Secrets of the City

Jesus Fucking Christ.

Okay. I’ve had enough. What’s it going to take to get KK bumped from the STrib? On-line petition? Coordinating a withdrawl of advertising? I’m totally serious about this.

taylor-

Maybe a few more letters to the editor. Looks like there’s already a good start. She drives me nuts too.

-Aaron

ummmm, don’t read it?

Six of one, half a dozen the other.

The Strib wouldn’t want to be having any columnists that generate letters to the editor. Not that!

Letters to the editor are only good for comedy. Advertising dollars, however, are the way to get a point across.

I’m mostly upset that the Ugly Step Sister of Ann Coulter makes a living doing this. Wait does that make Ann Coulter Cinderella? That can’t be right!

I have reservations about being part of a conversation that attacks the physical appearance of a specific person in our community-and usually, I don’t think that any blow, if funny, is too low. I like mocking Kersten’s stylistic choice of coiffure, and I understand that refering to someone as an “Ugly Stepsister” is different than flat-out calling the person “ugly,” so I’m wondering: where is the line between poking fun at public figures and useless cruelty?

How poking fun at someone that would deny you the legal right to marry the person you choose (I happen to be gay) useless cruelty? Huh Sarah? KK I’m sure “knows” lots of gay people, but still wants to deny them basic rights.

“How poking fun at someone that would deny you the legal right to marry the person you choose (I happen to be gay) useless cruelty?”

Someone has a fundemental disagreement with your beliefs so its ok to make fun of thier appearance?

It’s people like you that give liberals a bad name. Because of that attitude, America voted for Bush.

Sorry Matt! Maybe you should read what I actually said and did I say I was liberal? I’m really sorry ugly people have such fragile egos, but calling someone the ugly step sister is not necessarily commenting on thier looks.

Jesus Fucking Christ!

And depriving people of basic human rights is not a disagreement over what flavor of ice cream (God you worship) you like.

I’m confused . . . haven’t read a lot of Kersten’s stuff, but why does a story about a Christian coffeehouse warrant such vitriol? Letters to the editor and in this space chastise Kersen, as far as I can see, for writing about ideas she believes in. I don’t agree with many of the ones she has written about, nor how she’s presented them. She should be certainly be admonished for playing both sides of the coin in politicizing Wellstone’s death, and for all I know, she’s Pat Buchanan in drag (again, haven’t read enough of her pieces to know). But a story about a Christian coffeehouse is the final straw for Taylor? The call for Rex to utter what most Christians consider an obscenity?

No offense intended here, but a casual reader such as myself sees these things at the top of the posts and interprets lots of hatred towards Christians AND Kersten. If that’s not the case, fine. If that is the case, then consider why you want Kersten off the paper for her narrow-minded views, and why your own narrow-mindedness wants to remove the voices of those who disagree with you or believe in something you don’t.

Okay I have a good compromise. Lets move KK’s column to the Faith and Values section of the Strib. Make it once a week and require her to talk about puppies and kittens and why they don’t get to go to Heaven no matter how cute they are at least once a year.

Michael: the bar in medium-sized markets is pretty low for both typical liberal and conservative op-ed columnists. Fine. But for the love of black baby jesus, the saccharine silliness that KK brings today is just a whole different type of pathetic.

What’s the opinion here? The U is big and unfriendly, and most students are rowdy–but not this group! Let’s hear it for well-behaved college kids! Here’s an idea: the STrib runs important opinion pieces that have something valuable to say.

KK needs the boot from the Op-Ed page, period. How do we make it happen?

Well, that, or we could all grow up and allow for the fact that an columnist is allowed to have opinions, even inflammatory ones, and even, heaven forfend, ones that disagree with our own smug self-righteousness. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — moral certitude cannot be combatted with moral certitude.

Taylor-

Thanks for explaining some, but she’s either evil and bigoted and so . . . so . . . REPUBLICAN . . . and hateful and mean and homophobic, as many of the letters to the editor seem to indicate, or she’s saccharine and silly and weightless, as you seem to argue. Which is it? If she’s the first, or both, then your argument about opinion pieces falls apart, because you are defining “important” as “agreeing with me, or middle-of-the road”. If the last, you have an argument, but she doesn’t only write about puppies and kitties (I’ve been researching this past hour), and so her opinion remains exactly that. An opinion. On the opinion page. What a shocker. If you want the Strib’s opinion section to be the New York Times . . . then read the New York Times.

Having written all this, and having read some more of her stuff, I probably won’t be reading any more of it in the future, because I can identify easily where she and I would disagree. My choice not to read her. Don’t make it for me, if you please.

Sorry Matt!

Apology accepted.

Maybe you should read what I actually said

I did. Where was I confused?

…but calling someone the ugly step sister is not necessarily commenting on thier looks.

Maybe you should read what you wrote.

And depriving people of basic human rights…

I hope someday government has nothing to do with marriage and two adults can do whatever the hell they want, but calling a legal contract a “basic human right” is the kind of overeaction that makes it not happen in this day and age.

I’m really sorry ugly people have such fragile egos

Pot, Kettle

Not to get overly picky, but KK’s column does not appear in the Opinion Section. She’s in Local (What used to be Metro). Meaning a Local NEWS section.

Matt are you familiar with the Cinderella Story? I’m guessing not so much. Apology retracted.

Fair enough, Mpls . . . she doesn’t appear on the opinion page. I was going with Taylor’s description, as I only read the Strib online. I will point out, however, that it’s standard practice to put columnists throughout the paper, and, frankly, they have even less call to write “important opinion pieces”.

Why is it that liberals, the pontificators of inclusion and equality, are the first to be mean, divisive and insulting when someone presents a point of view different than their own?

Why?

Oh, crap, gotta get ready for Kristin Stinar’s hooker interview on KSTP….

Can we please stop linking to KK’s columns? She’ll probably use all the extra hits to justify a raise. Let’s just quote her text, be outraged, and then *not* link to her.

Why is it that liberals, the pontificators of inclusion and equality, are the first to be mean, divisive and insulting when someone presents a point of view different than their own?

I think that people of all political persuasions should be able to take one look at KK’s picture and agree that something has gone horribly, horribly wrong. Conservatives and liberals should be able to join together and tactfully suggest that she should reconsider her commitment to visiting only home-schooled hair stylists. I think that’s important, if for no other reason than because it will allow us to look past her god-awful mugshot and focus on her complete lack of qualifications and credibility for this position.

I just wanna take the cattiness in a whole other direction…peppermint Americano? EWW.

Ho Hum…another day in paradise. Let’s all be partisan and insult each other. Let’s not make a clever play on works. Let’s feel crappy. Only about 50 days to the Equinox and the return to lengthing daylight. Oh wait…Let’s jump to conclusions about other people. The internet…A NEW WAY TO FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF! Everyone your assignment today is to hug a person at the bus stop.

The first rule of blogging is don’t say anything interesting
The sceond rule of blogging is don’t say anything interesting.

Ah..I think the third rule of blogging is proof read before hitting Add Comment. I have broken rule three. I must now flaggelate myself by having to listen to witty banter overheard at Starbucks.

It’s the freedom of choice aspect that appeals to me. For instance, after Mike’s comment and picture link, I choose to completely drop this slog-fest and move on. No matter what the intention, this just ceased to become a discussion of newspaper content and became a beavis-and-butthead type insult fest. I am saddened and disappointed, but yet relieved that I can devote my time to something else now.

Walking High and Mighty like he’s number one…Michael thinks he’s the passionate one! Hey Ladies!

I think America takes themselves way too seriously and should lighten up a bit…Trade in those Black Smocks for a nice Teal Timberwovles T-shirt. Trade in those Support our Troops magnetic bumper signs for a nice Chai Latte and a copy of Dwell. Let’s focus on the fun things. Like lets take bets on if KK has tickets to the opening of Wicked! in Minneapolis. I’m going to set odd at 5-2. She seems like a fun love’n gal, just be sure to bring your Gallagher trap hunny you don’t want to get any of the water splashed on you!

I think she looks okay. Maybe a little color blind, but I have my own fashion lapses now and again.

Mike, I look forward to your Doug Grow and Nick Coleman ‘qualifications’ and ‘credibility’ revelations.

Aww Bud…why don’t you go out in the yard and shake your cane at school kids.

Nice moniker.

The demographic readership of this site has taken a serious turn in the past month or so imho.

Anyone know why? Did mnspeak get some wide press or something?

It’s creeping lower and lower on my RSS feed list

Now, what I’m going to tell you about the world of journalism will not surprise you. It is very fast-paced, a constant deadline chase. It is addicted to sensation. Whatever is violent or shocking grabs headlines; you must look for a long time to find anything that is noble or uplifting. It is a characterized by shifting fashions; trendy issues and buzzwords succeed one another with predictable regularity. It relies, too often, on anecdote, and encourages feeling, not thinking. In many cases, analysis is not perceived to be necessary, if proponents of a position express outrage or indignation loudly enough. Finally, it is a world where public memory is very short. Many journalists, like many citizens today, have a limited understanding of history. They have fallen prey to cultural narcissism  the belief that we exist at the pinnacle of history, to which all other ages were merely a prelude, and that those who lived in other times or places have little to teach us.

These are KK’s words from the

http://www.nd.edu/~pls/programma/conference/kersten.html

Website. Read thru and form an opinion. I think she needs to maybe go back and read this also.

The best picture of Kersten ever is here.

The Strib needs a conservative columnist. This is absolutely true, right, good, fair, etc. But shouldn’t another qualification (aside from being conservative) be that this columnist should be able to write original, intersting, and WELL WRITTEN columns?

KK is simply a terrible columnist. Her specific political views really aren’t the problem. I can’t read her stuff without whincing.

Please please replace her with Sarah Janacek, who should have been hired for the job in the first place.

Really.

Please.

There’s nothing wrong with the Star Tribune “balancing” itself with some conservative opinion, however KK’s columns are always…. Pointless? She doesn’t talk real politics, but either whines about something that the evil liberals do, or else she puts some christian thing or another up on a pedestal. It’s the same sad formula in every column… Either something is eroding our family values, or some family is trying to be more christian and look how fucking wonderful they are, or liberals are eating babies, or blah blah blah.

It’s just…. silly.

I can do without Ms. Kersten, but this innocuous column about a coffee shop is the last thing on my list to get my undies in a bundle over.

Sometimes I gotta take a step back and think, “What would Marcus Harcus do?” And he would reject the knee-jerk reaction of lashing out at something just because it is associated with other lines of thought we don’t agree with.

Dude you guys – that’s my mom you’re talking about!

Ok seriously… this column almost tickles my gag reflex, and yet I know it probably appeals to a lot of the Strib’s 50+ demographic. Hell, maybe they should do MORE of this instead of trying to be hip/young/cool. That was my crazy thought of the day.

Don’t be surprised of Bordertown ends up as a Minnesota Story.

Does no one car ethat those good Christians are living together in a coed house? Where are your priorities?

That’s what happens when you let kids protest in highschool, I bet.