The question that will haunt me until the graves, and I am 81, is this How could 77. mllion Americans vote to return a convicted felon to the Oval Office?
I, a native Tar Heel and long a Virginia country newspaper editor, wanted my readers repeatedly not to vote for Trump. I warned that there wold be hell and then some to pay. I lost so-called friends. I lost business. And my pleas went unheeded.
I would do it all over again. And I will continue to hammer away as long as I live.
Hubby is from Minnesota. We lived in Minneapolis. “Restrained, disciplined, uncowed” pretty much describes Minnesotans. Slow to anger, but watch out when you go one step too far.
Everyday citizens who have the most to lose are showing more backbone and courage than the law firms, CEOs, and others who have nothing to lose. We are the ones we've been waiting for.
Having recently read Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" (all 1,145 pp.!) it is striking how Steven Miller and his ICE hoodlums demonizing and persecuting immigrants and killing innocent people resemble Himmler and his SS thugs persecuting Jews and other innocents.
This means that the ice agents that are killing people can and will be prosecuted when Trump leaves office. Maybe if enough people are aware of this the brown boots will leave.
• Under Minnesota Statutes § 628.26, “indictments or complaints for any crime resulting in the death of the victim may be found or made at any time after the death of the person killed.” That effectively eliminates any statute of limitations on murder and related homicide charges.
I keep thinking of that song about "try that in a small town." Gotta wonder what'd happen if a government occupation happened in some of the towns around here.
I've lived in North Carolina for nearly 35 years but I was born and raised in Minnesota. Sometimes "Minnesota Nice" can be a way of avoiding conflict and that might be what Kristi Noem (from SD) may have been counting on. But the deep well of kindness that I was taught to draw on and is so much a part of the communities there also provides the steely resolve to defend those communities and call out injustice.
The publicity was real enough, but the "scandal" that the "influencer" that brought it (a guy named Nick Shirley) was years old, and already being investigated by the state. And the ringleaders of the scam were (wait for it) neither Somali nor immigrants. They were white midwestern American citizens.
Thanks for the link. I can’t read it because it’s pay walled, and I canceled my NYT subscription because of their sane-washing of Donnycon a long time ago.
Anyhow, the link was provided in good faith so I thank you.
I looked into other sources such as the AP about this. There was definitely some fraud going on, but is there truly anyone who believes that what DHS is doing in MN is an appropriate response to fraud cases that were already being investigated?!
Additionally, the hypocrisy of trump caring about fraud and grift is absurd. Maybe he’s just mad because he didn’t think of it first or more likely trump thinks the money was his since he’s super busy stuffing his own pockets with taxpayer money.
The question that will haunt me until the graves, and I am 81, is this How could 77. mllion Americans vote to return a convicted felon to the Oval Office?
I, a native Tar Heel and long a Virginia country newspaper editor, wanted my readers repeatedly not to vote for Trump. I warned that there wold be hell and then some to pay. I lost so-called friends. I lost business. And my pleas went unheeded.
I would do it all over again. And I will continue to hammer away as long as I live.
Thank you, Thomas, for doing likewise.
Hubby is from Minnesota. We lived in Minneapolis. “Restrained, disciplined, uncowed” pretty much describes Minnesotans. Slow to anger, but watch out when you go one step too far.
We are so proud of them.
Great article!
Everyday citizens who have the most to lose are showing more backbone and courage than the law firms, CEOs, and others who have nothing to lose. We are the ones we've been waiting for.
Probably the best analysis I’ve read on the situation in Minneapolis.
America on trial and at a. Crossroads
Having recently read Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" (all 1,145 pp.!) it is striking how Steven Miller and his ICE hoodlums demonizing and persecuting immigrants and killing innocent people resemble Himmler and his SS thugs persecuting Jews and other innocents.
This means that the ice agents that are killing people can and will be prosecuted when Trump leaves office. Maybe if enough people are aware of this the brown boots will leave.
• Under Minnesota Statutes § 628.26, “indictments or complaints for any crime resulting in the death of the victim may be found or made at any time after the death of the person killed.” That effectively eliminates any statute of limitations on murder and related homicide charges.
I keep thinking of that song about "try that in a small town." Gotta wonder what'd happen if a government occupation happened in some of the towns around here.
I've lived in North Carolina for nearly 35 years but I was born and raised in Minnesota. Sometimes "Minnesota Nice" can be a way of avoiding conflict and that might be what Kristi Noem (from SD) may have been counting on. But the deep well of kindness that I was taught to draw on and is so much a part of the communities there also provides the steely resolve to defend those communities and call out injustice.
Such a disheartening time Thomas, but thanks for your great piece here
Please provide a credible link to this assertion:
“The state had just gotten a lot of bad publicity because of massive welfare fraud perpetrated by Somali immigrants.”
I think this is the second time you’ve made this assertion without publishing a credible link to back it up.
The publicity was real enough, but the "scandal" that the "influencer" that brought it (a guy named Nick Shirley) was years old, and already being investigated by the state. And the ringleaders of the scam were (wait for it) neither Somali nor immigrants. They were white midwestern American citizens.
Thanks for the additional context. That’s the impression I got when I started looking into it.
The mastermind is a American Caucasian.
It's a national story and Walz announce he won't run for re-election because of it. Here's a link to a New York Times story. I will add a link. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/us/fraud-minnesota-somali.html
Thanks for the link. I can’t read it because it’s pay walled, and I canceled my NYT subscription because of their sane-washing of Donnycon a long time ago.
Anyhow, the link was provided in good faith so I thank you.
I looked into other sources such as the AP about this. There was definitely some fraud going on, but is there truly anyone who believes that what DHS is doing in MN is an appropriate response to fraud cases that were already being investigated?!
Additionally, the hypocrisy of trump caring about fraud and grift is absurd. Maybe he’s just mad because he didn’t think of it first or more likely trump thinks the money was his since he’s super busy stuffing his own pockets with taxpayer money.
Try the archived version here:https://archive.ph/QfSVr
Pro Tip: You can get around *most* paywalls by prefixing the URL with https://archive.ph/
then append the original URL (https:// included). So for our example here:
https://archive.ph/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/us/fraud-minnesota-somali.html