Minnesota
September 12, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Earlier today, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. released this indictment of the Democratic National Committee. Why, he asks, is the Democratic Party opposed to democracy? Why is it rigging the primary process? I am not certain whether what he says about the DNC’s machinations is correct, nor am I sure what he considers to be real democracy. (For example, it has never been true that the candidate who gets the most
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August 31, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Pretty much everyone now agrees that shutting down our schools during the covid epidemic, at the demand of teachers’ unions, was one of the most catastrophic policy decisions of modern times. As I have said before, it is unfortunate that some old and very sick people had their demises hastened by covid, but what government did to our children, for no good reason, was a crime. Having skipped school for
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August 26, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Over the years, I have chronicled on this site my visits to the Minnesota State Fair, one of America’s great spectacles. I have photographed seed art, butter sculptures, and much more. In years gone by, I did radio broadcasts from the Fair. And for the last two years, my organization, American Experiment, has had a booth at the Fair for one Saturday. We have a prime location near the Grandstand.
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August 23, 2023 — John Hinderaker
No former Democratic Party office-holder ever goes hungry. Democrats are great at finding jobs for politicians that don’t quite work out. A case in point is Minnesota’s Melisa López Franzen. Franzen was briefly the Democratic Leader of the Minnesota State Senate. Alpha News describes the end of her political career charitably: López Franzen spent a decade representing the Edina area in the Minnesota Senate, culminating in her election as the
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August 15, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Alpha News has just released a preview of its upcoming documentary The Fall of Minneapolis. Alpha’s fearless and Emmy Award-winning reporter Liz Collin wrote and produced the documentary. Dr. J.C. Chaix directed it. Alpha News reports: The documentary exposes the holes in the prevailing narrative surrounding George Floyd’s death, the trial of Derek Chauvin, and the fallout that both wrought on the city of Minneapolis. The documentary features dozens of
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August 7, 2023 — Scott Johnson
I think the gist of recent Star Tribune coverage is that downtown Minneapolis is coming back — from Covid, from crime, from office closures, and so on. One-party Democratic misrule doesn’t factor into the Star Tribune’s equation of municipal challenges, but it should. For context, see Neal St. Anthony’s February 2022 column “St. Anthony: Downtown Minneapolis comeback still iffy proposition but better bet than last month.” As for the generally
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July 31, 2023 — John Hinderaker
In May 2020, the world was turned upside down when a massively-overdosed George Floyd died on a Minneapolis street while waiting for an ambulance that could have saved his life. The narrative that Minnesota’s criminal justice system was biased against blacks immediately took hold, encouraged by Minnesota’s own state and local officials. In response to that narrative, states and local jurisdictions across America, and even around the world, enacted “reforms”
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July 30, 2023 — Scott Johnson
There I was, placidly reading Michael Barone’s excellent column “The Proximal Origin of a Scientific Fraud.” Referring to the recently released emails that reveal the “Proximal Origins” deceit, Barone concludes: I found the cynicism revealed in these emails shocking, even though I have written critically, in July 2021 and March 2023, about government scientists’ attempts to discredit the lab leak theory. I note that statistics guru Nate Silver, not a
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July 27, 2023 — Scott Johnson
I did a lot of digging to report on the case of Alexis Saborit, the illegal alien who beheaded America Thayer in Shakopee, Minnesota on July 28, 2021. I focused on Saborit’s status as an illegal immigrant because the Star Tribune has kept this aspect of the case a deep secret. (By contrast, Crime Watch MN/Alpha News has led with it.) America was murdered in broad daylight in Shakopee. At
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July 21, 2023 — Scott Johnson
I was standing at the back of a long line at our local Coldstone Creamery a few weeks ago when former Minnesota Viking Matt Birk walked in with two of his eight kids. When he left the Vikings after ten or eleven seasons he moved on to the Baltimore Ravens, with whom he won a Super Bowl ring. As he took the spot in line immediately behind me, I introduced
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July 19, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Derek Chauvin petitioned the Minnesota Supreme Court for discretionary review of the Court of Appeals decision affirming his conviction for the murder of George Floyd. The Minnesota Supreme Court has now denied review. My friend Bill Mohrman represents Chauvin. Bill has forwarded the following statement: We are obviously disappointed that the Minnesota Supreme Court declined to review the criminal trial against Mr. Chauvin. The most significant issue on which we
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July 13, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Attorney General Merrick Garland came to town on June 16 to indict the Minneapolis Police Department for racism, find it guilty, and announce the terms to which municipal authorities have agreed. The Department of Justice press release is here, Garland’s remarks at the press conference here, the DoJ’s 89-page report here, and the parties’ settlement in principle here. The report stems from a DoJ investigation launched in the wake of
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July 2, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Minnesota’s Department of Human Rights released a statement on the Supreme Court’s 303 Creative decision, which I wrote about here. First the statement, then some comments on it: So, what exactly has the Supreme Court done that the State of Minnesota think is a blow to gay people’s civil rights? If a gay couple is getting married and they go to a web designer to set up a page to
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July 2, 2023 — Scott Johnson
FOX 9 is the Twin Cities Fox affiliate. Via Twitter, I see that it has gone deep on the Supreme Court case holding that President Biden lacked the authority to forgive some $430 billion in student debt with the wave of a pen. FOX 9’s Corin Hoggard covers the “story” “Burden of student debt heavier for minorities after Supreme Court ruling.” Hoggard overlooks the constitutional issue addressed by the Court
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June 28, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Minnesota is not thriving. The state consistently loses residents to states with lower taxes, like Florida and South Dakota. The exodus is especially alarming with regard to Minnesota’s most productive citizens, i.e., those with incomes over $50,000. What to do? Governor Tim Walz and his minions have suggested that Minnesota’s newfound status as a state that permits abortion up to and beyond the moment of birth, and as a “trans
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June 26, 2023 — Scott Johnson
I’m joining Jon Justice in the studio tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. (Central) Minneapolis’s KTLK AM 1130 and FM 103.5. The channel can be live streamed here. Please tune in and call producer Robbie Rosenhaus to chime in on the studio line: (651) 989-5855. Jon paid tribute to his late colleague Drew Lee on Twitter over the weekend. Drew died unexpectedly on Saturday, June 25, 2022. Jon and Drew had
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June 26, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Municipal authorities seek to reduce car trips in the city by increasing the use of public transit, biking, walking and rolling. By 2030, they want 60 percent of all such trips to avoid use of cars. They have vowed to achieve a modal shift. It’s an ambitious goal. Me, I’m going with the rolling option. Roll me another one, just like the other one. Hey, it’s all good and legal,
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