Former "NoMi Blog Wars" Combatants Find Common Ground As Don Allen Of IBNN Republishes JNS Blog Article About Badly Paid AmeriCorps Tutors Who Should Be Filling Slots In North Minneapolis School System..

Creative stock photo by John Hoff, Soviet medal for sale in
Afghanistan, blog post by John Hoff

"Two voices can speak more loudly than one," I said to Don Allen, my former blogging foe who is now participating with me in a "NoMi blog wars cease fire." 

Don Allen is, like me, a devoted father and has concerns about quality school systems for our children. After I wrote an article about badly paid AmeriCorps tutors who are supposed to be filling slots in the North Minneapolis school system, I thought to myself that Don Allen might agree with the article and, furthermore...

Don Allen Of IBNN Confirms A Ceasefire In North Minneapolis "Blog Wars," Tenuous Internet Peace Appears To Be Holding Among The Two Major Players In Widespread, Complex Social Media Conflict That Spanned Years...

Image from IBNN blog, original images were from another media source, (left) and
Don Allen Facebook (right) and have both been used extensively under Fair Comment
and Criticism by various entities, blog post by John Hoff

A ceasefire in the vicious North Minneapolis "blog wars" has been called by the two major players, JNS blog and Don Allen of IBNN, as first announced here on JNS blog and now subsequently announced by Don Allen upon IBNN. With the ceasefire now publicized by both parties, it is becoming more and more of a reality. 

"Don and John" (or "John and Don?") have discussed the possibility of mediation or other direct and formal talks...

JNS Blog And Don Allen Of IBNN Reach Tenuous "NOMI Blog War Cease Fire" Agreement And Try To Hammer Out Possible Long Term Truce...

Creative stock photo, (my duffel bag, it has been a few places) blog post by John Hoff

JNS blog breaks the self-imposed silence caused by a direct hit from a "First Amendment Chill Ray" to announce a metaphorical cease fire agreement has been reached with Don Allen of IBNN blog.

Click here for an article referencing what have been called the "NoMi Blog wars." The article is from February of 2011 but the vicious "Blog Wars" have been ongoing all this time, pulling in many participants, and have even moved into the new territory of North Minneapolis Facebook forums such as North Vent and North Talk. 

By email and text message initiated by IBNN blogger Don Allen earlier today, my former friend Don Allen is asking Johnny Northside for certain things and he is promising certain things in return. The conversation is...

JNS Blog Tries To Uncover Why Blogger Don Allen Was Terminated From His Post As "Second Vice President" Of Minneapolis NAACP, Oh, It's Not Pretty, Folks...

Photo from Don Allen's Facebook, used under First Amendment Fair Comment
and Criticism, (OMG check out this NAACP member hanging with the GOP) blog post 
by John Hoff

For those who don't want to read my entire, detailed article below, here's the skinny from an informed source about why IBNN blogger Don Allen was really kicked out of his Second Vice President position with the Minneapolis NAACP:

He tape recorder (sic) NAACP Regional managers and played there (sic) conversations on him and Ron's blog radio show... Posted lies about executive board members and bashed NAACP and other leaders... it was just never ending.... but you know Don. Why do you REALLY care???????? What has he done now

And now settle in for the rest of the story, folks...

What's This? Oh-So-Sneaky Don Allen Trying To Post A Comment On Johnny Northside's Blog? Be Sure You Aren't Logged In To Your BlogSpot Profile Before You Try To Post "Anonymously," Don!

Facebook image of Don Allen obtained from his Facebook and used
under First Amendment Fair Comment and Criticism, and public 
safety exception for purposes of visually identifying a con man, blog post
by John Hoff

I often get anonymous comments which appear to be attempts to spread gossip about prominent people in the Minneapolis black community, and I often SUSPECT these are anonymous comments left by unsavory IBNN blogger Don Allen...

THREE Years Since The Death Of Major Topps, And Big-Talking Blogger Don Allen Still Hasn't Delivered The Answers He Promised...

 Creative stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

Well, it's becoming kind of a holiday tradition here at Johnny Northside: Every year, around this time, I mention that big-talking blogger Don Allen PROMISED everybody that he'd get to the bottom of the circumstances surrounding the death of Major Topps. Topps was beaten in the basement of a church. Some weeks later, he died, supposedly of causes unrelated to the beating. There was a great deal of whispering about Major Topps which can be adequately described with a single nickname:

MINOR BOTTOMS. 

Let me quote, once again as per the holiday tradition, what Don Allen told everybody in a blog posting dated November 2, 2010...

"Shakedown Blogger" Don Allen Of IBNN Banned From North Talk Facebook Page...No Sign Of Mourning By North Talk Participants...

Creative stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

Don Allen of the IBNN blog, who doesn't live in North Minneapolis or own property in our neighborhood but constantly tries to involve himself in North Minneapolis issues, has been banned from North Talk Facebook page. The page is a discussion forum about North Minneapolis issues which has been eclipsed, of late, by the more popular North Vent Facebook page, but remains a popular forum.

Word is Don Allen was banned for his constant race-baiting on the forum.

This reminds me...

Hey, Don Allen, any more information on what "really happened" in the death of Major Topps? You promised a long time ago you would get to the bottom of it. It's coming up on the third anniversary of your promise. 

Don Allen Makes A Play To Become Minnesota State GOP Chairman, Room Erupts In Laughter At His Salary Expectations...

Creative stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

"Shakedown blogger" Don Allen, who is leading the forlorn "black Republican" charge all by himself most of the time, recently made a bid to become chair of the Minnesota Republican Party.

I am told Allen garnered 28 votes and to some it was a surprise Don Allen got any support whatsoever. But the most notable part of the competition for GOP Chair was what Don Allen expected for a salary...

Mpls Mirror Denounces Former Friends And/Or Allies, Disappears Into A Dark Hole Of Its Own Self-Created Loony Misery...

Photo by John Hoff, Al Flowers and the Mpls Mirror Lady, blog post by John Hoff

Normally, I ignore the Mpls Mirror, which is Terry Yzaguirre's attempt at blogging gloriously free of the conventional constraints of proper spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Yes, I'm quite aware the Mirror doesn't like me very much, and the feeling is mutual. So I don't comment on The Cracked Mirror or mention The Cracked Mirror except, for example, when writing about criminal charges leveled against Terry's children or the crazy lawsuits the Yzaguirre family has filed in the court with the help of troubled attorney Jill Clark.

(Want to file a CRAZY lawsuit? Get a CRAZY lawyer. Wouldn't that make a great advertisement on the back of a phonebook?)

But every now and then I do check the Mpls Mirror because, who knows? Maybe a stray nugget of info will turn up about Jill Clark and it will prove to be a lead to information when I write Part Fifty-Six Or Whatever It Is of The Madness of Jill Clark.

So at about 2 in the morning, I checked the Mirror. The latest article on the Mirror referred me to Terry's other blog, Unconventional Grandma.

Wow. Turns out I am still capable of being surprised by that category of people some of us just refer to as "The Crazies"...

Johnny Northside Writes "One Word" About Don Allen...

Photo used under First Amendment Fair Comment And Criticism, blog
post (such as it is) by John Hoff

Behind the scenes, I am following an interesting story about "shakedown blogger" Don Allen. And in the course of this story I heard through the grapevine Don Allen said, "If John Hoff writes ONE WORD about me...!!!!!"

So I just wanted to say...

One word. About Don Allen.

"Shakedown Blogger" Don Allen Sought Restraining Order Against Activist Al Flowers Last Summer, ALL THE JUICY DETAILS, Plus A "Gloves Are Off" Johnny Northside Editorial About Don "Judas" Allen, My Former Co-Defendant In The Blogosphere Trial Of The Century...

Photo used under First Amendment Fair Comment and
Criticism, blog post by John Hoff

In a recent blog post about Don Allen's email sent to me in Afghanistan, in which Allen forwarded information about Minneapolis Public Schools money paid to, among others, Al Flowers, I made passing mention of a restraining order Don Allen tried to file against Al Flowers. (27-CV-11-13351, Donald WR Allen II v. Alfred Flowers) When I wrote that blog post, I didn't have all the info about the (attempted) restraining order.

Well, now I have the info...

Another Mysterious Don Allen Email, This One Sent To Me In Afghanistan, Discusses Minneapolis Public Schools Money Paid To Al Flowers...

Photo, a Mercedes truck from the 1950s still in use in Afghanistan, blog
post by John Hoff

I like to say Afghanistan was a blast.

Fortunately, I wasn't killed in the blast.

I spent 9 months and 11 days on foreign service, which is a pretty cool numerical coincidence, I think. Obviously my prolific neighborhood blogging paid the price, since free time was limited and when I did have free time, well, what would you do? Shop in an exotic foreign bazaar? Or blog about neighborhood doings literally on the other side of the planet?

But blog about this side of the planet I did, usually when my free time coincided with bad weather or the Muslim sabbath; during which times the bazaar was closed. Or one time when I was recovering from dental surgery. Anyway, I got some free time here and there, and sometimes the internet was working (sometimes it wasn't) and I'd manage to blog or check emails on my free time.

In Afghanistan. It's a small world after all.

Somehow, though, I missed an email forwarded by Don Allen about a Minneapolis Public Schools "Community Support Initiative" (CSI) which involved some of the money going to community activist Al Flowers. I was searching through old emails recently and, oh my goodness, what was that email from Don Allen about? The one dated December 1, 2011...

Mysterious Don Allen Email To Star Tribune Reporter Raises Question Of Test Score Tampering At Harvest Prep, That Question Comes From DON ALLEN, So Take It For What It's Worth, But WTF, Don, WTF?

Facebook photo of Don "Shakedown Blogger" Allen, used under
First Amendment Fair Comment and Criticism

While the Johnny Northside blog has written two articles raising questions about Eric Yusef Mahmoud, the convicted mortgage fraudster who is the founder of SEED Academy/Harvest Prep, blogger Don Allen has been pretty much carrying Mahmoud like a supportive beast of burden.

(Click here and here for my previous two blog posts)

But for a while I thought, well, that's fine. Don Allen smells money in Eric's pants pockets, so Don Allen will do his thing and, to balance out the universe, I will do my thing. But now I have to raise questions about what Don Allen supposedly knew back in August of this year about alleged test score tampering at Harvest Prep....

God Bless Our Veterans On Veterans Day (And Protect Them From Being Robbed In Their Beds By Don "Shakedown Blogger" Allen Of IBNN)

Stock photo, (Gulfport, Mississippi) and blog post by John Hoff

I don't remember when or where it was, exactly--in some offhand blog commentary, maybe in a discussion on a comment thread--but I made a public vow to write about Don "Shake Down Blogger" Allen every Veterans Day and Memorial Day as long as he continues to stick his nose in North Minneapolis politics, when he doesn't even live in NoMi and his angle usually seems to be "throw some money my way, and I will stop bashing you." (The fiasco with an advertising campaign for the Minneapolis Public School system is Exhibit A)

Why, you may wonder, should I care so much on Veterans Day about Don Allen and his mostly-irrelevant IBNN blog? (Despite the overblown format of the site and its delusional pretensions to being some kind of internet news service, IBNN is mostly a one-man show run by Don Allen and something of a poster child for adult literacy issues) Why should I care all the way from AFGHANISTAN as I celebrate my very first Veterans Day as a full-fledged war veteran?

Well, because soldiers look out for each other. Soldiers will even look out for a soldier who is DEAD. Soldiers will even look out for another soldier's BODY PART.

Some years ago,  Don Allen robbed a bedridden veteran at the VA hospital, as revealed in documents published by the Irving Inquisition blog, click here. Click here, also, for more info. 

And for that crime, I will make sure Don Allen is reminded on every holiday set aside to honor veterans as long as I feel this special "anti-honor" is deserved. My own father, a veteran of the attack on Peal Harbor, died at that hospital. That could have been my dad, that could have been the soldier beside me.

Looking at Allen's site recently and some of the b.s. he's trying to pass off...well, let's make a list, shall we?

1.) Bashing on the Urban League as usual. Don, do you think you could run things better if you had control of that organization and put all their funds in a Ponzi scheme?

2.) Trying to stir up dirt with the Minneapolis School System over the firing of a basketball coach at Patrick Henry High School. What's wrong, Don, things didn't go well with the Minneapolis public schools advertising contract?

3.) Bashing the Executive Director of African American Family services. This one says "post in progress" and is dated November 7. Hey, Don, since you apparently stole the whole "post in progress" concept from this blog, let me school you on that.

A.) You shouldn't take several days to complete the post, especially if you've got two completed posts above it. That just looks stupid.

"Premature blog-u-lation," if you will.

B.) "Post in progress" is not supposed to be used as leverage to shake down money, information, or action as a tradeoff for NOT finishing the post. You either have more info coming or you don't.

Well, I think I've said what I need to say on Veterans Day. Pray God that if sentry duty goes badly tonight and I end up in a bed at a VA hospital facility, some con like Don Allen won't be rummaging through my belongings, looking for my check book.

(Do Not Click "Read More")

Sad, Ridiculous Little "Springboard Economic Development Corporation" Event October 22...

Chism stock photo and blog post by John Hoff

All the way from Afghanistan I can take a moment to be amused at the spam-oidal email I received from Springboard Economic Development Corporation. God only knows why I'm still on their email list, but I am.

Springboard is, of course, a sort of Lennie "Heckler" Chism entity with a heavy touch of Don "Ponzi Scheme" Allen.

Lennie is the notorious woman-abuser who came in fifth place in a five-man race for the Fifth Ward last political cycle, actually getting less votes than a garden gnome. And Don Allen is, well, here's a link that says all you need to know about Don Allen, click here.

So here's the laugh-aloud-funny "invitation" I received by email here on the other side of the planet, when I have time to clear out my inbox spam in between watching for vehicle-borne IEDs to come across the wire...




-------------------------------------------------------------
Hello John!

You are invited to the following event:

You're Invited - Sat, Oct 22nd 9am, Minorities ASKING - Where are our JOBS/CONTRACTS on Federal Funded Projects, Light Rail, MnDOT? Let's Talk Solution - Invited Gov. Dayton, Sen. Klobuchar, Rep. Ellison, Rep. McCollum, LETTER for JOB SUMMIT, CONGRESS

Event to be held at the following time, date, and location:
Attend Event

Oct 22, 2011
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

4801 4th Ave South
Minneapolis, MN 55419

Dirty JOBS??? Where are OURS? JOBs/Contracts Enforcement? “It’s my responsibility and the responsibility of the MnDOT director to make sure that happens,” Dayton said to Chism. “Every six months, if you don’t see progress … give me a call.” ...

We hope you can make it!

Cheers,
Springboard Economic Develoment Corporation
---------------------------------------------------------------

Please note that last word "Develoment" is spelled just the way it was on the email. 

Yes, this entity literally can't SPELL "development." I don't know who authored the email but, of course, atrocious spelling, bad grammar, excessive capitalization and lack of proof reading are pretty much Don Allen hallmarks.

Note how the author of the email name drops a whole bunch of important folks who are "invited" to the event.

Oh, yeah, like the governor will be there. The state senator.

The only way THAT would happen would be if it were NOT a Springboard event, but Springboard were merely publicizing another entity's event as though it were their own. Then it might happen.

In typical con man fashion, Springboard tries to make itself seem like much more of a successful player than it is.

When these important folks don't show up at this event, then there will be a hue and cry: Why are they ignoring us? Why won't they come and talk about these issues? THEY WERE INVITED.

From the other side of the world, I am calling bulls*** on the email publicity surrounding this October 22 event or, shall I say, non-event.

FOX 9 Taken In By Don "Shakedown Blogger" Allen, Trots Him Out Like A North Minneapolis Community Leader...

You Tube video embed, blog post by John Hoff

If the embed code is available, I will embed it if I feel like it, and you, Don Allen, can kiss my bloggy bottom

"Shakedown Blogger" Don Allen, who doesn't even live in North Minneapolis, somehow managed to fool FOX 9 into thinking he was a representative of the community during the recent dust-up over youth violence. It would appear FOX 9 didn't do much checking into Allen's background before trotting him out, so let me remedy Fox 9's negligence:
Don Allen was involved with a company that went down in a high-profile Ponzi scheme, he robbed a bedridden military vet and has a criminal record because of that, and while taking cheap shots at our duly-elected Congressman and city officials, Don Allen has loon-wagon politics far outside the mainstream of North Minneapolis--i.e., he has been a guest of the freakin' Tea Party.

Also, how could FOX 9 have forgotten the recent fiasco with the Minneapolis public school system and Allen's $15,000 contract for advertisements that turned out to be riddled with factual errors?

In the course of the bizarre FOX 9 interview, Don Allen took shots at Mayor Rybak, the DFL, and trotted out familiar self-serving complaints about where public money is going, i.e., it's not going to Don Allen.

I have suffered through watching this video and now will respond....

Allen can actually be heard chortling in the background at one point, when he hears himself suggesting individuals should protest in front of Rybak's house.

Right. Like that will ever happen. Like Don Allen suggesting something on television will ever make it happen.

Allen fills the internet with his typo-ridden, self-referential bulls***, but can he make anything HAPPEN? Can Allen actually make an angry crowd materialize at Rybak's house the way actual North Minneapolis movers and shakers can, at the drop of a hat, drum up a crowd in front of a slumlord's house or at a community meeting about Level Three sex offenders?

No. Allen can't do anything along those lines. He stands at the edge of somebody else's crowd, somebody else's success, and starts blowing his own horn. Like the scene in the video where Allen chortles at hearing his own imagined subversive cleverness, the only person who believes in Don Allen is Don Allen and, in this case, some overworked news editor who didn't do enough fact checking before lining up this interview with Allen.

Oh, yeah, I can just about imagine the crowd Don Allen could whip together in front of Mayor Rybak's house:

First, Don Allen himself, with his U of M professor wife Enid Logan Allen nowhere to be seen because while she will marry Don Allen (god only knows why) she would never be seen in public at an Allen-organized fiasco.

Standing right next to Don Allen would be everybody's favorite loon, Mayor of Crazy Town Al Flowers, grinning like he just smoked an entire dime bag. I should mention Al Flowers doesn't live in North Minneapolis, either, but like Allen he often shows up to make noise. (Flowers, I hope one of your literate friends is reading this to you)

Lennie "The Heckler" Chism was expected at Don Allen's hypothetical and imgarinary protest but, well, um...he couldn't get any of his women friends to give him a ride in their car. I should mention that nobody in their right mind actually believes Lennie lives in North Minneapolis, including during that period of time Lennie was running for Fifth Ward City Council and finished behind an ornamental garden gnome who somehow got on the ballot.

The scary-looking pale lady from the Mpls Mirror will be at Don Allen's protest, of course. She appears to have a lot of time on her hands, like mental patients or individuals in rehab.

Here's some free advice, Mirror lady: just because you're the only grassroots media person to show up at a sad little non-event, that DOESN'T make whatever dribble you write an "exclusive."

Sometimes no media showed up because whatever happened just wasn't noteworthy.

And, oh, wait! There's one more person at Don Allen's imaginary protest in front of Mayor Rybak's house.

Is it? Could it be?

Yes, it's Level Three Sex Offender Peter "Spanky Pete" Rickmyer, hovering in the ghastly skinny shadow of the Mirror lady, looking like a stray dog sniffing for an unattended butt hole down low to the ground.

What more needs to be said, here? FOX 9, you're the media. You're supposed to have a grasp of relevant facts. This was not a quality interview with a North Minneapolis expert. This man is a FAKE who isn't from the neighborhood and whose qualifications don't even meet the high standard set by the word "dubious."

Next time, Fox 9, please don't put a microphone on a stinky cow pie and then try to pretend you're serving us filet mignon.

(Blogging from an ice cream parlor in Hattiesburg, Mississipi)

JNS BLOG EDITORIAL: Child Support, House Taxes, And How Does Don "Shake Down Blogger" Allen Celebrate Memorial Day?

Contributed photo, xoxo, blog post by John Hoff

Guess what I'm holding in the photo above?

Never mind, I'll just tell you: child support checks.

These checks are not FROM me TO child support. No, rather, these checks are from the State of Minnesota and made out TO ME. The checks range from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars, but many of the checks are the same amount, over and over, $65.

In the photo I'm holding, like, eight checks. But I've received over a dozen in the past several months. These represent OVERPAYMENTS to child support. Far from being a "deadbeat dad," I have actually been paying MORE than the State of Minnesota says I should pay for several months, now. Why do I mention this...?



Because of positions I have long taken on this blog...that North Minneapolis should be improved, revitalized, made safe and prosperous and relatively free of crime...I have been attacked, over and over, often with completely false accusations. That I'm a deadbeat dad. That I don't pay my house taxes.

My house taxes? Paid up. Just like they should be. All paid up.

Have there been times I've fallen behind on child support and house taxes? Oh, yes, definitely. And I've paid whatever fines or interest resulted. Of course, nobody gives you a bonus for paying house taxes months and months early, or for overpaying child support.

But good citizenship is its own reward. Today, on Memorial Day, I think of the soldiers who have served our country, like my own father who was at the attack on Pearl Harbor and landed with General MacArthur at Leyte Gulf.

I also think of people who have disgraced our country: like Don "Shake Down Blogger" Allen, who stole money from a bedridden vet. Click here for details.

In a burst of patriotism, this I publicly vow: Every Memorial Day, as well as every Veterans Day, I am going to get on my blog and make mention of Don Allen's disgraceful act against a bedridden vet. And, by god, I'm going to keep doing this as long as Don Allen--who doesn't even live in North Minneapolis--keeps sticking his nose into North Minneapolis politics and roiling up the waters in forced and unnatural ways. I mean, honestly, no sooner had the NoMi tornado lifted off the ground than Don Allen was already trying to assert the authorities were going to create some kind of racist diaspora of renters. This is classic Don Allen: creating a wild-eyed conspiracy out of nothing but thin air and his porno-fevered imagination.

But this is a FACT: Don Allen stole from a bedridden vet.

That's the character of Don Allen.

Yes, It's Still On...The Blogosphere Trial Of The Century!

Blog post by John Hoff


Yes, it's still happening: Jerry Moore v. John Hoff a/k/a Johnny Northside, and John Does 1-5. The blogosphere trial of the century is taking place again today, Room 655C, Hennepin County Government Center, the Court of the Honorable Judge Denise Reilly.

This blog is too busy defending itself to write much, but fortunately there is all kinds of coverage in the mainstream media and at least one other blog, Ed Kohler's "The Deets." The trial has been covered by MinnPost, Twin Cities Daily Planet (two articles by Shiela Regan with a third expected today) the Star Tribune (one article, one opinion column by John Tevlin) and MPR.

And so it is the fate of this blog and its impact on the neighborhood is in the hands of a judge and seven jurors, good and true. Win or lose, the blog will go on. Readers can be assured of that.

They will stop my blogging when they pry the password from my cold, dead brain.

(Do Not Click "Read More")

JNS BLOG EDITORIAL: Dubious $15,000 Don Allen Contract Causes Closer Scrutiny of Minneapolis Public Schools Expenditures (Dig, Corey, Dig!)

Photo and blog post by John Hoff

The story which this blog exclusively broke some weeks ago--a dubious $15,000 contract with the notorious blogger Don Allen of IBNN to promote the struggling Minneapolis Public School system--has been picked up by other media entities including The Deets blog, Twin Cities Daily Planet and, most significantly, the Star Tribune. (Pictured above)

Chris Stewart, former Minneapolis School board director, has publicly called Don Allen's blog "the equivalent of black on black crime." While often crying out about perceived racism, the vast majority of people Don Allen attacks on his grandiosely titled IBNN blog are black community leaders, including frequent attacks on President Obama and Fifth Ward City Council Member Don Samuels.

I should be clear that when I say Don Allen is "notorious," I am referring to Don Allen's lazy fact checking, his well-documented tendency to just make things up, (Poopgate! cough cough) his terrible spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization and also the fact Don Allen operates a kind of "shakedown" blog, leveling scathing accusations or THREATENING to level scathing accusations while, at the same time, offering solutions to the "problems" he has pointed out. Somehow these "solutions" often seem to involve paying money to Don Allen, such as his proposed "con man contract" which involved the Minneapolis Public School District posting (OMG!) a $25 million dollar bond as part of a "community benefits agreement."

But that's all background. In some sense, that's YESTERDAY'S news. What's new, interesting, and exciting is that once the Star Tribune started digging into Don Allen's contract, they didn't stop with Don Allen. The latest problematic MPS contract to come to the attention of the Star Tribune is a $97,000 contract with Schoolwires, Inc. to deliver website services.

Corey Mitchell, the same reporter who did the story on Don Allen, delivered a great story about the Schoolwires fiasco, click here for Star Tribune article.

I only hope Mitchell keeps digging and gets to the bottom of the financial mismanagement at MPS, especially the rumors which just won't die of $100k that went through the Minneapolis Urban League, with some of the money allegedly ending up in the hands of notorious loon-at-large Al Flowers.

Dig, Corey, Dig!

If I was the Minneapolis Public School system, right about now I'd be really, really unhappy that doing business with Don Allen has caused a Star Tribune reporter to take such an interest in mismanaged money. In fact, I'd be trying to figure out how to get out of the Don Allen contract just to get some of the egg off my face.

$$$

(Do Not Click "Read More")

Jerry Moore v. John Hoff a/k/a Johnny Northside (The Blogosphere On Trial! Da Da Da Dummmmm!)

Cell phone photo by Megan Goodmundson, blog post by John Hoff


Regular readers of this blog who run into me in the real world are usually surprised to hear former JACC Executive Director Jerry Moore’s defamation lawsuit against this blog is still in existence. Having not heard about it for a while, they figure it must have gone away, died, or been dismissed. Click here for an article that summarizes the issues wonderfully.

In fact, the lawsuit has dragged on and is currently on the Hennepin County trial court calendar for Thursday March 3, at 9:30 AM, the court of Judge Denise Reilly, Room 655C. The trial may go beyond March 3 to Friday, March 4. It’s not currently scheduled for the following Monday but, well, sometimes things take longer than planned and we have to consider the lessons of history and other trials involving issues in the Jordan Neighborhood.

Attempts to obtain another continuance on the basis of being tied up doing much more important things did not meet with success at a pretrial hearing on Thursday, February 10, but the trial date of March 3...



...appears to have been kindly picked by Her Honor to avoid interfering with my work schedule, so that was helpful and I’m grateful for that.

With Don Allen of IBNN now dropped as a co-defendant due to settling out of court, it appears the case is now captioned Jerry Moore vs. John Hoff a/k/a Johnny Northside, which is a fine title for the history books and possibly case law.

The February 10 hearing was attended by Jill Clark and Jerry Moore. I attended with my new lawyer, Paul Godfread, who was introduced to me through a media law project at Harvard, click here for a link to their website describing my case as a threat to free speech.

Godfread--who is not a graduate of Harvard, but part of their media law network--normally handles intellectual property law cases (stuff about copyrights, for example) but he has a passion for the First Amendment. He is, quite possibly, one of the tallest lawyers practicing in Hennepin County and (for those readers familiar with North Minneapolis personalities) bears a physical and personality resemblance to “shoe patrol hero” Peter Teachout, who is now an officer in the United States Army.

Also present in court was Don Allen of IBNN. At a hearing on Monday, in which Don Allen sat on the defendant’s side of the table long enough to say he’d been dismissed from the lawsuit, Allen announced he was filing a “harassment restraining order” against me. Not long after that, he apparently articulated the same threat to Sheila Regan at Twin Cities Daily Planet, click here and read the “sidebar story” to the article.

However—and this is so often the case with anything Don Allen says—there has been no sign of any harassment or restraining order filed against me or this blog. Rather than being stalked or harassed, Allen is simply unhappy about First Amendment public discourse: articles on various blogs (and now the Star Tribune) seriously questioning the wisdom of giving him $15,000 of scarce public schools tax dollars to produce commercials for the Minneapolis Public School system which, one can’t help but worry, may be not much better than his “talking baby” video posted on YouTube before it disappeared recently.

Also present in court was Terry Yzaguirre of the Mpls Mirror and notorious Level Three sex offender Peter “Spanky Pete” Rickmyer, who also attempted to sue the Johnny Northside blog and was declared a frivolous litigant, unable to file lawsuits pro se. In the corridor outside of court, Rickmyer was overheard speaking to Jill Clark about something “Puh-Puh-Peggy” told him to relate.

Clark is known to have a paralegal named Peggy. Rickmyer was also observed to fiddle with what appeared to be a cell phone during court proceedings.

Jordan Neighborhood super citizen Megan Goodmundson was also present in the court room.

With little time to prepare for the big show, Godfread has jumped into trial preparations with both feet.

Readers and media are urged to come one, come all to watch the live show:

THE BLOGOSPHERE ON TRIAL! (Click here for dramatic musical effects)

$$$