September 20-23, 2019
Sep 20 03:52 Is CAIR a civil rights organization? Sep 20 11:29 The MSM's propaganda Sep 22 02:53 Gutless wonders & their media protectorate Sep 22 06:53 How good are our schools? Sep 23 09:50 Exposing AFSCME's dirty tricks Sep 23 13:15 President Trump courts Hispanics Sep 23 14:05 Chris Coons' baseless allegations Sep 23 15:35 CAIR-MN Published vs. reality
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Is CAIR a civil rights organization?
CAIR-MN insists that it's a civil rights organization that works closely with the FBI. This article provides proof that isn't true, stating "The Fiscal Year 2013 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Bill, which passed the House on Wednesday, contains in its Committee Report (a separate public document that spells out how agencies are expected to spend the money allocated to them) a recommendation that Attorney General Eric Holder follow in the FBI's footsteps and sever ties with CAIR":
The committee understands that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has an existing policy prohibiting its employees from engaging in any formal non-investigative cooperation with CAIR. The committee encourages the attorney general to adopt a similar policy for all department officials.
This isn't Fox News reporting. This is from an official House committee report saying that the FBI has severed ties with CAIR.
CAIR specializes in propaganda. That's what they specialized in with the Dismantling Hate Crimes event. They did that even after the event was postponed. When Jaylani Hussein, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Minnesota, arrived from the Twin Cities after the event was cancelled. Hussein started spreading his propaganda virtually immediately. That carried into Thursday, too.
On Thursday, Hussein said "The idea behind it was pretty large, not specifically just addressing Islamophobia. Unfortunately, as we know, Islamophobia is an issue in St. Cloud, and the postponement, I guess, was evident of that."
He continued, saying "We are not talking to someone that has legitimate claims; we are talking to people clearly showing a racist as well as a xenophobic and white nationalist agenda. And that's the unfortunate reality."
What's unfortunate is that Hussein criticized St. Cloud without a basis for his opinion. Then again, as a propagandist, his responsibility is to criticize people he knows nothing about. That's what happened in this instance.
Hussein said Freedom Speaks Coalition is a hate group that uses anti-Muslim statements to further its agenda. He also said groups that feed into white nationalist groups are really the ones who could potentially put community members at risk.
"St. Cloud residents cannot allow for a small fringe group of haters to dominate and take over the narrative of what St. Cloud is and who it is," Hussein said. "There should be concern about these hate groups who are creating a very unsafe environment to the point where talks like these are not taking place.
"More people, more residents need to shun and call these people for what they are - hate groups who are trying to create fear," he continued. "And there are consequences to that type of activity.
It's interesting that Hussein would say that. CAIR calls itself a civil rights organization. Fair enough but shouldn't civil rights organizations fight for everyone's civil rights, even for those organizations with which it disagrees? HINT TO HUSSEIN: This is the United States, home of the First Amendment. That means all organizations and people have the God-given right to disagree with others as long as they don't put people's lives in danger.
See also: MDHR commissioner decries 'attempts to silence discussion'
St. Cloud hate crimes event postponed; MDHR, CAIR upset
Posted Friday, September 20, 2019 3:52 AM
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The MSM's propaganda
In the stranger-than-fiction category, it's apparent that the official statement issued by Commissioner Rebecca Lucero are spreading nationwide. These media outlets accept as Gospel Commissioner Lucero's non-truths. For instance, this article quotes Lucero when she said "Hate is not a value in St. Cloud or in any part of our state." The article continues, saying "Lucero says she is 'heartbroken by the attempts to silence discussion on hate crimes.'"
No attempt was made to stifle free speech. Commissioner Lucero shouldn't spread lies about people exercising their right to speak freely about matters of religion and government. I don't know what's worse -- Commissioner Lucero spreading propaganda or the Minnesota Department of Human Rights attempting to criticize people exercising their right to free speech.
The right to free speech doesn't just apply to Democrats. A wise man once said that 'the law protects everyone or it doesn't protect anyone.' How can the Human Rights Commissioner in Minnesota dispute that.
The sad part is that Commissioner Lucero's propaganda is spreading like wildfire. The AP article stripped out things like the fact that Jeff Oxton, the St. Cloud Assistant Police Chief, said that they were monitoring things but that they hadn't received any threats concerning the event. Why didn't the AP keep that part of the SCTimes article in the AP article? It's like the AP intentionally did that just like the NYTimes' editors omitted the part about the supposed victim doesn't recall the incident and isn't talking to anyone.
The more articles I see with Commissioner Lucero's highly inaccurate quote, the more certain I am that the Dismantling Hate Crimes event was nothing more than a Democrat publicity stunt. Our commissioners don't just serve the governor. They're supposed to serve We The People, too. I don't know how they can do that when they turn a blind eye on a special interest's propaganda. That's what CAIR did with Jaylani Hussein's rhetoric.
Hussein said that CAIR is a civil rights organization in one breath, then insists that groups like "Freedom Speaks Coalition is a hate group." This is the USA, where that type of organization can criticize organizations like CAIR or politicians like Commissioner Lucero. Apparently, CAIR didn't learn that in Civil Rights 101 when it was in law school. Perhaps they were attending a Farrakhan rally the day they taught that.
Then again, they might not have learned that because CAIR is really just Hamas DBA as CAIR in the USA:
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It's one thing for CAIR to spread their propaganda. It's quite another when a commissioner that works for us puts out a statement that accuses her bosses, aka We The People, of committing hate crimes. That's quite a prejudice for a human rights department.
Posted Friday, September 20, 2019 11:33 AM
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Gutless wonders & their media protectorate
It's time to call out the St. Cloud Times for protecting their leftist cronies. This Our View Editorial is disgusting. It's about the postponed Dismantling Hate Crimes event from this past Wednesday. Here's the opening of the SCTimes' article:
Sadly, people driven by fear are still driving the public agenda. Witness about two dozen people who showed up Wednesday at the St. Cloud Library to protest a panel discussion about dismantling hate crimes because, well, spreading hate and fear is their go-to.
Shame on the Times for publishing this trash. This isn't worthy of a college newspaper, much less worthy of a once-respectable newspaper. This editorial is cringeworthy for its sloppiness and fact gathering.
First, the St. Cloud Human Rights Commission published a postponement notice on their Facebook page Wednesday afternoon. The timestamp for the post is 1:16 pm on Sept. 18th:
[Video no longer available]
Next, 2 groups were there at the Library that might've been considered protest groups. One was a group who prayed for the Persecuted Church. The other organization is called the "Freedom Speaks Coalition."
One of the groups applied for and received a permit to use a room in the Public Library from 2:00 pm-4:00 pm September 18. The Dismantling Hate Crimes event didn't start until 6:00 pm. The Times' hit piece continues:
First, though, many of the picketers (who showed up despite the cancellation that came soon before the event was to begin) would not stand up for their beliefs in the most basic way possible, by putting their names to their convictions. Offered the opportunity by journalists from the St. Cloud Times and other news outlets to explain their point of view, many offered their thoughts but most refused to provide their names.
Why would a sane person give the Times their name considering the Times Editorial Board's penchant for smearing its political opponents? The Times is a media organization. Do they think we don't know that they're aware of Antifa protests on college campuses against conservatives and Christians? Am I supposed to believe that they aren't aware of the violence that #BlackLivesMatters has perpetrated? Democrat-affiliated thugs like Antifa, #BlackLivesMatter and CAIR shouldn't be trusted.
Notice that the Times trusted MDHR's and CAIR's narrative that the event was cancelled because some peaceful protesters showed up at the event. What the Times didn't mention is that the event was postponed before the protesters arrived at the Library. Notice that the Times omitted the fact that Assistant Police Chief Jeff Oxton told Times reporter Jenny Berg that they hadn't received any threats regarding the event.
Does the Times actually think that this postponement is legitimate? The SC Chief of Police was scheduled to participate in the discussion, as was an FBI supervisor. Also, 2 St. Cloud police officers were there. To think that CAIR and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights would get frightened by these protesters is foolish.
I'm tired of the Times Editorial Board either watering down their editorials to protect their political favorites or ignoring major facts. (Think Jeff Oxton's statement.) The Times is supposed to be a news-gathering organization. It'd be nice if their work product reflected that. This video by Marni Hockenberg lays out pretty much the same facts that I laid out in this post:
[Video no longer available]
Posted Sunday, September 22, 2019 2:53 AM
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How good are our schools?
Indoctrination's Impact on Schools
By Ramblin' Rose
How long has it been since this country had the best educational system in the world as measured by instruments recognized internationally? How long has it been since Minnesota was a leader in education?
The test results for 2018 became public a few weeks ago. On August 29th, the Times reported 'The North Star system, introduced last year, focuses less on assigning punitive labels for schools based on how students scored on one single test - the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments - and more on the nuances of education to create more equitable and well-rounded learning opportunities for all students across the state.'
A punitive label? A single test? Students take multiple tests annually in MN schools - even 5 times a year in Kindergarten and the test is delivered via a computer - those victims are 5 or 6 years old. But the computer testing is a part of the Common Core (CC) that supposedly died. It seems alive and punitive.
(an aside: Did you know that parents have the right to opt out of the mandated tests in MN? Just visit the Department of Education website for the forms and the warnings of possible consequences for the child's future with such a decision.)
So how did students do in central Minnesota?
The words from Marsha Baisch, assistant superintendeAnt of elementary education at St. Cloud school district, set a tone of gloom: "The first blush doesn't always tell the whole story." She continued with five factors to evaluate 'the whole child.' The test scores are only one facet of the new (one year old) reporting system.
As one continued to read the article, the tone was gloomy and seemed to celebrate mediocrity - as long as others also have lowered scores, it must be interpreted as 'OK.'
"The patterns of our scores mirror the state," said Sylvia Huff, executive director of research, assessments and enrollment for St. Cloud school district. "So both the state as well as our district saw a slight drop in math proficiency and in reading, it was basically relatively unchanged."
The data found on the MN Department of Education website shows that MN students do score at a level 'slightly' higher than national average. That is still far from the #1 status that many stakeholders espouse.
Back to central MN:
In St. Cloud schools in math proficiency, students dropped from 40% proficient (i.e., meeting or exceeding the standards) in 2018 to 37% in 2019. The statewide average was 54%, also a decline of 2.4% points. In reading, the drop was less - 46% proficient to 45% proficient. Across MN, the score was 59% proficient or above.
Other area schools also reported declines.
Sartell-St. Stephen school district:
Math - 77% to 75%
Reading - 76% to 72%
Sauk Rapids-Rice school district
Math - 54% to 52%
Reading - 58% to 56%
ROCORI school district
Math - 64% to 62%
Reading - 66% to 65%
STRIDE Academy
Math - 49% to 48%
Reading - 49% to 48%
St. Cloud Math and Science Academy - increased scores noted
Math - 13% to 21%
Reading - 22% to 27%
Athlos Academy - increased scores noted
Math - 25% to 31%
Reading - 36% to 40%
And the international comparison is a little more dubious. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) was first administered in 2000 but only to 15-year-old students in 70 countries. Thus, the results do not correlate to the MN results. However, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Assessment (TIMSS) dates from 1995 in the areas of math and science and tests fourth and eighth graders in approximately 60 countries. In the latest reported data, American fourth graders in math tied for 13th place behind 10 systems, statistically indistinguishable from 9 systems and higher than 34 countries.
In any case, the USA does not score as the leading country in education even though it claims to want to have a leading role on the international scene, as do I. However, unless students have greater academic achievements, they will be followers and not leaders in discussions and decisions based upon information, facts and logic.
It seems that the right answers do count when it comes to international assessments. Maybe the politicians should try to sell Common Core to the educational institutions in order to regain their assumed leadership position.
So, what do parents do in order to attempt to enroll their children in the best schools? They often vote with their feet and the ascribed tuition dollars.
Three obvious alternatives for families are private schools (costly tuition and fees) and charter schools and open enrollments with neighboring districts. We know that Sauk Rapids froze that option recently.
Let's use one large diverse district as the example of what is undoubtedly reflected in other districts. In the Minneapolis district, there were 45,443 students in a local school and 4,669 attending a school outside the district in 2003. In 2018, the students in a local school numbered 35,141 while those in non-district schools jumped to 18, 044. In this district, 80% of the students leaving the failing district for a chance at a better education were students of color.
The same exodus is occurring across the state. The demographics may vary, but the percentages are probably quite similar. Parents are hoping for better than the government-funded and government-driven schools with the government-dictated curriculum.
Political does not refer to the party of the President; it refers to the ideology of those who control the indoctrination of the system; those committed to the conversion of free thinkers into obedient lemmings who follow their mandates.
Do our schools teach to the strengths of each individual (meet the students where they are and challenge them to do better), or do they embrace CC that mandates teaching to the "lowest common denominator?"
Posted Sunday, September 22, 2019 6:53 AM
Comment 1 by Patrick at 22-Sep-19 07:32 AM
Guess who was the previous State Superintendent of Education? yup "Taxing Tony", the current governor. "Wisconsin school chief calls achievement gap a 'crisis'". http://wqow.com/news/top-stories/2019/09/19/wisconsin-school-chief-calls-achievement-gap-a-crisis/
Comment 2 by eric z at 22-Sep-19 09:56 AM
Some kids are smart and hard working. Some are dumb or lazy. Either way, presuming that on average homogeneity should govern is unsound thinking. Do you remember the saying of silk purse, sow's ear? Whip the teacher when the student misbehaves?
Exposing AFSCME's dirty tricks
It isn't surprising that AFSCME thugs don't care about the Supreme Court's Janus ruling. AFSCME cares more about political power than about the rule of law. This is what they'll do to maintain political power :
In Minnesota, a Scandia Elementary School worker sued after AFSCME refused to let her out of the union . In Massachusetts and Oregon, unions have continued to illegally deduct dues. In Washington State , union members trying to exit were told they had to wait until a 10 day 'escape period,' which wasn't publicized and wouldn't come until the next year. These are but a few examples.
AFSCME should get fined for these deliberate violations of the Supreme Court's Janus ruling. They weren't the actions of people who didn't understand the Supreme Court's ruling. Quite the contrary. These were the actions of a union willing to do anything to maintain its political influence.
As for states that have an escape period (Washington State), the courts should abolish that provision. According to the Janus ruling, the First Amendment gives the people, as individuals, the authority to pick who they want to represent them to redress their grievances. The union, in this case AFSCME, doesn't have the right to put conditions on when people can leave the union.
AFSCME is on the defensive, though they're doing a good job of hiding it. This video is instructive:
[Video no longer available]
The spokesman, Lee Saunders, said that many predicted AFSCME's collapse after the Supreme Court's ruling in Janus v. AFSCME but that they're rebounding. Saunders proclaims victory for a bill that hasn't been introduced that would let employers "voluntarily" deduct union dues from workers' paychecks.
That isn't a victory. That's a step back for the unions.
Posted Monday, September 23, 2019 9:50 AM
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President Trump courts Hispanics
Liz Peek's op-ed highlights why President Trump's approval rating with Hispanics is improving. This isn't accidental. It's easily explainable.
Peek's article highlights the fact that "since 2016 the country has added 5.2 million jobs, of which 4.5 million went to people of color. The Washington Post reported that this is the first time in the country's history that minorities were winning most of the new jobs being created. Hispanic unemployment is currently 4.2 percent, the lowest ever recorded."
It turns out that the NYTimes reporter covering President Trump's New Mexico rally was surprised with what she found:
A New York Times reporter was clearly baffled by this turn of events as she ventured to cover the president's recent rally in New Mexico, where 47 percent of the electorate is Latino. Jennifer Medina was shocked to find large numbers of Hispanics who had waited in the sun to greet the president, and whose "identity was something of an afterthought."
She met Latino Trump supporters who backed his position on illegal immigration, and who felt that "We need to take care of the people who are already here." They were not, she reported, "single-issue voters," which seemed to surprise the Times writer. Those proudly announcing themselves as Latinos for Trump also tended to favor his position on abortion, his appointments of conservative judges, and defense of gun rights.
In other words, Democrats aren't reading the Hispanic people correctly.
Against these achievements, Democrats are campaigning on open borders and on-demand abortion up until birth. These and other positions which could threaten our robust economy, like the Green New Deal or raising taxes on middle-class voters to fund single-payer health care, will alienate those who are increasingly benefiting from our capitalist system.
Reality check for Democrats. Count the number of smiling faces in the crowd at President Trump's rally in Rio Rancho, MN. Then count how many of those smiling faces are plastered on the faces of Latina women:
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I know that these pictures can be orchestrated and often are. Usually, though, those orchestrated shots don't have everyone in sight looking like the targeted audience. The people behind Trump's audience are sending a message. There's one 1 white male in the audience that I counted. The other men in the audience were Hispanic. The rest of the audience were women.
We're told by Democrats that Hispanics coming illegally across the border are coming for a better life for their families. I don't doubt that. If that's true, though, why wouldn't Hispanics, whether they're here legally or illegally, love the Trump economy? Democrats can't say that Hispanics are coming here for a better life, then say that they hate this booming economy.
Posted Monday, September 23, 2019 1:15 PM
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Chris Coons' baseless allegations
I get it that Chris Coons needs to run interference for Joe Biden. After all, Coons represents Delaware, just like Biden did. Nonetheless, it's a bit much that he'd make this foolish statement with this video circulating everywhere:
[Video no longer available]
Next, here's what Sen. Coons said:
My gut reaction is 'here we go again.' In the 2016 campaign, President Trump repeated baseless allegations about Hillary's emails over and over and over, to the point where the average voter couldn't really tell you what it was actually about, but they just had the vague impression that something inappropriate had happened. That is exactly what President Trump is trying to do here, and I hope that both the media won't take the bait and simply repeat these baseless allegations.
This isn't 'Here we go again' with baseless allegations. It's 'here we go again' with Biden foolishly shooting his mouth off again. What type of idiot brags that he got a prosecutor fired who's investigating his son? That's as foolish as it gets. That's Biden for you.
This won't finish well for VP Biden or Democrats like Adam Schiff, (D-Calif.). Though he doesn't know it yet, Schiff is about to find out what it's like to play the part of the dog who's chasing a car, then accidentally catches it. If the transcript is released, which seems inevitable at this point, it's likely to show that President Trump talked to the Ukrainian Prime Minister to investigate corruption in his country. Here is President Trump explaining why he told Prime Minister Zelensky to investigate Vice President Biden's son:
[Video no longer available]
It's perfectly acceptable for President Trump to tell Ukraine to clean up its act. As President Trump said, trying to clean up corruption is part of the mandate for why he got elected. Further, there's no question that Ukraine has had corruption issues for a while.
Democrats know this. They're just hoping to defeat President Trump before this 'bombshell' blows up in their face.
Posted Monday, September 23, 2019 2:05 PM
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CAIR-MN Published vs. reality
Like most DFL-affiliated organizations, CAIR-MN has a history of publishing one thing, then doing another. That's quickly proven with a visit to CAIR's mission page . A list of CAIR-MN's principles reads like this:
- CAIR supports free enterprise, freedom of religion and freedom of expression.
- CAIR is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Americans, regardless of faith.
- CAIR supports domestic policies that promote civil rights, diversity and freedom of religion.
- CAIR opposes domestic policies that limit civil rights, permit racial, ethnic or religious profiling, infringe on due process, or that prevent Muslims and others from participating fully in American civic life.
- CAIR is a natural ally of groups, religious or secular, that advocate justice and human rights in America and around the world.
- CAIR supports foreign policies that help create free and equitable trade, encourage human rights and promote representative government based on socio-economic justice.
- CAIR believes the active practice of Islam strengthens the social and religious fabric of our nation.
- CAIR condemns all acts of violence against civilians by any individual, group or state.
- CAIR advocates dialogue between faith communities both in America and worldwide.
- CAIR supports equal and complementary rights and responsibilities for men and women.
I'd start by saying that the first 3 bullet points aren't what CAIR practices . I quoted Jaylani Hussein, CAIR-MN's Executive Director, in this post as saying "St. Cloud residents cannot allow for a small fringe group of haters to dominate and take over the narrative of what St. Cloud is and who it is. There should be concern about these hate groups who are creating a very unsafe environment to the point where talks like these are not taking place. More people, more residents need to shun and call these people for what they are - hate groups who are trying to create fear."
Hussein insists that a group of people peacefully protesting and another group of people praying for the Persecuted Church .
- Mr. Hussein, please explain how CAIR can support freedom of expression while calling for an entire city to call a group of people praying for the persecute church a hate group. In fact, forget the please. I demand that you explain how those 2 principles fit together.
- Mr. Hussein, I'd love hearing how CAIR can oppose "domestic policies that limit civil rights" while accusing an organization that's praying a hate group. Since the First Amendment guarantees our right to practice the religion of our choice, including not practicing any religion, CAIR apparently doesn't understand the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.
Forgive me if I don't take it seriously when CAIR insists that it's a civil rights organization. This video is ridiculous:
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Comparing the SJW movement with MLK's civil rights movement is beyond ridiculous. They fit together like oil and water.
Posted Monday, September 23, 2019 3:35 PM
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