With traditional values under siege, it often feels like we’re living in an inside out, upside down world, where right is wrong, and left is right, and those who speak up are shut down.
Friday Food for Thought offers readers news to chew on over the weekend.
Democrat Fear League
With little else to run on, the DFL (the Democrat Fear League) is trying to scare voters into believing a Republican win would vanquish all rights to abortion. If you watch TV you’ve seen the ads: Dr. Scott Jensen wants to take away your abortion rights. He’s extreme! Even a female doctor says so.
Coming from the party that wants no limits on abortion, the extremism argument is as rich as a scoop of State Fair ice cream.
Jensen and running mate Matt Birk insist the issue isn’t on the ballot this November. And it’s not their position. Stay tuned for more on that next Tuesday.
Do you remember … ?
This week the Walz administration announced a Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights. Turns out it’s good for kids to get fresh air and exercise … except during Covid (when nets were removed from basketball hoops and tennis courts and kids played basketball with masks covering their noses and mouths).
Word of the week
We’re no longer Democrats and Republicans. According to our unity president, people who hold conservative values (unlike progressives who push student loan transfers and ill-conceived climate policy) are semi-fascists. The Merriam-Webster dictionary, which doesn’t define the term, can’t keep up with ever-changing vernacular.
The crime rail
When Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was in town last week, Democrat leaders took him on a bus ride, though not on the light rail.
Good call.
It used to be a treat to take the light rain downtown to attend a Vikings game. But with crime up 200 percent compared to 2019, those days are in my rearview mirror. Staffing is down and assaults, vandalism, theft, and overdoses are up. It’s all part of the crime crisis our leaders would rather minimize.
The Walz theory of relativity
Earlier this week, Gov. Walz pushed back on criticism about Minnesota’s culture of crime. Minnesotans have a low tolerance for crime, he said, noting it’s worse in other states.
The relativity argument reminds me of kids arguing against curfews (“All the other kids get to stay out ‘til midnight”). I think it’s a dud.
But we could ask the Hopkins residents whose homes were burglarized (while they were present) how they feel. The individual who was arrested had been booked on 12 prior felonies.
Crime and the tilt-a-whirl
If you’re a criminal, committing crime is akin to riding the tilt-a-whirl at the State Fair. Round and round they go through the revolving door that has become our criminal justice system.
According to the St. Paul Police Department, violent crime is committed by less than one percent of the population. They might be a bit wiser than people who are making policy. During a recent press conference of a joint task force on crime, U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said offenders told authorities they’ve come to believe they will not be held accountable for their actions in Minnesota.
Check out this snapshot of crime in Minneapolis (which has now recorded 60 murders).
This Labor Day let’s take a moment to thank the workers who make life better for all of us, including peace officers, who were victims of 900 assaults last year.
Just 67 days until the election. You know what to do.
Caryn Sullivan
A retired attorney and author of the award-winning memoir, "Bitter or Better: Grappling With Life on the Op-Ed Page," Caryn Sullivan has inspired readers with her thoughtful commentary for the past two decades. To learn more about Caryn’s work or to connect, visit carynmsullivan.com
