Unbalanced.mn

11/03/2022

THIS PAGE IS NOT MAINTAINED OR MONITORED! Hit us up on Twitter, though! We check that almost weekly, whether we need to or not.

26/09/2020

What is this absolute nonsense? If you're putting in the time to design a Lego set based off the 1994 Jim Carry film The Mask, you do the Coco Cabana Club. It's basic math.

On a tangent, is still early stages but I'm talking to several collaborators about a new season of the podcast. We have high expectations: higher production values, a cohost, and fewer "umm"s. Tentatively called "Fascism: What is it? What isn't it? Who does it? Is it a problem? Let's find out!" I'll keep y'all updated on developments if/as plans solidify.

https://ideas.lego.com/content/project/link/00c9cbfb-6241-4af4-8344-f2db7e64a734

Released in 1994, "THE MASK" traces the journey of Stanley IPKISS (Jim CARREY), a common bank employee passionate about the world of cartoons and Tex Avery. One evening, he finds a mask endowed with supernatural powers...

09/09/2020

Me: Ugh. All this BS about face mask mandates being tyrannical. We're in the middle of a global pandemic. You literally could not think of a regulation that makes a stupider emblem of government overrea...

The right wing: THE GUBERMENT WANTS TO TAKE AWAY YOUR INCANDESCENT LIGHT BULBS!

https://web.archive.org/web/20191018155036/https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/article/its-light-bulb-liberation-day

The government's intervention could have killed the light bulb, what will be the next thing it seeks to control?

03/09/2020

LOOKING FOR A COLLABORATOR, PLEASE SHARE!

Hello! The last several months have brought a lot of changes to my career, I'm really appreciative of the support I've received from so many people; emotional, financial, and professional. I might be the one doing the hands-on work, but everything I write is the product of my community.

Recently, I've decided to shift into journalism full time. Along with this, I'm sre-tarting the unbalanced.mn podcast.

To make this work, I'm going to need a partner, a co-host. Please help me get the word out. I have a few ideas about what this new season will look like, but I don't want to get ahead of myself. I'm really looking for someone who can collaborate from brainstorming to posting the last episode of the season.

The ideal candidate will have experience in journalism, historical/sociological research, audio production, and/or fundraising.

Personal political beliefs don't matter, but this is news, not talking heads. I'm not looking for someone to argue with on air, though behind the scenes argument is encouraged. You must have a respect for people of all backgrounds and identities and be deeply committed to factuality and accuracy.

I'm flexible about level of commitment, but it will require about five hours a week at a minimum. This is not a paid staff position, but one of the goals of this first season is to develop a sustainable financial model, including compensation.

If this is you, dm me with a brief bio/qualifications. If it's not you, please help me get the word out!

01/09/2020

My latest for the Minnesota Reformer , about some of the online content that motivated the recent threat on Gov. Walz's life.

Shawn Simonson, who threatened to kill Gov. Tim Walz, has frequently shared Facebook posts from the group Right Now MN, which is funded by prominent Minnesota men.

30/08/2020

Woot! What a mention. You know, I frequently describe myself to friends as "obsessed" with right wing media, so no notes for this post.

25/08/2020

Over at the Minnesota Reformer twitter post for my recent article about Bronze Age Pervert's book, I've been engaging with Pervert's fans.

Did a race realist post an "IQ v. Skin Tone" map? You betcha. Is there a physical threat involving an army of m**h heads? Is there ever! Is there pseudo intellectual nonsense that collapses into personal attacks at the slightest challenge? Hells to the yeah there is, brah.

One of the thing missing from the article was the voice of the people who read Bronze Age Mindset. This Twitter thread is a garbage heap of racism etc., but if you want to get a complete picture of what this book is, you can't do better than reading what it's fans have to say:

https://twitter.com/MNReformer/status/1297897663392882689

“Bronze Age Mindset is a popular neo-fascist book whose fans include .... Minn. state Sen. Roger Chamberlain. https://t.co/bamqlJx1GP”

31/07/2020

I'm reading the best boring book I've ever read: "Fascism in Action," a 1947 congressional report.

It's a minutely detailed description of everyday life and government under fascist Germany, Italy, Spain, and other countries.

The word fascism gets overused to the point that the actual meaning of the word is lost. But this is an excruciatingly detailed definition written by scientists who studied fascism while it was still happening.

A couple of the good bits:

A tight definition: "[Fascism] makes fanaticism a virtue and weaves ideological concepts about the doctrines of race supremacy, the leadership principle, rule by an elite class, government under a single Political party, the acquisition of living space, a totalitarian state, and the use of force as an instrument of national policy."

Fascism in the USA: "There are many strong symptoms of fascism in our own democratic society. True, this movement in the United States masquerades under other names than the discredited one of fascism, but whatever it may be called, its peculiar characteristics are alarmingly evident."

The first goal of N**i foreign policy: "'The foreign policy of National Socialist Germany had several objectives: (1) to fight and eradicate the rival system of communism."

15/07/2020

An essay.

We found that while the (few) left-leaning sites prioritize statewide reporting, right-leaning sites are more focused on local reporting, indicating the potential for these sites to exacerbate polarization in local communities.

08/07/2020

I've been meaning to announce on here:

For the time being, I've shifted my focus away from the podcast to paid work for the Minnesota Reformer (ma baby needs nappies.) I appreciate all the support people have shown this page, and I don't want you to unfollow!

I'll continue to post minimal updates as I can, share my other work, and hopefully someday revive the project when I have the time/resources. I enjoyed the freedom, learned a lot, and told some important stories.

Thanks for following and remember to keep looking up!

08/07/2020

Here my latest for the Reformer.

Documents show Minnesota Fusion Center was giving officers unverified intelligence following the police killing of George Floyd.

16/05/2020

For anyone waiting for evidence of wrongdoing in , well a few days ago, Mystic Joe pulled some tarot. Talk about a confirmation!!1!

https://twitter.com/MysticJoe3/status/1259704062079090688?s=20

“Just pulled some tarot. “Those that have been waiting for justice, will be rewarded.” Talk about a confirmation! ”

15/05/2020

"He seemed now to be also the embodiment of the fully emancipated male, perhaps the only one in America, the man who can do anything he wants, anything, can do it because he has money, the energy, and no apparent guilt." -- Gay Talese, "Frank Sinatra has a Cold"

Comes from a radically different context but, near as I can tell, this is what the anti-lockdown protesters mean when they say "freedom."

Here are someone else's thoughts on the subject:

COVID-19 has shined a light on how shallow people's understanding of freedom is. Without responsibility and sacrifice, it is meaningless.

12/05/2020

This is bu****it on so many levels. To just pick one, Monsanto gave to Republicans over Dems by more than 3:1 in 2016 (most recent data on Open Secrets.) This was posted by an account controlled by mainstream MN Republican donors.

Funny for the times.

05/05/2020

Usually, I'm posting Unbalanced.mn content to my personal page, fun to do it the other way around.

Civil RightsCOVID-19 Lawyers and conservative activists suing Walz administration have been at it for decades By Logan Carroll - May 5, 2020 Facebook Twitter Email Print Lawyer Erick Kaardal questions why some businesses were deemed essential and other not and argues those deemed inessential have ha...

03/05/2020

Floating around certain corners of Facebook. for some context, Walz has been photoshopped into the Joker makeup from the Chris Nolan movie. He's an anarchist villain who threatens the safety of all of Gotham whom Batman can only defeat by violating everyone's civil rights.

So... weird choice.

Tyrant.

01/05/2020

Working on a piece to actually get published, but I'll be back with regular updates again next week.

29/04/2020

The Upper Midwest Legal Center is planning on suing to force an end to Minnesota's shutdown. You might remember all the way back in episode two we learned about the UMLC, which shares an address and a lot of leadership with Center of the American Experiment

Yesterday, they used Alpha News to issue a cattle call for people who "believe they can mount a constitutional claim against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s COVID-19 related executive orders." They want people who feel that Walz's orders have negatively impacted their "exercise of speech, assembly, governmental petition or religious freedoms."

This isn't the first time they've done this, back in October they called for stories about "left wing violence" during the Trump rally as fodder to sue leftist orgs and politicians in the TC.

That cause has yet to materialize into any concrete legal action, so we'll wait and see if this one goes anywhere. I'll let you know!

(As always, the below link is cached on the Wayback Machine, so click free of the fear that you're boosting their metrics.)

https://web.archive.org/save/https://alphanewsmn.com/law-firm-walz/?fbclid=IwAR2Iz08t-KkZPNM_pGdAYGqJ8x6EtBT_BVhSa7f1FCK7ipLy_kbtIpf41go

A law firm is looking for clients who believe they can mount a constitutional claim against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's COVID-19 related executive orders.

24/04/2020

I'm looking for a campaign finance law expert to talk to for the next episode of the podcast, can anyone put me in touch with a lawyer or an uncredentialed expert?

24/04/2020

According to its founder, Right Now Minnesota's mission is "to solicit small donors who had given up on politics because nobody would listen to them." And yet, the $37,000+ they've brought in so far this year has come from just two individuals:

Louis F. Hill, the actual heir to a literal robber baron's fortune
and
Warren G. Herreid, II, who once hosted a David Horowitz-headlined MNGOP event at his home that was described as "A large well appointed room, entered from where your car had been valet parked, filled with roaming servers bearing plates of wonderfully prepared hor d'oeuvres."

The forgotten men, indeed.

23/04/2020

Here's a few white hot takes from the last couple weeks, courtesy of Freedom Club-run Right Now Minnesota:

+ "Oh yes, “SCIENCE,” the one WORD THAT JUSTIFIES EVERYTHING FROM THE LEFT!"

+ "Dr. Richard Capek thinks that instead of an epidemic of viruses, we are now at a point where we have an epidemic of tests."

+"Fear does not stop death. It stops life. And worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles, it takes away today's peace."

All fun and games, but that second one was linked to in a post that read: "If you are in your mid eighties, with pre-existing health conditions, you really need to be EXTRA CAREFUL! Beware and pay attention to what you can do to minimize your risk and your loved ones risk. If you want more information read: https://www.rightnowmn.org/perspectives_on_the_pandemic_ii. GREAT INFORMATION!"

This is ridiculous, but it's also sick, promising "great" medical information to at-risk seniors and delivering anti-science conspiracy theories. So, just a reminder that >90% of this nonsense factory's expenses is paid to 1854 inc, whose CEO is an employee of digital advertising company BRICK, Inc., Richard Andolshek's company that he runs with family. (Andolshek is the prez of Freedom Club, whose treasurer Richard Morgan is also the treasurer of the nonsense factory.)

20/04/2020

Man, been reading Alpha News again and its kind of sad. Most days it's nothing but reprints of national affiliates, cartoons by paranoiacs, and short essays by college Republicans.

Has the fire gone out? In an election year, I expected them to be more... I don't know, robust and vigorous. Where's that fighting spirit, Alpha Dawg?

19/04/2020

For anyone who still thinks of Center of the American Experiment as a center-right, science-based think tank, here's an official podcast pushing far-right, anti-science talking points about the Coronavirus response. Approximately 11:30 in:

"All these people think this pandemic is justification for talking away all our rights and putting 300 million people under house arrest, people who are healthy, people who are not at high risk of getting sick, people who -- if they get COVID-19 -- can quarantine themselves."

This isn't isolated, either, their prez, John Hinderaker, went to the "Liberate Minnesota" rally yesterday.

https://web.archive.org/save/https://www.americanexperiment.org/2020/04/in-the-tank-ep239-coronavirus-are-people-fed-up/

Heartland’s Donald Kendal, Justin Haskins, and Jim Lakely, are joined by Isaac Orr for episode 239 of the In The Tank Podcast. As state governments continue to crack down on citizens to combat the spread of Coronavirus, people are starting to lose their complacency. We ask, “does the government ...

18/02/2020

Daniel Carroll, who wrote the show's theme, is playing with The Wake Singers live on South Dakota Public Broadcasting radio! NOW!!!

listen.sdpb.org

15/02/2020

New episode is live: Crime Watch Part Three: This Book is Racist. We finish up our investigation of the Minneapolis Crime Watch and Information Network with a look at their ideology and agenda, with a conversation with New Republic staff writer Alex Pareene.

Thanks to Daniel Carroll for the theme, Becky Zosia Dernbach for basic editorial oversight, and The Neighborhood Reporter for reprising his role as the voice of the Minneapolis Crime Watch and Information network.

https://pinecast.com/listen/49c32cf8-faac-44a4-9205-41c0a04b1965.mp3

10/02/2020

Oh look, helpful little nuggets of info to keep you up to date on happenings around the world:

BRAZIL
IRAQ
GERMANY

26/01/2020

Whew. It took a minute or two, but here we go at last. Episode 7: Crime Watch, Part Two: Mean World Syndrome (or E7CW2MWS for short,) is live!

In this episode, we learn 1) more than you ever wanted to know about the massive and long-running Minneapolis Crime Watch and Information network and 2) why we still don't know enough. A look through their recent posts shows how they foster a community based on fear and racial resentment in support of the MNGOP.

Thanks to Ruth DeFoster of the University of Minnesota for talking to me this episode. Defoster is a specialist in media coverage of crime and wrote the book Terrorizing the Masses: Identity, Mass Shootings, and the Media Construction of ‘Terror.’ Thanks also to Naasir Akailvi over at The Neighborhood Reporter, who plays the part of the network this episode, and, as always, thanks to Brodan (Dan Carroll) for providing the music.

https://pinecast.com/listen/2310c2bd-a0bc-4a42-b61c-dd94810c8c24.mp3

16/12/2019

16/12/2019

Hey everybody! Thanks for following this up-and-coming journalistic endeavor so far. As you probably know, the vision has been being refined for some time now, and that has included a name change to Unbalanced.mn.

Facebook has some pretty stupid rules, however, and requires me to announce the name change before they will consider allowing me to change the name. After more than a week of automatic rejections when I tried to change the name, they have finally told me what I need to to do change it.

So, in summary, hoop jumped through, and thanks for following!

04/12/2019

Hey everybody! Thanks for being early listeners. Sorry for the late post this week, I've had a killer cold that stopped me from recording for a few days and from editing for a few more. But here it is.

The next episode will be Dec. 13, see you then!

Music is "Ramblings" by Dan Carroll/Big Horn

https://pinecast.com/listen/fbbf8950-0b3b-481e-a421-af25392c47e4.mp3

22/11/2019

Episode four of Unbalanced.mn is live on Spotify, Google podcasts, and here: https://pinecast.com/listen/5b789233-f8e2-4f24-b7e1-8c4646ce4de8.mp3

In this episode, I'm introducing a new segment called "Fact Check" where I ascertain the veracity of claims made by the blog network.

In the main segment, I reach out to professor of Greek and Roman studies Curtis Dozier to help respond to a particularly vile Alpha News article. Dozier runs Pharos: Doing Justice to the Classics, which documents appropriations of Greek and Roman culture by hate groups online.

In an unrelated note, did you know it's really difficult to record good audio from a phone call? I do. Now.

Music is the single the single "Riley" by Dan Carroll/Big Horn.

13/11/2019

Last week, I announced I was changing the podcast's name. This week, I'm posting the first episode of the newly rebranded 'cast, UNBALANCED.MN.

This episode, I dig into the connections between the media network that surrounds the Freedom Club and the media network fostered by the Koch brothers and their fellow activist billionaires.

Also, at the end of the episode, a salute to an anonymous angel.

Thanks for this episode are due to the Beckies and the Carrolls (Becky Zosia Dernbach [1], Becky Carroll and Andrew Carroll [2] and Dan Carroll [3].)

[1] Being a listening board/deserves a producer/editorial credit but we haven't talked about it.
[2] Providing early emotional and financial support for slightly better microphones and a podcast host.
[3] Music; this week it's "Old Folks Home" by Dan's (old?) band Big Horn.

https://pinecast.com/listen/4ced5bb7-5d26-43d6-aebb-45dbbad0ae6b.mp3