Sen. Jim Abeler, together with a clutch of other Minnesota legislators, recently introduced a bill that would provide money to solve what they see as a problem: the poverty stricken, unskilled, poorly educated Somali community. This is, literally, the only thing many legislators know how to do: throw money at a perceived problem, pretending such a gesture is capable of providing a solution.
They mean well but well meaning people are the worst. Consult your own life for the truth of this aphorism.
Forced Somali migration into Minnesota, as well as other parts of America, has been a demonstrable failure by any objective measure. This example alone conclusively makes the case for a merit based immigration system. Measured by skill, talent, ability to support themselves, or other metric that assesses how an immigrant would benefit current citizens of America, few would be allowed into the country.
Alpha News’ Christine Bauman reported that ’[t]he bill proposes creating a Somali community development pilot grant program to ‘identify and support community initiatives.’ The grant program would set aside $18 million of taxpayer money over the next two years to go towards health care, education, housing, and economic development in Somali communities.’
Abeler later withdrew the bill in an email notification to constituents who were concerned about funding specific ethnic groups instead of all Minnesotans. To his credit, Abeler speaks a truth that Minnesota media refuse to admit: “Currently many are on welfare and have low job skills. And they are costing our taxpayers a lot of money.” Again, the point of a merit based immigration system is obvious to anyone except Democrats, who need to change Minnesota and America demographically if they are to stay in power.
In withdrawing his bill, Abeler said the goal of the legislation was simply to have an “informational hearing,” which was accomplished last year. The House version of the bill remains, however, although I could find nothing about its prospects this session. Still, it’s worth looking at the language.
Abeler also said “The goal was by focused education, training, and mentoring that they would not require government supports any more. Projections were that the program would entirely pay back over time so it would be cost-neutral or even be a positive.”
Projections like these are never reliable because they’re created in the first instance in order to support the funding of the project at hand. They almost never pan out and the goals of programs which merely throw money at a problem are rarely achieved.
What is achieved, however, is the enrichment of a well connected network of “non-profit” types who get the money and proceed to consume it, without benefiting the intended class toward which it is ostensibly directed.
In this way, the bill mirrors the useless but lucrative gravy train charade of “CVE,” countering violent extremism. This program was designed to push money around in order to help young Somalis in Minnesota contain their urge to stab citizens at local malls, run away to join ISIS or otherwise support them. There were zero results but a select group of “community activists” got the money. Simply to talk about CVE is to expose it.
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Forced Somali migration into America has generated a litany of horror stories, most barely reported on, or if they are, quickly forgotten. Ask yourself why, after the Saint Cloud Crossroads Mall attack, local media never ran any of those “how are they doing now?” stories. They do this routinely after tragedies but to do so here would only remind Minnesotans of the poor fit this group had made into civilized, Western society. Minnesota media has no truck with the truth. They exist to push a narrative that runs counter to lived experience.
In Portland, for example, young Somali Muslim girls went public with well founded allegations of sexual abuse at the hands of a local imam, Hassan Mohamedhaji Noor. They were strongly pressured by the Somali community to keep their mouths shut. As Oregon Live, to its great credit, reported:
“The girls also had explained how unsupportive their mothers, fathers, aunts or other adults had been after they confided in them about the abuse. The girls said those trusted adults warned them that if they reported the abuse to police, no one would believe them and no one would want to marry them. The adults also told them it was up to Allah to decide Noor’s guilt, not a court of law, investigators said.
In the months leading up to trial, two of Noor’s victims recanted. The third — who stuck by her story — testified her parents had disowned her.
A fourth young woman also testified that she’d been disowned for coming forward about Noor’s abuse of her.
. . . .
During recorded police interrogations, Noor defended himself by saying he couldn’t have done such terrible things because he is a religious man who prays five times a day.”
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Noor was sentenced to 12 years in prison; he and his thirty-some supporters in the courtroom wept when sentence was passed.
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Somalis are far from the only group who would not be in America had we an immigration system built on talent and need, like Canada & Australia. But they are here in Minnesota in large numbers, a rote voting bloc for the DFL which panders to them endlessly, reinforcing their default position not to assimilate and to demand special privileges not given to current citizens. This is identity politics at its most corrosive and damaging.
That said, Somalis are entitled to equal treatment under the law and to the natural respect and dignity that comes from their upgraded status as American citizens. I say this despite it being obvious because the Regressive Left insists–somehow–that if you object to female genital mutilation, daycare fraud or terrorism in your midst that you are the problem. The apogee of this mindless mindset was best encapsulated by Gov. Dayton, saying in response to white youths in Saint Cloud now too afraid of Somali bullies to go to their favorite playgrounds, “find another state.”
MPR preens that it has Somali language based news reports, incapable of recognizing that this condescending pandering only isolates and harms them, only encourages them not to assimilate and to remain the latest minority voting bloc for Democrats and the Regressive Left.
Local media refuse to call the Bloomington mosque Dar Al Farooq what it is: terrorist affiliated. Justine Damond paid with her life for the foolish affirmative action programs of Betsy Hodges and Janee Harteau. Katie Hopkins warns outright for the US not to become Great Britain, with forced immigration that destroys a unifying common culture and pits one group against another.
Terrorist linked CAIR and its Minnesota chapter set the talking points that media lazily repeats. Muslim reformers, like Raheel Raza recently brought in to speak by Rep. Roz Peterson, are accused of being the radicals by CAIR, a complete inversion of the truth.
But a wholly dishonest media failed to prevent Donald Trump from being elected president and, on a state basis, will fail to persuade Minnesotans that all is well within the Somali community, that, in fact, they are better than you. That’s why they deserve more of your money, on top of the money you’re already giving them.
The nostrum that “diversity” is our strength is as false as claiming Islam is a religion of peace. “Diversity” has to be forced on people with destructive consequences for social trust and cohesion.
Somalis in Minnesota can succeed in their new state by doing what other immigrants to this great country have done: assimilate, learn the language and work hard for what they want, rather than wait for the political party to which they are captive to provide handouts. Somalis can have great success through this path.
They only have to choose it.
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In addition to Alpha News, John Gilmore is also a contributor to The Hill. He is the founder and executive director of Minnesota Media Monitor.™ He blogs at MinnesotaConservatives.org and is on Twitter under @Shabbosgoy. He can be reached at Wbua@nycunarjfza.pbz.
John Gilmore
John Gilmore is an author, freelance writer & former opinion columnist for Alpha News. He blogs at minnesotaconservatives.org & is @Shabbosgoy on Twitter
