Tag: Minnesota

Is Minnesota lost? That has to be the question many are asking this morning

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I woke up this morning with my head spinning about the results nationwide, and couldn’t at first figure out where to dive in to tell you what I think about the midterm election results.

Over time, I’ll have more to say about what it all means, but I do know this—there will be no legislative reform of the US Refugee Admissions Program in the next two years.

Now that the House is controlled by the Dems, that means that each committee will revert to Democrat control.  And, they will never open for review the Refugee Act of 1980.

Screenshot (1510)
Minnesota not-so-nice power duo: Keith Ellison with US Senator Amy Klobuchar (will she run for Prez in 2020?)

Any further reform of the refugee program will have to come from the White House and if I were a betting person, I would bet that they have done about all they will do before 2020 which is to keep the numbers low.

Enough of that, I could be wrong.

As for my friends in Minnesota, don’t get angry at me for asking, but was outgoing governor Dayton right when he famously said in 2015, if you don’t like immigrants find another state?

See my post yesterday on Minnesota.

Here is just one of many stories this morning from Minnesota with Keith Ellison, the state’s new Attorney General saying—-if you mess with Minnesota we will fight back. Which sounds like a veiled threat to silence speech.

From The Minnesota Sun:

Keith Ellison Defeats Doug Wardlow Completing DFL Sweep of Statewide Offices

An emotional Keith Ellison took the stage at St. Paul’s Crowne Plaza hotel late Tuesday night to deliver his victory speech after defeating Republican Doug Wardlow in the race for Minnesota’s Attorney General Office.

The race has been a constant source of controversy on both sides of the aisle, though Republicans were hopeful that Ellison’s past affiliations as well as a domestic-abuse allegation made against him by an ex-girlfriend would keep him from winning the state’s top law-enforcement job.

Polls frequently showed a tight race with large numbers of undecided voters, but Ellison managed to squeak out a victory over Warldow, winning 49 percent of the vote compared to Wardlow’s 44 percent.

Ellison began his victory speech by praising the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party as one based on the “values of love, respect, transparency, and accountability.”

[….]

“We don’t care who it is—if anybody is messing with somebody in Minnesota, your Minnesota attorney general is going to stand up for them and fight back,” he concluded. “Tonight is a good night. Every statewide elected official is a Democrat in Minnesota.”

More here.

Minnesotans, tell me what you think by commenting to this post.  Send me links to other news from the state in the wake of the midterm election.

Minnesota Muslims “waking up” and expect to make gains in voting today

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

From NPR:

Muslims Hope To ‘Wake Up’ At The Ballot Box This Year

On a recent Saturday afternoon in an office in St. Paul, Minn., a flurry of calls went out to Native American and Latinos voters reminding them to vote Nov. 6. And there was a new group added to the list: Muslims.

Until last year, ISAIAH, a multi-racial coalition of faith communities in Minnesota, was mostly made up of churches. Now, 24 mosques have joined the voter turnout effort. The group is focused on getting communities of color to vote this year in reaction to what it describes as politics of fear and a rise of white nationalism.

 

Ellison and Imam Asad Zaman
Pals! Imam Asad Zaman (left) with Rep. Keith Ellison.  Will Ellison be Minnesota’s next Attorney General after today?

 

With Muslims and immigrants used as boogeymen in political rhetoric, Imam Asad Zaman, executive director of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, said, getting his community to the ballot box is vital. Zaman is leading the local Muslim effort to get out the vote and has been a leader on political engagement in the community for more than 15 years.

And there are more Muslims now running for office, hoping to be part of a “blue wave.” In Minnesota, nine Muslims are on the ballot for state, federal and local offices.

“Many candidates running for office are using Islamophobia as a means to get to political power. That is absolutely un-American,” Zaman said. “The community is under assault. Fortunately, most of us are beginning to wake up.”

The community is under assault. Fortunately, most of us are beginning to wake up.

(Imam Asad Zaman)

He points out that in Minnesota there are 50,000 registered Muslim voters. Though Muslims make up a small voting bloc — they’re about one percent of the nation’s population — those votes can matter in close elections. Many feel a renewed sense of urgency to choose leaders that will represent them.

[….]

About two-thirds of Muslim voters identify as Democrats according to the Pew Research Center and about 13 percent as Republican.

Muslim populations growing in key battleground states

“What’s interesting is that they are clustered in key areas including battleground states such as Virginia, Florida, Michigan, Ohio and especially in urban areas,” Alzayat says. “So, for example you have about 120,000 registered Muslim voters in the state of Michigan. You have about 120,000 registered in Florida. You have about 100,000 registered in Virginia and those numbers really matter because in close elections … just a few votes can make a difference let alone tens of thousands, if not 100,000.”

It is a long ‘glowing’ story, read more here.

I have a huge Minnesota archive, go here if you have some time to read!

Refugee resettlement is a major issue in several Minnesota races

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Three Republicans have said they will work to stop or at least curtail further resettlement to the state if elected.

From Twin Cities Pioneer Press:

Some Republican candidates want to suspend refugee resettlement in Minnesota. Can they do that?

 

Minnesota has welcomed thousands of refugees since the federal resettlement process was set in 1980. So why does a trio of key Republicans up for election want to stop the program now?

Well, it depends on whom you ask.

Jim Newberger, Jeff Johnson and Jim Hagedorn (Courtesy photos)
Jim Newberger, Jeff Johnson, Jim Hagedorn

Jeff Johnson, Jim Newberger and Jim Hagedorn have each said they will ask the federal government to pause refugee resettlement in Minnesota if elected Tuesday. And they’ve each made it a key issue in their campaigns.

Johnson, who is running for governor, said he is concerned about how much it costs taxpayers, as well as high unemployment rates among Somali men.

Hagedorn, who is running for U.S. House in the 1st Congressional District, claims refugees are poorly vetted and pose a threat to national security.

Newberger, a candidate for U.S. Senate, alleges that some refugees don’t want to follow American law.

The Democrats running against them support the state’s openness to refugees, arguing that they strengthen local communities. Immigration experts and advocates say that Republicans’ opposition to the program is purely political and misses the benefits the newcomers provide.

The story goes on to tell us that all the Democrats running in the state have spoken out in favor of more refugees for the state claiming that the refugees have benefited the state by bringing cultural diversity and that the refugees fill cheap labor needs (of course that last is my phrase).

More here.

As for the question: Can they stop resettlement if elected?

I’m not going to wander in to the legal weeds on that. There is still a lawsuit pending in Tennessee on the issue of State’s Rights that holds some hope for relief.

Suffice it to say, if Minnesotans elect these outspoken Republicans, and they forcefully take their concern to the President and his US State Department, the flow could be diverted away from Minnesota for now (as long as Trump is in the White House).

Of course the open borders Leftists (and the federal resettlement agencies) will say that its the ‘unwelcoming’ attitude in the state that requires the slowdown in placement there.  (Code for calling you racists!).

I guess what I am trying to say is that there is no easy legal avenue that would allow Minnesotans to take a break from the contentiousness there now.

However, I know for sure if enough Minnesotans make enough political noise and elect candidates willing to speak as strongly as these three, you have a fighting chance of saving taxpayer dollars, staying safe, and maintaining some control of who is placed*** in your state by Washington and federal resettlement contractors.

In other words—there is no rest for the weary!

*** Of course, as Minnesota knows all too well, secondary migrants are moving in from other states to be with their own ethnic ‘community’ there and there is no way to stop that migration.

Rampage at Minnesota amusement park sparked by roving Somali youths, say witnesses

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been watching the news unfold for a couple of days about what happened at Valley Fair, an amusement park in Shakopee, Minnesota, not far from Minneapolis when fights broke out throughout the park—enough fights to require hundreds of police being called to clear the area.

The mainstream media in Minnesota says, ho hum, nothing to see because no one was hurt. And they steadfastly refuse to use the word “Somali” when discussing the incident they say involved “multiple-ethnicities.”  (Could there ultimately have been multiple ethnicities fighting back against the roving gangs of Somalis?)

 

Somalis at valley fair 2
From a video taken by a witness….Multiple ethnicities?

 

Here is Laura Loomer writing at Big League Politics:

On Saturday September 22, 2018 at the ValleyFair amusement park in Shakopee, Minnesota, police and emergency responders had to evacuate all guests after a mob of Somali teenagers and men rushed through security and caused several violent fights to break out inside the park.

According to eyewitnesses who were at the park to celebrate Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, a group of nearly 100 Somali men mob rushed past security and amusement park staffers at the front entrance, and proceeded to run through the park and instigate fights among themselves and with guests.

map Minneapolis surrounding
Shakopee is 30 minutes from Minneapolis. Interesting! When I looked at the map I recognized other US State Department refugee resettlement sites. Bloomington, Burnsville, Eagan, St. Paul and Roseville have all ‘welcomed’ Somali refugees in the last ten years.

As several violent fights broke out, guests began to panic as reports of people being stabbed and shot began to circulate.

Cliff Hallberg, who was inside the park with his children at the time the fights broke out said it was very frightening for his children. “I saw about 60 Somali teenagers push their way through lines and scream at guests.”

[….]

The violent fights erupted during Law enforcement appreciation day when the park was full of police officers and other members of law enforcement who received discounted tickets so that their families could enjoy the amusement park. An estimated 263 police officers responded to the fights inside the park, according to witnesses.

“This looked like a targeted attack on law enforcement,” Hallberg added.

Hallberg also told Big League Politics that his car was spit on and that the rioters were setting off car alarms and causing chaos in the parking lot, all of which can be seen in video that was exclusively obtained by this reporter.

[….]

According to eyewitnesses and police officers who wish to remain anonymous, they believe the media is covering up the fact that the violent rioters were Somali men because the media and police don’t want to offend the Muslim Somali population or influence the upcoming election.

Officers in Minnesota have told this reporter that they are often told to avoid using the word Somali when discussing crimes committed by members of the Somali population because police and local Democrats have asked them to “stand down” in an effort to create positive community relations between Minnesota natives and the continually increasing Muslim Somali “refugee” population.

In the United States, Minnesota is the state with the largest Somali population.

Continue here where Loomer has much more plus videos from witnesses who were at the park last Saturday evening.

When you search around on the story, you will see that a mention of the Somalis at Valley Fair comes only in a story attacking Loomer which (I know firsthand!) is par for the course in that state!

Just like Lake Calhoun intimidation!

When I read Loomer’s story, I was reminded of a similar incident at Lake Calhoun, five miles from downtown Minneapolis, two years ago.  Although involving fewer people, a similar scenario was described by eyewitnesses as gangs of Somali youths roamed the park and the adjoining neighborhood threatening whoever they encountered.  The frightening incident was swept under the rug by the police department there.

Read about Lake Calhoun, here.

Minnesota Republican candidate for governor tells Breitbart radio he would seek to end refugee resettlement in the state if elected

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

And, I was surprised to see that in a recent poll he is only five points behind the Democrat candidate for governor.  Minnesotans who want to save their state need to get to work!

For inspiration, re-visit this 2015 post where Minnesota’s present Democrat Governor told Minnesotans to leave the state if they didn’t like the diversity he was welcoming!

By the way, in every state and district, all of you concerned about immigration should make sure that someone is at Democrat campaign stops from now until November to bring up the question of refugee resettlement, the border wall, sanctuary cities, migrant crimes etc.  Get the candidate on the record!

This is your best chance this year to get YOUR views out past the mainstream media filter!

From Michael Patrick Leahy at Breitbart:

Minnesota GOP Gubernatorial Nominee: Time to End Refugee Resettlement in State

Jeff Johnson make MN red
Johnson with running mate:   https://blogs.mprnews.org/capitol-view/2018/06/jeff-johnson-i-want-trumps-backing/

Minnesota Republican gubernatorial nominee Jeff Johnson says it is time to end the federal government’s refugee resettlement program in the state.

Johnson told Breitbart News’s deputy Washington political editor Amanda House on Sirius XM’s Breitbart News Sunday that if elected he will go to Washington, D.C. and deliver that message to the Trump administration officials in charge of the Refugee Admissions Program.

“Here, we have the issue of becoming a sanctuary state or not. My Democrat opponent actually has signed on to becoming a sanctuary state, which I think is absolutely insane,” Johnson said.

“We also have a refugee issue in Minnesota. We have been more generous and accepted more refugees than any other state in the country. Not by a little, but by a lot,” he added.

“What I have called for is that we end our participation in that [federal refugee resettlement] program, at least until we get answers to the questions of cost, and start addressing the issue of whether the refugees that are here are succeeding or not, because many of them aren’t. The unemployment rate is extremely high among the Somali population in Minnesota,” Johnson said.

“If you include state and federal spending, [the cost of supporting refugees is] in the hundreds of millions of dollars. We don’t know what the number is though, because the Legislative Auditor, which is a very well respected non-partisan office, was charged with trying to figure that out, and the answer they came back with was, well no one keeps track of that and no one asks the right questions,” he added.

On this issue of getting at the costs of refugee resettlement. Every time someone who wants to restrict refugees asks, he or she is told there simply is no good data on what refugees cost the taxpayer.

Then I want to know how the Open Borders gang, like Welcoming America!, comes up with studies that say unequivocally that refugees BENEFIT the economy.  Where are they getting their numbers? Or are they just not trying to find out the true costs?

Leahy continues:

“There is an existing lawsuit that Tennessee has gotten involved with. Would you be willing to jump on board that lawsuit?” House asked.

“Absolutely I would consider that,” Johnson responded.

Leahy then tells readers about two big issues for Minnesota involving refugees: health issues especially high rates of TB, and the issue of MN producing jihadists!

The latest poll shows Johnson trails his Democrat rival in the governor’s race, Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN-01) by five points, 46 percent to 41 percent.

More here.

I’ve written literally hundreds of posts on Minnesota over the last 11 years and have been to the state twice to see for myself.  Go here for my Minnesota archive.