minneapolis Police Department officers who refused to co-operate with the inquiry appear to have been sanctioned. Noor’s partner Matthew Harrity, after a few month suspended WITH pay, is back on duty.

Indeed, it appears that Noor himself was on leave WITH PAY until today, when he was fired. [The Latest: Attorney: Officer should not have been charged, Star-Telegram.com, March 20, 2018]

Contrast that with the merciless lynching of South Charleston cop Michael Slager, who at least shot a man who was resisting arrest.

But of course, Noor’s victim was just a white woman.

Leo Hohmann [Email him] is an independent investigative journalist and author of the 2017 book Stealth Invasion: Muslim Conquest through Immigration and Resettlement Jihad. His website is LeoHohmann.com and he can be found on Twitter @LeoHohmann.

(Republished from VDare by permission of author or representative)

#U.S.A

[rlschmaltz]

Sam Durant, “Scaffold,” and the Minnesota Commons

by Robert Schmaltz @rlschmaltz

On 2 June 2017, Sam Durant's sculpture, "Scaffold" is to be dismantled by Native Americans, and removed from Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The intellectual property rights to the work of art will be transferred to the Dakota Oyate (people). Finally, the disassembled sculpture is then going to be burned, under the supervision of Dakota elders.

 This commitment along with a sphere of engagement that is set to remain open between the institution and the public, is in many ways both just and right as a resolution. 

 No, this is not an act of censorship. This is an act of editing. Walker Art Center Executive Director Olga Viso and Minneapolis city leaders have chosen to act in a way that seeks to correct the significance of the relationship between its programming, the works of art it puts on view, and the public. This measure of correction is a move toward inclusion, affirming the bond that the Walker seeks with an intellectual public, but also a diverse, social, and political public.

 No doubt, it is a move compelled by public relations. However, what’s worth focusing on is the manner by which Viso and city leaders have responded to the outcry. Their response has been characterized by acts that hold the dignity of the Dakota and Native community high.

 The result is a right-minded settlement. The product of a purposeful view on aesthetics, ethics, and the function of art in the commons.

 That the curatorial team did not foresee the trouble in placing Mr. Durant’s work, “between a giant rooster and a cherry” is perhaps odd, but who among us has not been misguided by our intentions. Let’s not ignore the unique position that Walker maintains by providing standing for experimental techniques, investigations as mediums that borrow from social and political sciences.

 Institutions engaged with experimental processes for the cause of knowledge production regularly rely on systematic ethic review procedures. It would be unusual to find such a procedural review process at play in a museum’s programming, but perhaps it would benefit more progressive and experimental programming.

 The artist Durant has expressed his sincere embarrassment, offered his deep apologies. Still, there remains some neglect for what is an essential lesson in ethical reappraisal.

 Durant claims he failed "to make clear the way I want viewers to think about my work." Durant also apologizes for the trauma or suffering his sculpture may have caused. As a matter of reconsideration, this is an express misreading of the public outcry in the shadow of his “Scaffold.”

 The trauma and suffering pre-exist Durant’s sculpture, and the problem is not with the way the viewers approach the work, or understand the sculpture, but in how the artist relates to the subject of his work, and how the artist relates the position of sculpture to Dakota people.

 Émile Durkheim observed that cultural institutions, like the Walker, exist as symbols of the bonds between the individual, in this case the artist, and the public. In this instance, the public is made more specific by the act of the artist, conceiving of a sculpture bonded with the violent discrimination of Dakota people.

 Unfortunately, the bond between the artist and the Dakota people was never affirmed in a fitting manner. Durant remained negligent toward the existing social bond between the artist’s work and the Dakota people. As a result, the “Scaffold” stood as a symbolic affront to the life of the Dakota people living in the shadow the Dakota 38. This gave rise to the outpouring demand for recognition, place, and purpose.

Durant is recognized for aestheticizing the messages of political activism as a principle medium in the artist’s work. When it was first presented in 2012 at Documenta (13) in Kassel Germany, the sculpture was then explicitly connected with the thought that through death is the realm of freedom, and associated with prison and execution rates in America.

 But by situating “Scaffold” in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, the work is brought close to home for people who are seeking to live and live free. It takes on a new form with thickness, with contextual implications.

 The emotional, physical, and enduring pains are specifically fixed into the experience of the Dakota tribe, dyed into the fabric of Minnesotan history. This trouble results from systematic exclusion from societal institutions compounded by being forced to live with the actual living consequences of the violent events that Durant sought to represent with significance. However, the people of the Dakota tribe already embody all magnitudes.

 The event of 26 December 1862, the scaffold, and the people already possess what is momentous. The community brings meaning to the subject, the scaffold.

 Socially and ethically speaking Durant is now correct, it would have been right and perhaps favorable to all persons involved to have connected with and consulted with the Dakota people.

 As a means to establish a point of reflection and healing the bond between the institution and the public, the artist and the institution would seek to assert its fellowship with the group of people who have been excluded. Given the way the work was situated, this is accomplished through the dismantling, redistribution of intellectual property, and burning of the structure as a community.

Images: 

(Top) Sam Durant, pdf of Scaffold booklet, Documenta (13), 2012. Pg. 1.; 

(center) Works of art by Sam Durant on view, “Is This Freedom?” Blum & Poe, 2007.

#sam durant #dakota tribe #native american #scaffold #walker art center #Minnesota Sculpture Garden #ethics #art #commonwealth