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McConnell, Pence have it right

When the Republican National Committee’s vote Friday to censure Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois for their participation in the House Select Committee’s probe into the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, they inexplicably described the riotous attack on the U.S. Capitol as “legitimate political discourse.” Other Republican leaders are stepping up to show that they know an insurrection when they see one. On Friday, former Vice President Mike Pence, the target of Donald Trump’s assertions that Pence could have overturned the election results, said ...

No-knock warrants don’t prevent violence

Minneapolis is once again in the public’s eye for the police killing of a young Black man, Amir Locke. Locke was shot by police who burst into the apartment he was sleeping in on a no-nock warrant. Police used a key to open the apartand burst in shouting that they were police serving a warrant. Police body-cam images show Locke stirring under the comforter where he was sleeping after police kicked the couch. His hand emerged with a gun, and he was shot by a Minneapolis officer just seconds after the raid started. Was Locke going to shoot police, or was he startled, groggy with ...

Russia throwing weight behind Ukraine threat

Russia is coming closer and closer to pushing into the Ukraine. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, speaking on different Sunday news programs, said Russia could be days away from invading, a prospect that could result at an “enormous human cost.” Russia remains one of the few national powers willing to use military might to achieve its ends. Russian President Vladimir Putin knows there are few forces with the power and the will to stop him. NATO is unlikely to take action, since the Ukraine is not in the alliance. The U.S., after two decades of war in the ...

Thumbs Up/Down

Oak Hills request Thumbs Up: Oak Hills Living Center has received — and has earned! — tremendous community support over the years. Thanks to generous donations from the community, New Ulm has a tremendous facility for taking care of our aging population. Over the years it has been responsive to their needs, converting itself when needed into a more homelike community. Today Oak Hills is seeking to convert itself once again into a facility that provides the housing and care that people want and need, so they can stay close to families and friends in New Ulm. Oak Hills once again ...

This issue we can all agree on

On Thursday, Rebublicans in the Minnesota Senate laid out a proposal addressing the shortage of police officers in the state. It is no surprise that the ranks of police officers have been shrinking since the murder of George Floyd, the resulting riots and the calls for defunding the police. Officers in Minneapolis have been leaving the force, some claiming PTSD, some simply having served their time and seeing no reason to stay on. In the meantime, the supply of new recruits to the police academy has dwindled as well. The Senate Republicans are proposing to encourage more young ...

What state could be spending surplus on

The Minnesota Legislature is in session now, in a short session that usually focuses on bonding, but which this year is energized by the $7 billion surplus forecast for the state budget. While we don’t want the state to go on a wild spending spree, there are things that the state could and should fund while it has the money. Education is always a good investment. While Democrats and Republicans may wrangle on how and where to spend money on education, there’s really no bad spending on education. Given the rate of inflation we are all dealing with, the 2% increase in per pupil ...