Wisconsin brewery that dangled free beer for Trump's death just got its alcohol permit yanked, and the owner is sobbing into his progressive pint glass

Leftist owner of the Minocqua Brewing Co., Kirk Bangstad vows to fight 'tooth and nail' after the Department of Revenue ordered the establishment's license pulled by Aug 4. 

In a development that will shock absolutely no one who has watched left-wing activism turn businesses into political therapy sessions, a Wisconsin brewery famous for its anti-Trump social media tantrums has finally had its permit to operate revoked by state officials who apparently decided enough was enough. 

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Monday that liberal activist and brewery owner Kirk Bangstad is "vowing to fight ‘tooth and nail’ [and he might even pull hair] after receiving a letter from the state's Department of Revenue revoking Minocqua Brewing Co.'s permit to operate in Wisconsin, according to a July 26 newsletter sent to his supporters."

"As you can imagine, I’m not taking this lying down," Bangstad wrote in a Substack post on Sunday. "We’re going to fight the state of Wisconsin tooth and nail, and once again, they’ll have to pry me out of my taprooms before I stop selling beer to thirsty progressives who come to visit us."

Not surprisingly, he asked readers to donate to his legal defense fund, writing, "As usual, fighting to keep my business alive means I have to pay lawyers, and that’s never cheap. Every time this [happens], I rack up $100K in legal bills before we even see a judge. If you can help chip in to the Minocqua Company’s legal defense fund, I’d really appreciate it."

The revocation of the beer license goes into effect on Aug. 4, the Sentinel reported. The business has locations in Madison and Minocqua, where one assumes the clientele consists mainly of people who order "resistance IPAs" and then lecture the bartender about systemic injustice. 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Revenue said, "The Wisconsin Division of Alcohol Beverages is dedicated to the fair and consistent enforcement of alcohol beverages regulations in Wisconsin. The division is required to follow and implement state law, including ensuring permit holders and licensees follow all applicable laws and regulations. The division takes appropriate actions when these laws are not followed." The spokesperson added, "We can confirm that the Department of Revenue has issued notice of a Brewer's permit revocation for two Minocqua Brewing Company locations and notice of an Alcohol Beverage Warehouse permit revocation for one location. The business has until August 4th to appeal and can operate during the appeal process. Should the business decide to appeal, the next step would be to appeal to the Secretary of the Department of Revenue, who will assign the appeal to a Department of Revenue hearing examiner for their recommendations as to proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law."

The Sentinel reported that state regulators pursued revoking Bangstad's alcohol license after authorities seized canned beer from his company in June, alleging it had been transported from Illinois without the required permits and taxes. The newspaper also reported that Bangstad criticized the proposed action as an excessive response, arguing the alleged tax violations did not warrant shutting down his business. How dare the state expect a self-styled resistance warrior to bother with boring things like following tax laws when there are orange men to rage against? 

Of course, the real flavor of this operation has never been about hops. 

On Jan. 22, the Minocqua Brewing Company appeared to suggest it would give free beer to patrons if Trump was killed, and while not explicitly using his name, posted on Facebook, "Free beer, all day long the day he dies." 

The post continued, "Show us this post when it happens in a few months and we’ll make good on that promise." The post was updated to say, "we meant the Madison Taproom because that’s open all year, if he dies in the summer, then it’s gonna be the Minocqua Taproom."

In reply to comment on the post, the company also did not refer to Trump by name but said that the post hinted at a high-profile figure when asked whether the timeline for the deal could be moved up earlier. "Well that's up to you and your ability to act like a cia [sic] agent," the company wrote. 

Following the April shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner where Trump was present, the company wrote on Facebook, "Well, we almost got #freebeerday." That should tell us something about Bangstad's intentions.

"Either a brother or sister in the Resistance needs to work on their marksmanship or he faked another assassination to get a positive news cycle," the post added. "We’ll never know. Regardless, we stand at the ready to pour free beer the day it happens."

Bangstad owns the brewery and is also the founder of the Minocqua Brewing Company SuperPAC, which "aims to remove Republican federal and state elected officials who perpetuated the election lies that caused the Insurrection of January 6, 2021, and whose downplaying of the seriousness of COVID-19 caused so many unnecessary deaths in our country," according to the brewery’s website. 

In other words, a SuperPAC that exists to punish people for noticing that 2020 was messy and that lockdowns were not the unalloyed triumph progressives claimed. Bangstad declined to comment directly but made jokes about the deaths of Trump and Mitch McConnell and made disparaging remarks about Fox. 

He's a real classy douchbagel, especially when it comes to asking for other people's money for his crusade against sanity. 

I want to thank you for following Brain Flushings. Please take time to simply check out the sponsors on this page--it's one way to support my work and you don't need to purchase anything to do so. Of course, you can Buy Me A Coffee if you want to support me directly. And finally, don't be afraid to subscribe if you enjoy the blog--it's free, and worth the cost.

Tweet

Michael Cohen says he was "pressured" and "coerced" by Alvin Bragg and Letitia James to testify against Trump

Here we go again with another chapter in the never-ending Trump legal soap opera, but this time the script flip is coming from the guy who used to be the star witness against him.

Michael Cohen, the former fixer who spent years singing like a canary with a grudge, is now admitting he was "pressured" and "coerced" by Alvin Bragg and Letitia James to deliver the anti-Trump testimony they so desperately wanted.

In his latest Substack missive (because, of course, it's on Substack), Cohen drops this gem:"I felt pressured and coerced to only provide information and testimony . . .  against President Trump."

And just in case that wasn't clear enough, he doubles down: "I felt pressured and coerced to only provide information and testimony that would satisfy the government's desire to build the cases against and secure a judgment and convictions against President Trump."

He says the pressure started right from the opening bell in his first meetings with the prosecutors working for Bragg and James.

Regarding James specifically, Cohen writes: "Letitia James made it publicly known during her 2018 campaign for attorney general that, if elected, she would go after President Trump. Her office made clear that the testimony they wanted from me was testimony that would help them do just that. Again, I felt compelled and coerced to deliver what they were seeking."

Trump, never one to miss a chance to say "I told you so," called the whole thing proof of a "very corrupt investigation" in a Friday night chat with conservative media site The Daily Wire. He's been calling Cohen a liar since the beginning, and now the liar is basically agreeing that the fix was in to get him to talk. Cohen walks through the two big cases: the civil fraud suit from James' office about Trump supposedly puffing up asset values for loans, and the Manhattan DA's criminal hush-money extravaganza involving Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.

Juries bought it both times, of course.

Cohen unconsciously covers his groin area

But now Cohen is out here saying: "Letitia James and Alvin Bragg may not share the same office or political calendar, but they share the same playbook. Both used their platforms to elevate their profiles, to claim the mantle of the officials who 'took down Trump.' In doing so, they blurred the line between justice and politics; and in that blur, the credibility of both suffered."

And the reason he's finally speaking up? A federal appeals court just breathed new life into Trump's push to toss the hush-money conviction, and Cohen figures staying quiet would make him complicit.

If you enjoy  Brain Flushings and would like to subscribe or Buy Me a Coffee, and check out the sponsors on this page, I would appreciate it, as it supports my work and my coffee drinking habit. No pressure and subscribing is free.

"I am not writing this to defend Donald Trump, nor to re-litigate his conduct," he insists. "That ground has been plowed endlessly, often loudly, and rarely thoughtfully. I am writing because I have seen this system from the inside. . . . When politics and prosecution become indistinguishable, public trust erodes; not just in individual cases, like mine and/or Trump's, but in the system itself. That erosion serves no one, regardless of party, personality, or power."

Translation: The guy who helped build the cases is now telling us the scaffolding was rigged from the start.

Color me shocked. Just kidding. This is New York justice we're talking about, after all.

Tweet

Kamala Harris’ Substack Is a Trainwreck, and Her 2028 Prep Is Already a Clown Show

Kamala Harris is apparently gearing up for another White House run in 2028. Spoiler alert: she’s already stepping on rakes like a cartoon character.

Her latest self-inflicted wounds come from her upcoming book and some truly baffling moves that scream, "I haven't learned a thing." She finally admitted Joe Biden's re-run was "reckless" and whined that his team didn't appreciate her. Cue former Biden officials clapping back, pointing out she was, well, garbage at her job. 

Then there's the gem where she confessed to passing over her pal, former Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, as her VP pick because he's homosexual, and she thought that was "too big of a risk" for a semi-black woman to run with a gay man. Way to alienate half the Democratic base, Kamala. Keep swinging, dummy!

On Friday, the AP dropped another tidbit from her book, 107 Days, set to hit shelves Tuesday. She admitted she didn't realize how catastrophic her "The View" screwup was when she said it. You know, the one where she was asked if she'd have done anything differently than Biden, and her response was: nothing "comes to mind," adding that she’d "been a part of … most of the decisions that have had impact."

Fun Fact: one needs a mind for something to come to it.

"I had no idea I’d just pulled the pin on a hand grenade," Harris wrote in 107 Days, per the AP. "My staff were besides themselves" because she'd handed a "gift to the Trump campaign." How do you not see that coming? Oh wait--she isn't very bright. 

But wait, there’s more! 

Harris decided to launch a Substack, because nothing says "I'm ready for 2028" like a poorly edited blog. In her announcement, she stumbles right out of the gate with tired, formulaic Dem talking points that sound like she's already campaigning:

"While my new book, 107 Days, focuses on the campaign trail and election, I also write about the state of our country and how we move forward. What we must understand is that the dismantling of our democracy did not start with the 2024 election. And while there is already a lot of damage done, there is still time to change course — because the power is still with the people. We must be strategic and tactical. Disciplined and bold. We must take to the streets and put forth a vision for the future worth fighting for. The answers will not come out of Washington, DC. They will come from We, the People."

Yawn. It's like she copied and pasted from a DNC fundraising email. But then there's this line: 

"We must take to the streets and put forth a vision for the future worth fighting for."

Uh, Kamala, what are you implying here, that we must move forward with vigor, a la JFK?

This is the same woman who, during the 2020 BLM riots, encouraged donations to a bail fund for arrested rioters. Now she's back with this "dismantling of democracy" nonsense, cranking up the divisive rhetoric. Can she not demonize half the country for five minutes?

The real comedy gold, though, is the graphic in her X post announcing the Substack. She's channeling peak Hillary Clinton, implying people are Googling how to change their votes from Trump to her, complete with a sanctimonious Gore Vidal quote: "I told you so." She adds, "I wish I didn't have to say it." Oh, please. Scolding voters like a disappointed schoolmarm isn't the flex she thinks it is. It's hilarious, sure, but it's also political suicide. Who’s advising her, Jack Daniels?

The Substack itself is a hot mess. Typos, misused words, and a tone that screams "I’m still processing my loss." Here’s a taste of the cringe:

"His victory was whisker-thin. He beat me by 1.5 percentage points in one of the closest elections in a century. A third of the electorate voted for me. But a third of the electorate stayed home. That means two-thirds of our country did not elect Donald Trump. Two-thirds of us did not choose this man or his agenda."

Math isn't her strong suit, apparently. Trump won the popular vote, swept the swing states, and sent her packing. That isn't "whisker-thin," it's a spanking. And trying to spin it like "two-thirds didn't choose him" just makes her sound desperate because two-thirds didn't choose her either. Newsflash: more people didn’t choose you.Then she pulls the "fascism" card, because of course she does:

"'This is how fascism begins,' warned Françoise Giroud, a journalist who served in the French Resistance. 'It never says its name. It creeps, it floats. When it reaches the tips of people's noses, they say: 'Is this it? You think? Don't exaggerate!' And then one day it smacks them in the mouth, and it is too late to get rid of it.' It is not too late for us, but we need to think both strategically and tactically. When we go to the streets, as we will, we must not give them the spectacle they are craving. We will go out of love of our country and belief in its promise. We cannot let them lie about that."

This is next-level fearmongering. She's out here quoting French Resistance fighters while ignoring how voters rejected her tired playbook. And "go to the streets?" Again with the riot-adjacent rhetoric. Someone get her a better speechwriter, stat.

In the race for "dumbest 2028 prep moves," it's neck-and-neck between Harris' Substack disaster and Gavin Newsom's podcast flop while California burns. Kamala’s coping is comedy gold, but it's also a masterclass in how to tank your political future before it even starts.

If you like my blog and want to Buy Me A Coffee, I wouldn't stop you--it supports my work and I really appreciate it. But no pressure.

Tweet

WaPo says Elon Musk's "Twitter investment could be bad news for free speech" Musk responds and so does Substack

This is not a joke: on Tuesday, the Washington Post wrote a piece titled: "Elon Musk's Twitter Investment Could Be Bad News for Free Speech." Musk's response was succinct and perfectly worded:

WaPo always good for a laugh 🤣🤣

It's laughable to believe that Twitter was ever a bastion of free speech. They ban anyone for anything with which they disagree. They banned a standing President [Trump], a satire sight for posting satire that went against their wokeness, anyone who said anything about the pandemic, anything negative about Dr. Fauci and anything else that went against their woke agenda. 

Twitter locked out the account of the Babylon Bee, a satirical site, for an article proclaiming Rachel Levine, a man who thinks he's a woman, as winning the "Man of the Year Award." The Bee refuses to take down their tweet, and while Twitter could have deleted it themselves, would rather have "offenders" bend the knee to their demands.

Twitter took similar action against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, who had the audacity and lacking of a degree in biology to point out on that “Rachel Levine is a man.” He was subsequently flagged for “hateful conduct” by the Tech giant.

Last August, Allie Beth Stuckey, a conservative, was suspended by Twitter for a tweet that criticized Olympic weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, a man with his penis and testicles, XY chromosomes and greater muscle mass, for competing against females. He didn't win, but he is still a man.

Twitter is a steaming garbage heap of hypocrisy and WaPo is their kindling, and hopefully Musk will do something about the platform.

Now a number of Twitter employees are worried that Elon Musk has joined the board of directors promising free speech and some leftists are leaving the company.

Substack, another tech company invited new employment applications to their company, expcept from Twitter employees disgruntled by "Elon Musk pushing for less regulated speech."

Lulu Cheng Meservey — the vice president of communications for Substack, a platform that supports subscription newsletters — told Twitter employees to not bother applying if they worry about Musk’s reforms. 

“Substack is hiring! If you’re a Twitter employee who’s considering resigning because you’re worried about Elon Musk pushing for less regulated speech… please do not come work here,” she tweeted. “But for everybody else, we really are hiring! Join a talented, determined, passionate, motley team of all backgrounds and beliefs. We debate respectfully, execute maniacally, and live to serve writers and podcasters.”

* * *

Sex. Now that I have your attention: for more hard-hitting content, and a few soft-hitting ones too, subscribe to Brain Flushings and check out the ads on these pages. It costs nothing to subscribe and it's worth every penny. And remember, every time you click on an ad, you help in the fight against John Kerry's global warming, the heebie-jeebies and the dreaded omicron.

* * *

Meservey explained that Substack is devoted to “defending free expression, even for stuff we personally dislike or disagree with.” She also expressed a desire for “a thriving ecosystem full of fresh and diverse ideas.”

As Mike Lindell of "My Pillow" fame said when speaking about his absorbent towels: "What a concept.

Tweet