Minnesotans Hold ‘Never Again’ Protest Against Gov. Walz Emergency Powers

Minnesotans held a “Never Again” protest in response to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s extension of his emergency powers for the 15th time. The Never Again protest was in support of Representative Erik Mortensen’s (R-MN-55A) HF 2204 bill that would limit the emergency powers of governors and outlines the citizens responsibility in a public health crisis. The protest was promoted by Representative Erik Mortensen and Action 4 Liberty.

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Commentary: Donald Trump’s Comments on the Virus, Elections Deem True

On Saturday, June 12, former President Donald Trump released a statement that, in tone, will have his opponents rolling their eyes.

“I told you so,” they will say, because Donald Trump told them so and managed to get in a bit of signature Trump braggadocio along the way.

Under the legend “Statement by Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America,” this is what he wrote:

“Have you noticed that they are now admitting I was right about everything they lied about before the election?”

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Commentary: The Real Threats to Our Democracy

United States Capitol at night

In the Wall Street Journal of June 10, Peggy Noonan captured the kernel of the crisis of national division that afflicts America: Donald Trump and opposed perceptions of last year’s presidential election. Equitable person though Noonan is, she qualifies as a Trump-hater, whose invective against Trump has only escalated over time.

Noonan’s premise today is that any question about the 2020 presidential election is unfounded conspiracism, but that suspicion is growing, spread by “the Trump underworld—the operatives, grifters, and media figures around him  . . .  This lessens our faith in our systems   . . . it leaves the GOP with an untreated cancer.” She holds that “QAnon is important” in propagating this fraud. She thinks that anyone who wasn’t appalled by the storming of the Capitol on January 6 has given up on democracy. Lingering concern about the fairness of the result is in itself an assault upon democracy. “The breaching of the Capitol happened because of a conspiracy theory: that the election was actually won by Mr. Trump but stolen from him by bad people.”

She makes no allowance for exactly the opposite view: that there is ample evidence that Trump was sandbagged in rigged voting and vote-counting in only six states, stonewalled by the courts, and defamed by a unanimous national political media: the courts couldn’t face overturning the election, and the media can’t accept the idea that it was a tainted election. I agree with her that “the only thing that can stop” (the cancer that supposedly afflicts the GOP, even if it is in fact benign righteousness) “is true facts independently developed and presented with respect and receipts.” 

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Biden’s ICE Shuts Down Trump-Era Initiative to Help Victims of Illegal Aliens

Under the orders of Joe Biden, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ordered the shutdown of an office created by President Donald Trump for the purpose of helping victims of crimes committed by illegal aliens, as reported by CNN.

The announcement was made on Friday that the Victim Of Immigrant Crime Engagement (VOICE) office was coming to an end, instead being replaced with an office that will focus on helping victims of crime irrespective of the immigration status of either the victims or the culprits.

Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement that “all people, regardless of their immigration status, should be able to access victim services without fear,” directly implying that the new office will actually cater to illegal aliens rather than American citizens. Acting ICE Director Tae Johnson confirmed these intentions in his own statement, declaring that ICE would be “committed to serving all victims of crime.”

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Pompeo to Launch PAC Supporting Republicans in 2022

Mike Pompeo

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is launching a super PAC to help elect conservatives in the 2022 midterms, Politico reported Tuesday.

The Champion American Values PAC (CAVPAC) will allow him to travel the country and raise unlimited funds for members of the GOP running campaigns in local, state, and federal elections.

“We’re going to go out, and we’ve started this already, but we’re going to go out and expand to a greater degree, helping candidates all across the country,” Pompeo told Politico in a phone interview.

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Arizona Governor Issues Executive Order Preventing COVID Vaccine Mandates on College Campuses

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced on Tuesday an executive order that will prevent the state’s public colleges and universities from mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for its students.

The executive order comes in response to Arizona State University informing its students that they “expect” students to return to campus in the fall fully vaccinated. Further, individuals who choose not to receive the coronavirus vaccine would be subjected to a mask requirement and weekly testing.

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After Skyrocketing to Record Highs, Lumber Prices Fall Back to Earth

Close up of wood after being cut down - lumber yard

Lumber prices have begun to drop following record highs, with futures closing Monday at their lowest price in over two months.

Lumber futures reached their highest-ever price in early May according to Nasdaq, trading at $1,711.20 per thousand board feet. Futures closed Monday at $966.20 per thousand board feet, still well above pre-pandemic levels which hovered around $400.

Prices skyrocketed due to a variety of factors, including supply chain disruption due to COVID-19 restrictions, labor shortages, and higher demand due to the surge in the housing market, according to a report by Wells Fargo economists. The report noted that while prices were unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels, restarting domestic lumber production and restoring domestic supply chains would stabilize the market.

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Immigration Cases Have Doubled Since 2017

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Immigration cases deciding if migrants will be legally allowed to stay in the U.S. have doubled since 2017, according to migration data released Monday.

Over 1.3 million cases are pending, with more than 110,000 pending in New York courts alone, according to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). Migrants wait an average of two and a half years for a judge to decide their case, Axios reported Monday.

“The number of pending deportation cases more than doubled during the Trump administration, but the court backlog still continues to grow under the Biden administration,” TRAC Assistant Professor Austin Kocher told the Daily Caller News Foundation Tuesday.

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Dozens of Chinese Warplanes Enter Taiwan Airspace, Largest Incursion Yet

Flypast of the Chengdu J-20 during the opening of Airshow China in Zhuhai

Taiwan claims dozens of Chinese warplanes penetrated its airspace Tuesday, the largest and most recent Chinese incursion as tensions between the two countries escalate.

Twenty-eight People’s Liberation Army aircraft, including fighter jets, bombers, and anti-submarine airplanes, entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) Tuesday, according to a report issued by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense. It marked the largest recorded daily incursion, exceeding a 25-aircraft incursion on April 12, Reuters reports.

Taiwan dispatched air patrol troops to intercept the Chinese planes and mobilized anti-aircraft missile systems in response, the ministry’s report said.

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Minneapolis City Council Recommends Police Get $5 Million After Budget Cuts

Police officers

Due to the huge wave of violent crime sweeping Minneapolis, the City Council Committee has recommended that the Minneapolis Police Department receive $5 million in overtime funds after major budget cuts were implemented following the death of George Floyd.

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo requested that the Minneapolis City Council assist in funding the projected $9.5 million dollar overtime bill for the Minneapolis Police Department. Overtime for officers during the murder trial of ex-Police Officer Derek Chauvin alone totaled over $2.9 million, due in part to a shortage of officers.

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Minnesota Car Dealerships Now Offering Catalytic Converter ‘Theft Deterrent’

Cars in a parking garage at night

Catalytic converter thefts have become such a problem that some car dealerships are now charging $60 for theft deterrent services.

The Rudy Luther Toyota dealership in Minnetonka is now offering to spray catalytic converters with “high-temp, flame-proof orange paint” and engrave VIN numbers on the converter casing.

A sign at Rudy Luther Toyota in Minnetonka promotes “catalytic converter theft deterrent” services.

Even still, the dealership “does not guarantee against catalytic converter theft” but hopes “the installation of our product” will encourage thieves to “move on to an easier target.”

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Mother of Woman Killed in Uptown Minneapolis No Go Zone Speaks Out

A woman died after a car plowed into the recently occupied ‘No-Go Zone’ in Uptown Minneapolis, near Lake St. and Girard where a wanted man, Winston Smith, was shot by police. The car drove into a group of protesters in the street shortly before midnight.

Deona Marie Knajdek was pronounced dead at the scene and three others were injured by the vehicle, with two reportedly in critical condition.

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Minneapolis Mayor Holds Press Conference on Uptown No Go Zone

  In a press conference on Tuesday afternoon to address the new autonomous zone in Uptown Minneapolis, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said that they want to advance racial justice but that they need to “acknowledge that the atmosphere has substantially changed.” The second Minneapolis No Go Zone was established after…

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Second Minneapolis No Go Zone Established in Uptown Called ‘Boogie World’

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Minneapolis has a second No Go Zone, despite efforts from law enforcement and city officials to remove barricades blocking an intersection in Uptown Minneapolis at Lake Street and Girard Avenue. This is the second autonomous zone in Minneapolis. The other is located at the place of George Floyd’s death, which is still occupied by protesters despite the city’s efforts to clear and reopen the area.

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