Liberty & Prosperity Blog

All it took to return to the bad old days of Murderapolis was for the anarchists and activists to cry 'Defund the police', then let the police retire or move to a state that prioritizes law enforcement. That's what's apparently happening. According to this Alpha News article , "Two separate mass shootings in Minneapolis left at least 13 people injured by gunfire and one dead in less than 24 hours on Sunday. Nine people were injured by gunfire in a mass shooting outside Reign Event Center in Uptown Minneapolis early Sunday morning. Another mass shooting occurred Sunday evening about two miles away in the Stevens Square neighborhood, injuring another four people and killing one." Apparently, Jacob Frey, Tim Walz and Mary Moriarty don't give a damn about public safety or preventing mass shootings. Further, I can't wait to hear Tim Walz explain how an assault weapons ban would've stopped these massacres. I can explain them with ease -- too few police o...

If you're targeting immigration officials and you're a prosecutor, the process to get your hands on unlimited resources is to sign onto Larry Krasner's group of questionable DAs . The Washington Free Beacon is reporting "A coalition of progressive prosecutors promising to target federal immigration agents has amassed a war chest funded by secret donors with the help of left-wing networks. Legal experts said the arrangement is 'terribly corrupt' and blurs the lines between legitimate law enforcement and politically motivated prosecutions." Deeper into the article, it reports "The Project for the Fight Against Federal Overreach—or FAFO, an acronym that also stands for 'fuck around and find out' in internet lingo—was formed by two George Soros-funded prosecutors, Philadelphia's Larry Krasner and Mary Moriarty of Hennepin County, Minn., after federal officials shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti as they interfered with immigration enfor...

Anytime Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty gets involved in a case, a mess is almost automatically guaranteed. After Renee Good's tragic shooting death, Moriarty insisted that the feds had to share the feds' evidence with the HCAO. That's false. Since it involved a federal border patrol agent, the feds have jurisdiction. Since Moriarty is an activist prosecutor, the Trump administration didn't see the usefulness in playing nice with Moriarty. In this interview , Jake Tapper inquired what standard procedure was. He cited the Annunciation Church shooting last August and the Hortman family assassinations as instances where state and federal authorities worked together. The thing there is that both instances involved local crimes. The municipalities asked for the feds' help in the investigation. The shooting of Renee Good involved a federal agent, thereby assigning the feds jurisdiction in that investigation. This week, the "Hennepin County Attorney’s Office...

The Democrat Socialists of America have a vivid imagination. Unfortunately for them, they made the mistake of telling people about their dream (socialist) world looks like . According to the DSA's website's opening paragraph "It might not feel as badly needed as it does now. You enjoy your work; it’s interesting to you, and you’re well trained for it. You work as much as you are able and no more than needed, and you would control your own labor and see it going to good use. It’s not just a job to pay the bills." That's the DSA's sales pitch? They start by telling us that we "enjoy" our work and that we're well-trained to do that work. Then the DSA said "You work as much as you are able and no more than needed." Western Civilization's great accomplishments didn't happen becauses groups of people worked "no more than needed." That's the socialists' great lie. George Washington's Revolutionary Army didn't ...

Graduation Standards—Bane or Blessing? by Ramblin’ Rose Some in Minnesota are celebrating for a second straight year the rise in number of high school graduates. Others contrast that news with the revelation that Minnesota, once the 'Education State,' has fallen again in the national rankings. Josiah Padley, Policy Fellow at Center of the American Experiment, cited the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2026 findings. Our North Star State is no longer in the top 10; it fell from 7th to 21st from 2021 to 2026, specifically '#7 in 2021, #9 in 2022, #18 in 2023, #19 in 2024 and #17 in 2025.'" How can so many more students 'earn' a high school diploma when their proficiency rates are plummeting. Let hiSTORY tell the 'story.' In the early 1990s, "experts" eliminated the Carnegie Units (course credits) with the claim that they only reflected seat time. The graduation rates were lower, but the proficiency levels were higher. The experts (politicians and...

Predictably, Sheriff Fletcher is getting criticized Too often, I've listened to DFL politicians tell us that we've got a gun violence problem. Apparently, that's the DFL's approach to ignoring Somali gang violence. Last week, a legitimate leader emerged . "Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher" spoke truth to these politicians. The Alpha News article reports "In a 'Live on Patrol' video posted Monday, Sheriff Fletcher and deputies from his office said it was time to publicly address the violence following several shootings and a murder over the July 4 weekend, which the sheriff said were connected to ongoing Somali gang violence." This is infuriating. Minneapolis ignored the gang violence while blaming inanimate objects for the city's violence crisis. Who do they think they're kidding? The DFL has a soft-on-crime reputation crisis. Sheriff Fletcher highlighted that crisis by speaking plainly. Minnesota's sanctuary city policies offer...

The Truth in Funding Minnesota Schools/Learners, plus a Proposal for $7K for Parents to Invest...at NO Cost to Taxpayers, Part I by Ramblin’ Rose This article is about Minnesota’s ESA (Education Savings Account), not the federal program of ECCA (Educational Choice for Children Act). While both advocate for education and fund special ways for parents and children to make better choices for learning, they are very different. This post focuses on an approximate $7000 savings account for students who are NOT enrolled in traditionally funded public schools. ESAs are NOT vouchers, even if some politicians intentionally misuse the term. Educated citizens were vital for our fledgling nation. Consequently, education was a priority as the USA began. The first public school opened in 1635 in Boston. Support for education and an educated citizenry continues. For decades, Minnesota was championed as a leader in education, but now half of our students cannot read nor do math at grade level, dropping...

Without a significant shake-up in Minneapolis's political leadership (Mayor Frey, the City Council) and police leadership, it looks like Minneapolis will remain a lost cause in terms of public safety. Joe Gamaldi, the national vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, had some harsh criticisms for Mayor Frey. For instance, Gamaldi told Liz Collin that "I think Mayor [Jacob] Frey likes to talk tough with everyone, but I think we all know he is completely spineless . Because these gangs know that even if they are arrested, they’re just gonna be let right back out over and over and over again." Ms. Collin reported in her podcast that "This past weekend marked yet another violent Fourth of July in Minneapolis. Dozens of car windows were smashed, there was a homicide, and several people were injured by gunfire—with some of it caught on camera. Despite the danger to the public, many local leaders seem unwilling to publicly acknowledge that there is a Somali gang ...

Friday morning, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Criminal Illegal Alien Tou Lue Vang to be deported back to his native Laos. The Trump administration issued this statement om the deportation. The administration said "A convicted child sex offender is no longer in our country thanks to President Donald J. Trump and his Administration — defeating a sick attempt by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to lend him safe harbor in the so-called 'sanctuary' state." When Vang was initially arrested for assaulting the then-10-year-old girl, they removed Vang's green card. That made it easier for DHS and the State Department to deport Vang. Thank God for big favors. The DFL has focused too much on sanctuary city status. They didn't focus on putting together a coherent, popular governing agenda. That's difficult work. It's easier to flood the country with criminal illegal aliens, give them drivers licenses, then have them vote i...

Anyone that's paid attention to Minnesota politics knows that AG Keith Ellison is multiple layers beneath a dirtbag. After reading this Alpha News article , it's obvious that Keith Ellison isn't into enforcing laws. He's just a political hack with the nastiest anti-Trump bias I've ever seen. The DFL is the ultimate soft-on-crime political party in history. The proof is in the article. It says "Perhaps most shocking, despite pleading guilty to first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a child under 13, Vang never served a day in prison . Instead, the court imposed a stayed 144-month prison sentence and placed him on probation for 30 years. He was discharged from probation in 2019." This happened before Keith Ellison was elected to Congress, which is 12 years before getting elected AG. Still, Ellison should've taken that into consideration before voting to grant Vang's pardon. The good news is that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked Va...

On Friday, July 3, 2026, an American flag was flown upside-down "at a Somali Independence Day celebration in St. Cloud." Alpha News is reporting "St. Cloud City Councilmember Scott Brodeen said he went to Lake George Municipal Park after receiving a message from a resident asking whether the city council had approved flying the American flag upside down during the event." That isn't the end of the story, unfortunately. The major part of the story is that the DFL is trying to BUY Somali votes by being disrespectful to the people who settled the land in the 1850s. According to the Alpha News article, "Brodeen urged residents to consider the incident when deciding whom to support at the ballot box, though he did not identify any specific candidates. However, the banner in the Rocks and Cows video indicated that the event was also sponsored by Democrat Minnesota House candidates Zachary Dorholt and Abdi Daisane, congressional candidate Doug Chapin and U.S. Se...

Obviously, a war that's lasted a few months isn't a forever war. Still, it isn't too soon to question President Trump's exit strategy and his accomplishment goals. The Powell Doctrine summary indicates that President Trump has anwered most of the major questions of the Doctrine: Is a vital national security interest threatened? Do we have a clear attainable objective? Have the risks and costs been fully and frankly analyzed? Have all other non-violent policy means been fully exhausted? Is there a plausible exit strategy to avoid endless entanglement? Have the consequences of our action been fully considered? Is the action supported by the American people? Do we have genuine broad international support? It's apparent that President Trump doesn't have "a plausible exit strategy to avoid endless entanglement." His approach to the negotiation phase of the war has been more of a play-it-by-ear or we'll-see-what-happens than a we'll-pound-them-into-...

Better late than never. Still, it's too late in terms of letting Iran's theocrats and IRGC know who the boss in this relationship is. CBS is reporting "President Trump said the U.S. would likely launch more strikes against Iran Wednesday night, telling reporters at a NATO summit in Turkey 'we hit them very hard last night,' and 'we're going to hit them hard again tonight.'" CBS is also reporting "Mr. Trump said, 'as far as I'm concerned, it's over,' when asked about the ceasefire with Iran. After an exchange of strikes by both countries, Mr. Trump called Iran's leaders "sick" and declared it 'a waste of time dealing with them.'" I'm not interested in working on snother negotiated settlement. Trump is right. It's a waste of time dealing with these theocrats. They simply aren't trustworthy. My most favored outcomes would be locating the theocrats, the IRGC and the Basij, then take them out ...

Graham Platner is missing lots of thing but chutzpah isn't one of those things. He's got that in overabundance. The Maine Morning Star is reporting that "The Maine Democratic Party accused U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner’s campaign Tuesday of trying to influence the process for selecting a replacement nominee, as pressure mounts for him to leave the race." It's difficult to picture such an obnoxious man trying to play a hand that's best thrown away. Platner's political career is finished. What position is he in to demand such a change? Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson wrote "Unfortunately, Graham Platner’s team has repeatedly reached out to us in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like. We’ve repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner’s team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, nor in determining what this process looks like. We have also reiterated that Gr...

When you study economic models, it doesn't take long to figure out that socialism quickly leads to an affordability crisis. Though John Phelan's op-ed doesn't directly tie to socialism, it definitely highlights the difference between treating symptoms and fixing problems . In his op-ed, Phelan wrote "What can state and local governments do to alleviate this squeeze? One set of proposals is taxpayer-financed subsidies or tax credits for low-income households, but this is a misdiagnosis that doesn’t understand or tackle the problem. It regards the prices as the problem to be treated not as what they are: signals alerting us to underlying issues with supply of and demand for a good or service. These underlying issues must be treated to ease the squeeze on affordability." Socialism isn't a growth-oriented economic model. It's a redistributionist-oriented economic model. That means socialist models are based on scarcity of goods and services. Demand stays high...

Over the years, KSTP has done a fair job of covering the news. Over the past year+, I've questioned KSTP's impartiality to the point that I'm wondering if they're competing with the Star Tribune, formerly nicknamed the Star & Sickle. After reading this KSTP article , I'm questioning KSTP's impartiality more. The article opens by saying "Brian Nicholson, the running mate for GOP-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls, confirms to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS he was present on the U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021. 'I was one of thousands of patriots who went to Washington DC to support President Trump after the 2020 election — I don’t apologize for being there,' Nicholson said in a statement. 'There were a lot of questions about the results of the 2020 election and I wanted to hear from, and show my support for, the greatest president of my lifetime.'" Next is the story's lede. That's where it says "Nicholson, who was n...

The weekend before America 250 Weekend, Mark Levin interviewed Jonathan Turley about our founding documents and Prof. Turley's book titled "Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution." Levin opens the interview by saying "Your point is, I believe, they're now up for grabs. They're under attack. And if we lose these guardrails, we effectively have the French Revolution. Is that your point?" Prof. Turley replied "Yes. The fact is, we have to answer that question. What then is this America? Not just who we were then. Who are we now at this moment? And you have many that want to change who we are. That's one of the reasons Thomas Paine was so interesting for me in the book. Thomas Paine came to this country just two years before the Revolution. Two years before he wrote Common Sense. He wrote it anonymously. The man who sent him here came upon him when he had failed at everything. He had been fired from every job he held...

In reading Bret Baier's op-ed , it's obvious that there are tools this nation has that we haven't used to the fullest extent. In his op-ed, Baier wrote "Back in Washington last week, I visited another iconic memorial setting, George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon. Since I last visited the site in 2023 for my presidential biography of Washington, it has undergone a remarkable renovation. Touring the new site with Director Doug Bradburn was eye-opening. In every sense, it is a living memorial, a place Americans can bring their children for a fun and educational interactive experience. This is the way we build the values of citizenship into our young people ." Then Baier wrote "Bradburn told me there had been a significant uptick in visitors to the new facility. 'People are coming,' he said. 'I think Americans are looking for answers to questions about who we are and where we come from. Places like Mount Vernon are critical, because kids have got ...

Remember when then-President Obama said " If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor ?" That's part of the socialists/communists' bag of tricks to sell a worthless bill. The ACA was a worthless bill. On the day that the ACA was finally passed, Speaker Pelosi famously said " We have to pass the bill for you to find out what's in it away from the fog of the controversy?" Actually, all that we need to find out what was in the bill was for Speaker Pelosi to let the public read the bill. She wouldn't do that, though, because that would've meant that we would've known that they'd put in a provision called the individual mandate. It was required in the bill to FORCE PEOPLE who didn't have insurance to buy insurance. That's a major part of the socialists'/communists' tricks. Rather than sell a high-quality product, they'll lie and sell us a worthless product. Either that or they'll force people into buying the wor...

It's finally here! It's finally July 4, 2026. That's 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence .  To many, they thought the notion of all men being created equal was the product of heretics. Others thought that the notion that our rights came from God, not governments, proved that the men that signed the Declaration were traitors to the British throne. Those that read the entire document, though, thought that these men were principled geniuses. The thinking in the 'indictment' wasn’t about being vindictive.   It was about obtaining justice. It said that this wasn't about petty differences. Instead, it said that "Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes..." Listen to some of the injustices visited upon the colonists. The colonists accused the British king of committing substantive crimes. For instance, the indictment said the British king "has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholeso...

Most adults have used the term grassroots activism. It's been around since I was a teenager. Tomorrow, I'll turn 70. The point is that the phrase is old as dirt. A new phrase appears appropriate as our nation celebrates its 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence . The phrase that needs coining is 'grassroots PATRIOTISM '. Thanks to this Alpha News article , we've learned that "The City of Crosslake is displaying more than 500 American flags to commemorate the 250th anniversary of America’s founding. The initiative, dubbed “Crosslake Freedom Flags,” will line city streets with the Stars and Stripes." Thanks to Alpha News' reporting, we've learned that "What began as a vision to celebrate freedom, honor our nation’s heritage, and recognize those who have served has grown into one of the largest patriotic community displays in the region." Further, we learn that "According to the city, Crosslake Freedom Flag...

A can't imagine why Tim Walz pardoned a child rapist . What type of evil monster is he? Is he that committed to letting criminal illegal aliens live in Minnesota? Further, I'd like to know why Sen. Klobuchar didn't criticize Gov. Walz's pardon before it happened? She sat idly by while Gov. Walz pardoned a violent criminal illegal alien. Is she committed to the DFL's sanctuary policies or is she committed to keeping Minneapolis safe? This isn't a situation where you can have it both ways. If Gov. Walz resigned today, effective today, it wouldn't be soon enough. He's the definition of a dirtbag politician. Before he dropped out, he used to lie to Minnesotans, telling them that Minnesota was the third best state in the nation to raise a child. With him pardoning criminal illegal alien rapists, that rating can't be taken seriously. It must be taken as fictional, not realistic. How can you keep kids safe when you're pardoning people who think it's...

For months, Democrats have insisted that biological males have earned the same Title IX protections as teenage girls. That foolishness got cruhed with the Supreme Court's ruling in the West Virginia v. B.P.J. lawsuit . In his majority opinion, Justice Kavanaugh wrote "consistent with Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause, we hold that the States may maintain women's and girls sports for biological females. They may determine eligibility for women's and girls' sports based on biological sex . The Constitution and Title IX do not require an overhaul of women's and girls' sports throughout America." In other words, science is the determiner for who is eligible for participating in girls' and women's sports. Being the personiification of manlihood that he is, DFL Gov. Tim Walz said "As the Supreme Court says states can be cruel to trans kids, my message is clear: Here in Minnesota, we stand with and value our trans neighbors and youth....

Socialism is the festering heap of broken promises and terrible policies that simply won't disappear. Just think of Zohran Mamdani's lengthy list of broken promises . The NY Post writes "Many of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s lofty campaign promises have already bitten the dust 100 days in, as he makes a U-turn or scales them back almost beyond recognition. His improbable path from Democratic socialist also-ran to victory in 2025’s election came in no small part from the sweeping, voter-pleasing pledges." Mamdani lied his way to Gracie Mansion. It wasn't a matter of him fudging a little bit on 'promises from the periphery', either. The governmemt-run grocery stores were and are a fiction. Fast, free trains were mythical at best. Free day-care didn't stand a shot at becoming reality. The truth is that Mayor Mamdani is breathing lie factory . Some of Mamdani's promises were unaffordable from the start. The promise that he'd pay for these 'benefits...