One of the first predictions I published was that there would be a retail fraud moral panic. In that article, I spoke about Target, a local Progressive Corporation most known for running a nationwide chain of “upscale retail department stores”.

Their ironic name has become synonymous with the post-police-homicide-free-shopping sprees since George Floyd. For decades, Target and the Dayton family have been the largest purchaser of newspaper advertising in nearly every city they operate.  This, and their pioneering efforts to funnel five percent of their pre-tax profits into non profits via the Target Foundation has made them a darling of editorial boards.

For decades, Target has bought 4 color ink by the barrel.

Governor Dayton, Hudson’s, Marshall Fields

“Give the lady what she wants; the customer is always right.”
~ Marshall Field

The Target Corporation and the Dayton family have had significant impacts on US politics, culture policy, law enforcement, surveillance technology and international intrigue. George Draper Dayton pioneered the department store and George Nelson Dayton, Bruce Dayton (aka B. Dalton) and other family members expanded it.  

At the height of their retail stock empire, their retail brands included, Daytons, Hudson’s, Marshall Fields, Mervyn’s, B Dalton Booksellers, and Target. They purchased their own bank, (Retailer’s National) and the Minnesota Public Radio distribution company, as well as Rivertown Trading Company, in preparation of the Target.com launch.

No public information is available for the Dayton family’s investment in the offshore company, Target Australia. 

Former Sr. Vice President of Human Resources and Community Relations, Larry Gilpin complained to me in the 90’s. “Target Corporation resources were used to create it but Target US investors never benefited from it.”

He went on, “Short supply chain makes Australia the perfect market for us, now if we’re going to expand internationally, we’ll have to go to Canada, which will be a disaster,” Gilpin prophetically told me.

Of course, Target’s Canadian expansion was a disaster and the high profile privacy breach was just the beginning of the end of their darling status in newsrooms. 

Communist China

From 1966 – 1976 Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution was a going out of business sale on Chinese Cultural Heritage. Priceless, heirlooms, Ming vases, priceless paintings and sculptures, everything must go!

Bruce Dayton was able to buy up priceless art for pennies on the dollar.  They donated what they didn’t want to the Minneapolis Institute of Art which has one of the most significant collections of Chinese artifacts outside of the Forbidden City which was “protected from looting” from the Red Guard.

Corporatist China

In 1972, Nixon flew to China and began what was arguably the beginning of the Trump Era. Corporations began outsourcing jobs to Chinese manufacturers. While the coastal elite became wealthier and wealthier from imports and the expansion of markets for high tech products, middle America was sold out.  

In the 1980’s, Hollywood began making films tailored to that market, tech companies benefited from large contracts, and retailers such as Target were able to reap the benefits of slave labor, coop-advertising, and generous payment terms.

In the 1990’s Target began buying real estate in every major left-leaning city in the country. They expanded their advertising from Sunday Circulars to radio and regional television ads.

They changed the language of retail. No longer were consumers “customers” they were “guests” and their (non-unionized) employees became “team members.”  Nothing Orwellian to see here folks – move along.

By the late 90’s Target began testing surveillance equipment from manufacturers around the world, right here in Minneapolis. Target has kept its dedication to serving their community by instituting guaranteed arrest policies and donating money to police departments to buy Palantir’s spy software without city council approval.

Following Target’s descent from retail advertising darling to data security pariah, and their image as a flash mob gathering point for post-shooting shopping sprees, Target quietly stopped it’s Sunday circular to focus it’s spending on online advertising efforts. 

Bloomberg Article – “Investigate. Collaborate. Incarcerate.”

“With a Smile and a Gun” ends a Bloomberg article, published nearly 4 years after my article predicting global unrest epicentered in Minnesota.  The editors at the time asked me if I’d remove the section about Target Corporation. It was entitled “Would you like to apply for a Red Card Today?”

“Target collected video evidence of shoplifters in the act, interviewed them on tape, and delivered the evidence to law enforcement. What they were doing was essentially the police work that the police didn’t have the time or incentive to do,” says Richard Hollinger, an expert in retail crime and professor emeritus at the department of sociology and criminology and law at the University of Florida.

The company funded its own Hennepin County prosecutor to pursue repeat property crime offenders, with a team in Bengaluru, India crunching data that can yield reports on loss trends for U.S.-based security investigators.

Apparently, Target didn’t pay their Bloomberg bill in 2021 because this article is scathing, and definitely worth a read for anyone concerned about corporations taking over the Government.

They patented and tested facial recognition software on minorities, creating their very own Fusion Centers, all while rigidly enforcing Diversity, Inclusion and Equity for their employees. Again, nothing to see here – move along.

Right Wing Media

For months, right wing media reported on the looting, retail flash mobs, and shoplifting. Retail CEOs from Target, Best Buy, and other Major MN Retailers signed a letter to Congress to pass the INFORM Consumers Act. 

Not surprisingly, given the name, very few news outlets are linking to the actual bill which smaller retailers such as Ebay have criticized for compliance and privacy issues.

Before long, I expect whistleblowers from Target’s Corporate Headquarters to begin leaking information from their Woke HR training to the media and civil courts. The Marxist racial harassment training (Privilege Walks, Corporate Struggle Sessions, etc.) are going to catch up to them sooner or later.

It’s a coincidence that the worst George Floyd Riots all happened in the places where there are Target Stores. It’s not a coincidence they were Targeted.