November 23, 2020 - The Minnesota Sun

Attorneys General Lash Out at DHS Student Visa Rules Letter Limiting Foreign Students’ Stay

November 23, 2020November 22, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

In late October, 23 U.S. states’ Attorneys General submitted a letter to the Department of Homeland Security expressing opposition to a proposed rule change that would place new limits on the time an international student can spend in the U.S.

The new rule would limit the validity of an international student visa to generally four years, the same amount of time it typically takes for a student to complete an undergraduate program. The current stipulation, characterized as “Duration of Stay,” allows a student to stay in the United States as long as they are pursuing a full course of studying or training.

Commentary: The Pressure to Make Allegations of a Mass Fraud During the 2020 Presidential Election Disappear is Enormous

November 23, 2020November 22, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

So what is the state of play regarding the 2020 presidential election? There seem to be two main positions.

One is that Joe Biden won the election, narrowly but with sufficient latitude that any challenge is bootless. A corollary of that contention is that the adults in the room, be they Republicans or Democrats, should get with the program and accede to the Narrative.

Republicans on Verge of Flipping 14 U.S. House Seats

November 23, 2020November 22, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Joe Biden’s decision to tap Kamala Harris as his running mate did not help Democrats down-ballot in California three weeks ago. We already know Harris is unpopular, even within her own party, as evidenced by her epic 2019 primary failure. We now know she lacks coattails.

While Republicans had a great election night in U.S. House races across the country, surprisingly their most successful state was the one Harris represents.

The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post Among Newspapers Paid Millions by Beijing-Controlled News Outlet to Publish Propaganda this Year

November 23, 2020November 22, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

An English-language newspaper controlled by the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda department paid U.S. media companies nearly $2 million for printing and advertising expenses over the past six months, even amid heightened scrutiny over Beijing’s disinformation efforts in the West.

China Daily paid The Wall Street Journal more than $85,000 and the Los Angeles Times $340,000 for advertising campaigns between May and October 2020, according to a disclosure that the propaganda mill filed this week with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

China Daily also paid Foreign Policy magazine $100,000, The Financial Times, a U.K.-based newspaper, $223,710, and $132,046 to the Canadian outlet Globe & Mail for advertising campaigns, according to the filing.

Trump Pulls Out of Military Transparency Treaty with Russia, Europe

November 23, 2020November 22, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Trump administration officially withdrew from the Open Skies Treaty, a 2002 agreement to promote military transparency signed by more than 30 countries including Russia.

The Department of State said Sunday that the U.S. had officially withdrawn from the Open Skies Treaty, which went into effect nearly two decades ago. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both announced on May 21 that the U.S. intended to exit the agreement, according to The Associated Press.

Commentary: A Retired Professor’s Retrospective on How Academia and Society Have Gone Separate Ways

November 23, 2020November 22, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

I landed in Washington, D.C., in 1965 as a graduate student. For a conservative, the landscape was barren.

There was no conservative administration, no national newspaper that competed with the liberal New York Times and Washington Post, no conservative think tanks that rivaled the Brookings Institution or Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and no conservative majority in Congress.

Over the previous 32 years, the Democrats occupied the White House for 24 years, and both houses of Congress for 28 years. For all practical purposes, Washington and national politics were a Democratic Party monopoly.

President Trump Asks for Georgia Recount That Would Match Absentee Ballot Envelope Signatures

November 23, 2020November 22, 2020 Jason M. Reynolds

President Donald Trump’s legal team on Saturday said they had filed a petition for a recount in Georgia, one that would match signatures on absentee ballot envelopes, which the state did not do in the previous effort.

The team made the announcement in a statement.

Republican to Host Thanksgiving Gathering, Sends Walz and Ellison Invite

November 23, 2020November 22, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Representative-elect Erik Mortensen (R-Mn-55A), said he has invited Gov. Tim Walz (DFL) and Attorney General Keith Ellison (DFL) to his home for a Thanksgiving celebration this week.

Their presence at Mortensen’s home, of course, would be a violation of the governor’s four-week prohibition on social gatherings with people from other households. Gov. Walz announced sweeping new restrictions on the economy and private events in an executive order issued last week.