Photo and blog post by John HoffMaybe I could have written this commentary while the previous issue of Insight News was still sitting on the news racks, but one thing I've noticed is there's always PLENTY of copies left sitting on the news racks. And I wouldn't want to leave the impression I just couldn't wait to read the article by Kenya McKnight about Kenya McKnight...no, that old copy of Insight News was stuffed in my backpack, forgotten, and I found it recently while looking for some object. Not sure what object it was, but I'm fairly certain it wasn't a Sharpie marker.
So, months after some fairly brutal election results which left no doubt about the popularity of Council Member Don Samuels against, gee, four other contenders (political midgets one and all, but some were more midget-ey than others) unsuccessful Fifth Ward Candidate Kenya McKnight has published some commentary which, truthfully, would have been better off left unpublished.
In the article, McKnight talks about how her life had been "in a funk" for two years and how she'd "lost interest in everything including my responsibilities to support my life and eventually grew very tired of the world that surrounded me." As I read this article, dear reader, I had to ask myself...
...did I write a political parody piece and submit it to Insight News without REMEMBERING I'd done that? Because I could hardly believe what I was reading, here. In politics it is always possible to reinvent yourself, and the public has a short memory. Kenya could have waited a number of years, kept her head down, and tried running again. And, yes, she might still do that...but this article won't help her. In fact, I think this article will set Kenya back further, politically, than even her utterly unsuccessful run for public office.
Honestly, what voter in their right mind wants an elected official who makes running for public office sound like, well, an alternative to suicide or psychiatric hospitalization?
The fact Kenya wrote such an article is not THAT shocking...after all, a reliable source told me about Kenya's rather quirky beliefs in regard to the Queen of England, and when I asked Kenya about that subject directly, Kenya didn't go out of her way to deny it...so, yeah, I can see Kenya writing something c-r-a-z-y like this piece.
But what surprises me is the damn thing got PUBLISHED. That's what I find shocking. Didn't somebody at Insight News say, ever-so-gently, "Kenya, do you really think you want to say this kind of stuff? How you lost interest in your personal responsibilities so you decided to run for an office of, well, great responsibility?"
But everybody who was there at the Fifth Ward DFL convention remembers Insight News publisher Al McFarlane talking so long at the podium that Kenya McKnight--the actual candidate--had about 37 seconds left to speak. Once again, while taking on the guise of supporting Kenya McKnight, Insight News has done the young woman no favors.
So, months after some fairly brutal election results which left no doubt about the popularity of Council Member Don Samuels against, gee, four other contenders (political midgets one and all, but some were more midget-ey than others) unsuccessful Fifth Ward Candidate Kenya McKnight has published some commentary which, truthfully, would have been better off left unpublished.
In the article, McKnight talks about how her life had been "in a funk" for two years and how she'd "lost interest in everything including my responsibilities to support my life and eventually grew very tired of the world that surrounded me." As I read this article, dear reader, I had to ask myself...
...did I write a political parody piece and submit it to Insight News without REMEMBERING I'd done that? Because I could hardly believe what I was reading, here. In politics it is always possible to reinvent yourself, and the public has a short memory. Kenya could have waited a number of years, kept her head down, and tried running again. And, yes, she might still do that...but this article won't help her. In fact, I think this article will set Kenya back further, politically, than even her utterly unsuccessful run for public office.
Honestly, what voter in their right mind wants an elected official who makes running for public office sound like, well, an alternative to suicide or psychiatric hospitalization?
The fact Kenya wrote such an article is not THAT shocking...after all, a reliable source told me about Kenya's rather quirky beliefs in regard to the Queen of England, and when I asked Kenya about that subject directly, Kenya didn't go out of her way to deny it...so, yeah, I can see Kenya writing something c-r-a-z-y like this piece.
But what surprises me is the damn thing got PUBLISHED. That's what I find shocking. Didn't somebody at Insight News say, ever-so-gently, "Kenya, do you really think you want to say this kind of stuff? How you lost interest in your personal responsibilities so you decided to run for an office of, well, great responsibility?"
But everybody who was there at the Fifth Ward DFL convention remembers Insight News publisher Al McFarlane talking so long at the podium that Kenya McKnight--the actual candidate--had about 37 seconds left to speak. Once again, while taking on the guise of supporting Kenya McKnight, Insight News has done the young woman no favors.
And my two cents...the photo used in that article, which is the same photo she used a lot throughout her campaign, makes her look about as happy as one would expect from someone who has given up on life and all responsibilities. Doesn't really make me want to vote for her. Just sayin'.
ReplyDeleteSo where does she live? Did anyone ever figure that out?
ReplyDeleteShe should get a place w/ Lennie.
"A Political plant will lead the masses to Chaos."
ReplyDeleteI think it is absolutely hilarious that you are attacking this woman for believing in "conspiracy theories" while at the same time maintaining that nearly every comment on this blog is from Keith Reitman. Both the pro snitching comments and the anti snitching comments are apparently the work of this Reitman fellow.
ReplyDeleteI think the simpler explanation is probably the better one. In this instance, the simpler explanation is that there are a lot of weird people in north Minneapolis and that some of them post on this blog.
Perhaps you people should try to focus on improving yourselves instead of attacking everyone around you. At least Reitman seems to contribute to society and pay his taxes.
But I suppose you'll accuse me, too, of being the evil Keith Reitman.
Several comments that were delayed for publication have been approved as of today. They are not on this post, but various posts throughout the blog. The reason for the delay concerned ongoing litigation. I am not able to say at this time why I am approving the comments, except that I am glad to be able to finally approve them and I wanted to publish them for months.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I don't think Keith Reitman is "evil." In fact, odd as it may sound, I really don't mind the guy so much. But he appears to have the means and opportunity to make his properties nicer and pull up the North Side. Instead he revels in slum.
ReplyDeleteExhibit A: Ugly ass chocolate brown building with Sharpie numbers for the address.
It's not just Sharpie, John. Above the door, there's actually "1405" nailed to the wood. The numbers are a little faded though; they were white or black at one time, but gray now.
ReplyDeleteI don't expect anyone will read this though. I guess since I don't own a house (and probably because I rent from Keith), I'm not a true neighbor. :-/
Can you tell us which comments they are? The new comment feature doesn't seem to show any old comments.
ReplyDeleteTo "La Vie"
ReplyDeleteYes, I've seen where one of the doors at the ugly ass chocolate brown building has an old number, but most of them don't, and even at that particular door the Sharpie seems to be serving as the "primary" address identifier.
To Anonymous, asking about the old comments recently approved: I approved a slew of them and I'm not even sure which posts they are on. So I guess everybody--including any opposing counsel, if any--are going to have to spent hours looking, like a virtual Easter egg hunt. But--like Easter candy--it seems like fun when you're looking, but if you find it, it's not really that big a deal.
Well, I would imagine that the only reason the 1405 1/2 is on there in Sharpie in the first place is because the mailman (and others) often think that the whole building is "1405" even though the apartment is on the top and the bottom is something else.
ReplyDeleteI know I've seen comments about the halve number addresses being defunct around here, but I don't understand why the concept seems to be difficult for people to grasp (not just on here, but whenever I say my address to people on the phone). I guess it's just because the halves system is still commonly in place in small-town Ohio and Indiana (I even lived in one in Indiana; it was the top half of a duplex).
Back to the numbers above the door though: they're the same size and shape I've seen on quite a number of residences in the neighborhood, so I'm assuming that everyone will have to adjust to the change? Because I use Freecycle often, and I've noticed that even those little numbers are hard to see from the road.
I'm interested in how it will be enforced. I can remember when I was young, and our county in Indiana adopted specific rural addresses to comply with the new 911 system, so everyone was supposed to put their new addresses on either their house or mailbox. I didn't see my dad or any of our neighbors doing so (not for the 4 years in which I still lived there afterward), and no one ever got after them for not following the order.
>So where does she live? Did
ReplyDelete>anyone ever figure that out?
>She should get a place w/ Lennie.
Not with Lennie with Keith or at least above one of his buildings.
1408 Penn Ave N is the address
Johnny Northside...HAVE YOU SAW this KENYA BLOG? http://badmpls.blogspot.com/2010/05/dont-be-fooled-by-her-hijab-who-is-real.html
ReplyDelete