The Funniest President traveled to Wall Street recently, on a mission to kick shins and take names. Since entering public life W has scattered behind him a string of linguistic pearls the likes of which many older Americans still recall fondly from the TV show Kids Say the Darnedest Things. “I know how hard it … Read more
Meleah Maynard’s article [“I Against I,” May] was well written, informative, and palpable. Maynard is right on point that just being “black” does not make one community. The Somalis and African Americans are going through the same integration problems that waves of immigrants have been experiencing for centuries—Italians versus the Irish at the turn of … Read more
Ever since your publication of “You Don’t Know Jack” [Gastronomer, June 2002], I’ve had trouble sleeping. What has been keeping me awake nights is the turmoil over whether or not to expose your “Gastronomer,” Joe Pastoor, as the fraud he is. I have made the decision to come clean. (And C.J., if you’re reading, please … Read more
In our ongoing survey of bars that serve good food at odd hours, we’re pleased to report that Grumpy’s features an exhaustive—though occasionally sticky—menu of sandwiches, burgers, and delightful comfort foods, all of which we’d stand right up against the menus of any other bar anywhere in the city. We recently worked through a bad … Read more
The daily news cycle is a hungry beast with a short memory, so maybe it should come as no surprise that the revelations of Minneapolis FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley came and went so quickly. Still, you’ve got to credit W and company. The administration has dispatched her story with impressive speed and political acumen. First … Read more
Dear Rake Editors, Are you out of your alleged minds? Judy Garland is less famous than Josh Hartnett? Okay, maybe among twenty-somethings at this exact second, but the cover said "of all time." Let’s see if "Black Hawk Down" is an annual TV event 60 years from now. Let’s see if people can name the … Read more
Mr. Collins needs to know that this trash problem isn’t just concentrated in northeast Minneapolis. It’s all over the city, and it’s getting worse. When I first moved here, Minneapolis was described as “the most European city in the U.S.” In the quarter century I’ve lived here, I’ve seen that description deteriorate, as the city … Read more
Father Thomas Buffer’s diary [“Father, Forgive Them,” May] comes off more as a bitter diatribe against the press and modernism than as any real answer as to what to do with priests who violate the trust of children. To imply that “homosexual priests have gotten sexually involved with boys under 18” due to societal acceptance … Read more
Clinton Collins suggests that all the littering in North Minneapolis is done by young, male African Americans [Free the Jackson Five!, May]. How does he come to this, dare I say, startling conclusion? The people in front of his house were young and black. Therefore, we shall presume his situation is universal for citizens of … Read more
Somalis and African Americans have to end the misunderstanding that exists between them [“I Against I,” May]. Every girl and every boy has to try to talk to each other. They have to believe the reality, not just what they feel or guess. Also, African American and Somali parents and elders have to work to … Read more