So while all eyes are on Minnesota — a state which, I’m sorry, is coming to stand for the worst pathologies of the left — it’s important not to take our eyes off the BILLIONS in federal funds that that state felt entitled to send to Mogadishu in exchange for votes.
We’ll have more to say on the ICE encounter with Nicole Good below and later in the week. But for now: don’t be distracted. Minnesota owes us all money.
And explanations.
The fraud appears so large, so all-pervasive across the Democratic spectrum nationwide, that it’s very hard to know where to begin. In sum: an ecosystem that this space has been warning about since our inception is firmly in-place wherein the following occurs with pneumatic regularity:
NGOs form to support progressive causes;
These NGOs apply for (and inevitably receive) government funding from Democrat administrations, state, local, and federal;
These NGO’s donate a portion of that back to Democrat candidates to ensure their money keeps flowing;
Anyone objecting is pilloried as racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, anti-immigrant, etc, etc. — generally at protests while the rest of us are working.
Sound familiar? It might as well be written into the Minnesota state constitution.
So in an effort to get to the bottom of some of this, we’re breaking off a single piece: the meeting between Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and the perpetrators of the $250 million Feeding Our Future scam. As state AG, it would’ve been Ellison’s job to oversee — and stop — scams like Feeding Our Future in Minnesota.
Instead, in a meeting secretly taped by the perpetrators for unclear reasons, Ellison sided with the fraudsters against his own client (the residents of Minnesota and their auditors), because the Somalis were complaining that their money flow had been slowed. In fact, Ellison invoked Governor Tim Walz’s support for this.
Yes — this really happened. In America.
Now, to be clear: the Feeding Our Future case hadn’t been taken down yet. But understand: this came on the heels of other federal fraud investigations up there — so as AG, Ellison would of course have been aware of the context (and note — FEDERAL investigations. No state investigations, of course, which would’ve been Keith’s job).
Oh, and by the way: after the meeting pledging support to Feeding Our Future, Ellison, through his re-election campaign, received thousands in donations from the meeting attendees — as did his son, who was running for a city office.
So where was the Minnesota media? The local news stations? The Minnesota Star-Tribune? Walz’s office?
Now, if you don’t want to believe us, check out this week’s podcast with Bill Glahn (below) — who was there for all this, and one of the few Minnesotans paying attention.
From where we sit, Minnesota’s state government has turned into a RICO abetted by Walz, Ellison, Frey, and others.
Again: Minnesota, you owe us all money. See below for the receipts.
Minnesota Fraud -- Was Minnesota AG Keith Ellison Complicit?
Bill Glahn was the Deputy Commissioner of Commerce under Minnesota’s last Republican Governor, Tim Pawlenty. He’s worked for the Federal Reserve and is currently a Fellow with The Center of the American Experiment. In other words: He knows what he’s talking about.
Oh! He’s also the guy who got hold of — and had the integrity to release — the infamous meeting between Minnesota AG Keith Ellison and the Feeding Our Future perps, most of whom were subsequently convicted on a $250 million fraud scheme (linked HERE).
So why did it come down to Bill to go get that recording (which was made by one of the fraudsters)? Where was the media?
This Ellison caper is a vastly under-reported aspect of the Minnesota fraud story. We uncover it here.
Suffice to say: Keith Ellison has a lot of ‘splaining to do. We suspect he’ll be explaining it to DOJ at some point soon.
(Click above for the sizzle reel… and HERE for this week’s full pod).
So What Are We Actually Going To DO With Venezuela?
Join us for Part 2 of our documentary, Venezuela On The Brink, Part 2, examining the history between the U.S. and that Latin American country. For better or worse, Venezuela remains the country that America just can’t quit… and which we now have responsibility for.
Will this benefit us? Will it benefit them? Is this the beginning of a beautiful friendship… or another fruitless attempt at nation-building?
You can’t know where this is all going until you know where it’s been… and we’ve got it here.
We hope you enjoy Venezuela On The Brink, Part 2, streaming here at The Ops Desk.
(As ever, click above for the sizzle… and HERE for the full doc).
It’ll Be A Long Four Years… Or Will It?
Mamdani is worse than I anticipated. His selections for government appointments would fit perfectly in a Soviet politburo. He continues to push some of his more fantastical positions, like opening a government-owned supermarket in each borough (we bet the Staten Island store never sees its grand opening). He plans on appointing people—read: communists—to the Rent Guidelines Board who will freeze rents in June. And he keeps beating the discordant drum of rich-versus-poor class struggle.
His mayoralty may prove to be a long four years… or will it? Zohran already seems to have his eyes on bigger things.
He spoke out publicly against Trump’s apprehension and arrest of fellow communist Nicolás Maduro. He called the ICE shooting of Nicole Good a “murder” and labeled ICE enforcement “a year full of cruelty.” He also condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, calling them a genocide.
Kaitlan Collins posted on X: “NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani responds to Secretary Noem: ‘If that is “following his training,” then I think there are larger questions about the training that’s being provided to ICE agents.’”
All of this while Mamdani failed to respond to several NYPD shootings last week. When he finally did, his delayed statement was critical of the officers involved, calling shootings that appear completely justified “devastating to all New Yorkers.”
Mamdani seems far more concerned with events outside New York than with the serious issues he was elected to handle within the five boroughs. It’s increasingly clear he has his sights set on a prize bigger than the Big Apple.
Other mayors have fallen into this trap before. John Lindsay wanted the presidency and proved an ineffective mayor. Bill de Blasio’s presidential run was likewise stymied by his inability to show leadership in New York City—and his general ineptitude. New York City is still due over $225k of the more than $450k that a judge found de Blasio owes for using his NYPD detail during his ludicrous presidential run.
Mamdani wants his Communist Revolution in New York City to spread nationwide, but like Lindsay and de Blasio, he’s already over his skis. We hope to see his vision fall flat on its face—but go ahead, Zohran, give it a shot. Keep pushing the national agenda while ignoring your own responsibilities. Try a run for governor or president. It’s a recipe for failure. And perhaps it won’t be a long four years after all.
ICE Left To Melt
Several politicians ramped up their anti-ICE rhetoric this week following the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good.
Her death was a tragedy. And the rhetoric these politicians have been spewing likely contributed to it, encouraging Good to put herself in an undeniably unsafe situation.
Foul-mouthed nitwit and current Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey claimed that ICE is “causing chaos,” spreading distrust, and “literally killing people.” He said ICE is making the city unsafe and demanded that agents leave Minneapolis.
It isn’t ICE making the streets unsafe. It’s leaders like Jacob Frey, who incite unrest and refuse to provide basic support to a law-enforcement agency operating in their city. No one expects Frey to support ICE’s mission—he is clearly opposed to immigration enforcement, and that’s his right. But if he actually cared about public safety, he and other local leaders would provide police support to ICE during these operations.
Local police should be accompanying ICE—not necessarily to locate suspects or make arrests (though that wouldn’t hurt), but to ensure community safety. That is the core mission of the police. Allowing mobs to trail federal agents, throwing bricks, snowballs, and other debris, makes an already tense situation dangerous. Blocking federal vehicles and public roads is illegal—and, as we saw last week, potentially deadly.
ICE lacks both the legal authority and the manpower to handle crowd control. Protecting public order is not their job. It is the responsibility of local law enforcement.
Police should be present at every ICE operation—keeping streets open, ensuring protests remain lawful, and calling for immediate backup or medical assistance when necessary. They should be arresting or summoning those who break the law or assault fellow officers.
That is how cities like Minneapolis stay safe. Frey knew a tragic incident involving ICE was likely—he admitted as much at his press conference. He could have acted to prevent it. Instead, he did nothing. And that failure is on him.
Tears In Portland
Portland Police Chief Bob Day started crying in his press conference regarding the shooting of two Tren de Aragua gang members by ICE. His cause for tears was the non-fatal shooting of two alleged gang members by members of Customs and Border Patrol after the two allegedly attempted to run them over during a car stop. The individuals, Luis David Nico Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, were taken to the hospital for treatment and arrested by CBP.
(Crying? There’s not crying in police work! Maybe this guy should be working for Tampon Tim)
Day stated that he was hesitant to release the information on the criminal history and gang association of the two individuals shot in his own city. In a mealy-mouthed and tear-filled presser, Day stated that he was glad the two individuals were on the road to recovery. He also stated that there is an “affiliation” with the two “folks” who tried to run down CBP officers and the “group” TDA (Tren de Aragua). We read that to mean the two “perps” were “members” of the “gang” TDA.
He also stated that the two had an “association” with a shooting last summer in which a Venezuelan national was shot within Portland. Day was hesitant to release information on the criminal histories of the two arrestees. He refused to say that their criminal history or gang affiliation gave any justification to the actions of the CBP officers.
Why Chief Day would be hesitant to tell the truth about these two individuals is open for debate, but we assume it goes to his personal opinions about immigration enforcement, and not his responsibility for the safety of Portlanders.
We have seen police chiefs tear up at press conferences before: when a cop is killed, when a horrific murder shakes the community, when the death of a child upsets us all. But the tears for two people tied to criminality, gangs, and a shooting who get injured while trying to run down cops is ridiculous. Chief Day needs to leave his personal opinions in the locker room and not the national stage.
The next time federal officers put their lives on the line to apprehend two criminal gang members in Portland, Chief Day can leave the tears for a private moment…a simple thank you will suffice.
The Death of Bob Weir
Bob Weir died yesterday due to complications from cancer. The adopted child of straight-laced parents, Weir beat to his own drum – and it brought him happiness and success.
Bob Weir and I would probably vociferously disagree on most political and social topics. If I wanted to be uncharitable, I could call him an old hippie with his head in the clouds. But that would be too blunt, and I never met the man, so it could also be wrong.
Weir did have a strong libertarian slant that I could get behind, but that is probably where our similarities end.
But what Weir and the rest of the people he made music with should not be looked at through the prism of the politics of left and right. Not to say their ideas are irrelevant, every voter’s opinion counts, but Weir brought something else to America.
He bought a culture where people could come together for a night and enjoy music that they loved. He bought a view of America that acknowledged our flaws but embraced our liberty. An independent spirit and free will that goes to the very heart of America.
There was very little politics at a Dead show. It was a place to relax and leave stress for tomorrow. Attending a Weir concert was cathartic.
Granted I never wore a MAGA hat to one of his concerts, but I never heard an unkind word, never saw a fight, and never heard an insult hurled. No one asked what side you were on or who you voted for. His music brought people together.
Weir kept the music of the Grateful Dead and the atmosphere that went with it alive for far longer than anyone could have anticipated. I thank him for it.
To answer your title, the answer is "Yes". Minneapolis today is literally the exact opposite of what is was during The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
The ringleaders are folks at the national DNC, who designed these federal programs specifically for the purpose of funneling federal welfare funds into the pockets of the state Democrat parties. Their MO nationwide is to use Somalis as the mules; the Somalis do the crime and do the time, in return for a small fraction of the take. FIND and READ: "Minnesota's biggest criminals run the state":
https://daveziffer.substack.com/p/minnesotas-biggest-criminals-run