Category: State Issues

Activist Wants To Stop Muslims From Participating In Minnesota’s GOP

The following article by Rowaida Abdelaziz was posted on the Huffington Post website February 12, 2018:

A conservative activist in Minnesota introduced a resolution last week to “minimize and eliminate the influence of Islam” in the state’s Republican Party.

Jeff Baumann, a notorious anti-Muslim activist in Minnesota’s Senate District 36, also urged in the resolution that “no Islamic leader, religious or otherwise, shall ever be allowed to deliver the invocation at any Republican convention or event.”

Continue reading “Activist Wants To Stop Muslims From Participating In Minnesota’s GOP”

Members of Congress respond to more than money – sometimes

The following article by Jan Leighley, Professor, Department of Government, American University, was posted on the Conversation website February 9, 2018:

Demonstrators protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order banning travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States, in front of the U.S embassy in Brussel, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Does citizen activism really affect the actions of elected officials?

Despite the ubiquitous role of money in campaigns, elections and policymaking, some citizens clearly still believe in the power of protest.

In the month of December 2017 alone, an organization called The Crowd Counting Consortium “tallied 796 protests, demonstrations, strikes, marches, sit-ins and rallies,” some of them featuring thousands of people, across the country. Over the past year, the offices of many members of Congress and other elected officials have been jammed with constituents voicing their opinions on the Affordable Care Act, the immigration program called DACA, abortion and sexual harassment, among others. Continue reading “Members of Congress respond to more than money – sometimes”

10,000 Lakes

The following is from an e-mail from Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson sent February 7, 2018:

Credit: Glen Stubbe

My Office has been inundated with inquiries about the lawsuit against 3M Company regarding fluorochemicals. The purpose of this advisory is to provide background on the litigation.

History

The Manhattan Project.

The Manhattan Project was a top-secret project undertaken by the American military during World War II.  Its mission was to create the nuclear bomb.  A major hurdle in the Manhattan Project was the inability to separate the uranium needed to make the bomb.  The scientists discovered that fluorine gas could be used to separate the uranium.  Fluorine is a greenish-yellow gas that is buried deep in the rocks beneath the earth and is among the most dangerous elements that exists. It was called the “Wildest Hellcat” or the “Devil’s Poison.”   It can burn water.  It can burn steel.  It can burn asbestos. Continue reading “10,000 Lakes”

Minnesota Republicans no-show for environmental debate. All of them.

The following article by Jacob Steinberg was posted on the City Pages website January 30,2018:


This scene, from a hiking trail in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), was probably not on the agenda at the College Republicans’ fundraiser. Credit: Elizabeth Flores, Star Tribune

A dozen of Minnesota’s candidates for governor were invited to present their plans to address the state’s pressing environmental issues at last week’s “Our New Environment” Minnesota Governors Forum.

DFL candidates, among them DFL U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, State Auditor Rebecca Otto, and former Minnesota House Speaker Paul Thissen convened at Hamline University on Jan. 24 to debate water quality, renewable energy, the controversial Enbridge Line 3 replacement, and the PolyMet copper-nickel mine. Continue reading “Minnesota Republicans no-show for environmental debate. All of them.”

Supporter of anti-Muslim policies Raheel Raza speaks at Minnesota State Capitol

The following article by the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hatewatch staff was posted on their website January 29, 2018:

Raheel Raza

Last Wednesday, controversial Pakistani-Canadian activist Raheel Raza visited the Minnesota State Capitol to meet with Republican state lawmakers.

Raza’s appearance was met with vocal resistance from Democratic lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Melissa Hortman, who penned a letter to Rep. Roz Peterson asking her to rescind Raza’s invitation. Hortman’s office provided a copy of the letter to Hatewatch. Continue reading “Supporter of anti-Muslim policies Raheel Raza speaks at Minnesota State Capitol”

Forest Service scales back environmental study of mining near BWCA

The following article by Jennifer Brooks was posted on the StarTribune website January 26, 2018:

Trump scales back study of proposed copper mine.

Credit: Brian Peterson / StarTribune file

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is scaling back an environmental review of mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, infuriating environmentalists but delighting Iron Range communities eager for new jobs.

The Obama administration ordered a comprehensive study a year ago, as part of a broader effort to block a copper-nickel mining operation from a huge swath of forests and lakes next to one of Minnesota’s most beloved outdoor recreation areas. Instead of that study, known as an environmental impact statement, the U.S. Forest Service said Friday it would conduct a more modest review, called an environmental assessment. Continue reading “Forest Service scales back environmental study of mining near BWCA”

Minnesota attorney general sues Trump administration over cuts in federal health funds

The following article by Glenn Howatt was posted on the StarTribune website January 26, 2018:

State is concerned about long-term federal funding for MinnesotaCare.

Credit: Glen Stubbe

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has sued the Trump administration to stop a recent decision to terminate $130 million in annual payments that fund subsidized health insurance for working Minnesotans.

The cut, which has not been widely reported, is the second hit to the federal funding streams for MinnesotaCare, which serves 87,000 low-income residents. Continue reading “Minnesota attorney general sues Trump administration over cuts in federal health funds”

Solar tariffs would kill jobs, harm environment

The following commentary by the USA Today Editorial Board was posted on their website January 16, 2018:

If China wants to subsidize the greening of America, let them: Our view

Credt: GaborfromHungary via morguefile.com

Any day now, President Trump is expected to decide whether to punish China with tariffs on cheap solar cells and panels it exports to America.

For a president who raged against China during the presidential campaign, calling its mounting trade deficit with the United States “the greatest theft in the history of the world,” it might be tempting to finally substitute action for rhetoric. But a decision to slap big import taxes on the Chinese-made solar parts would be a serious mistake, one likely to kill far more American jobs than it saves.  Continue reading “Solar tariffs would kill jobs, harm environment”

As Trump Appeals to Farmers, Some of His Policies Don’t

The following article by Ana Swanson and Jim Tankersley was posted on the New York Times website January 7, 2018:

Tim Hully harvests corn at Walnut Grove Farm in Adairville, Ky., in 2016. Credit Joe Buglewicz for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump will head to Tennessee on Monday to appeal to farmers, a key demographic that helped elect him, as he promotes his tax law and previews a new White House strategy to help rural America.

But back in Washington, some of the economic policies his administration is pursuing are at odds with what many in the farm industry say is needed, from a potentially drastic shift in trade policies that have long supported agriculture to some little-noticed tax increases in the $1.5 trillion tax law. Continue reading “As Trump Appeals to Farmers, Some of His Policies Don’t”

Minnesota swears in state’s first Hmong-American judge

The following article by Chao Xiong was posted on the StarTribune website January 5, 2018:

State’s first Hmong-American jurist is right at home on Ramsey County bench.

Sophia VueLo took the oath as Minnesota Second Judicial District Judge with her husband Dr. Muaj C. Lo next to her and Chief Justice Lorie Gildea administering the ceremony.

Sophia Vuelo was born in Laos during wartime and raised in Wisconsin by a widowed mother who could barely write her own name. On Thursday, she became Minnesota’s first Hmong-American judge, and only one of a few in the country.

“Never let your circumstances or your birthplace prevent who you are … ,” Vuelo told a packed crowd that included high school classmates, community leaders and young girls.

Vuelo was sworn in as the 29th member of the Ramsey County District Court bench. She switched between English and Hmong as she addressed attendees, tearing up as she recalled the Lutheran church that “took a chance” by helping to resettle her family.

“That has made all of the difference to me,” she said. “We were poorer than a church mouse.” Continue reading “Minnesota swears in state’s first Hmong-American judge”