Legalectric

Campaigning as “America First” in 2022 — do people understand what this means? I hope it’s “just” voter ignorance, but it’s how Altendorf proudly, intentionally, labeled herself. That alone should be reason to eject them from office. Check out the high mileage look of these two:

Both are 2020 election deniers, and together they are sponsoring their (ALEC) Education Freedom Act, identical to one passed on Arizona. Thankfully it won’t go far in Minnesota’s DFL controlled legislature.

What Drazkowski had to say about Altendorf in his endorsement of her for state House 20A:

“LEADING” conservatives with Recall City Hall effort, squawking at school board meetings about “critical race theory” and mask mandates.

And bragging about being an “America First” candidate… good grief… And she was elected.

Back to America First, there’s this, Conservative U.S. House Republicans to form ‘America First’ caucus and the platform:

And a look at what “America First” means:

From 2019, ‘America First’ is only making the world worse. Here’s a better approach. that then before the 2020 election noted the increase of nationalists, demagogues and autocratic powers:

Yet that president is going to face an increasingly dangerous world that looks more like the 1930s than the end of history—with populists, nationalists and demagogues on the rise; autocratic powers growing in strength and increasingly aggressive; Europe mired in division and self-doubt; and democracy under siege and vulnerable to foreign manipulation. Then there are the new challenges of our own century—from cyberwarfare to mass migration to a warming planet—that no one nation can meet alone and no wall can contain.

Doubling down on “America First,” with its mix of nationalism, unilateralism and xenophobia, would only exacerbate these problems. But so would embracing the alternative offered by thinkers across the ideological spectrum who, concerned that our reach exceeds our means, advise us to pull back without considering the likely consequences, as we did in the 1930s.

Yes, time to trot out my “RENOUNCE NATIONALISM sign again.

Oh we got trouble… right here in Goodhue County… And that starts with G and that rhymes with P and that stands for… or is it G and that rhymes with D… it’s BOTH!

p.s. If you want to learn more about “America First” in Minnesota get up to Little Falls, and do some reading in the library at the Charles Lindbergh House and Museum.

Stopping the overdose on the front lines

Here’s an effort to supply NARCAN to libraries:

Company to Supply Free Narcan to Libraries – Emergent BioSolutions will provide two doses to every public library branch in the US

Recently on our local COVID page (to which I post the stats daily), I was challenged for posting on COVID and not the many ODs in our community, the party stating that “there were more ODs than COVID deaths.” Nope, NOT true! Although I’ve heard of several ODs here, we’ve had 74 COVID deaths since the start of tracking, and no way have we had more ODs than COVID deaths.

But given the challenge, and that I didn’t know how many ODs here since March 2020, I did some digging to see what the stats are on ODs.

A search of our local Republican Eagle for “overdose” had a lot of hits from here and surrounding area (rather wide circle):

SEARCH RESULTS HERE

Yesterday or the day before, I got this info from Goodhue County, though note it’s not 2021 info, only current through 2020, and it’s DRAFT info:

For Goodhue County separately, but no 2021 info yet:

And this despite a sharp increase in ODs in Minnesota:

Comparisons aren’t particularly relevant, whether between numbers of COVID deaths v. numbers of OD deaths, or between numbers of OD deaths here and elsewhere. One is too many.

I had asked for OD statistics, and got the info above. I also asked about treatment options, and info on resources, because I know from days as an attorney taking on whatever issues for whoever walked in the door how difficult it is to get into treatment. Even with an intervention that pushes someone toward straightening up, getting IN to treatment, whether inpatient or outpatient, is so difficult, between location, openings, PAYING FOR IT in our wonderful capitalistic health “care” system, what a mess. Back then, I did have a list of options for clients, and so remember my successes and failures to help clients through to sobriety, one failure particularly tragic, three times with the same client, who died of his addiction to alcohol. We need to do more to help people get treatment, and to get to the state where they’re ready for treatment, and that takes commitment and MONEY.

Per the County: When it comes to treatment, there is a statewide online treatment resource called www.fasttrackermn.org , and another statewide resource locator is https://www.211unitedway.org/ .

Also, below, please note some of Goodhue County specific treatment resources:

• Goodhue County Health and Human Services – Rule 25 Assessments and funding, guidance and resources – Red Wing (651) 385-6181 or HHS main line (651) 385-3200.
• Valley View Recovery – Inpatient (currently men’s only) – Cannon Falls (507) 601-5006
• Common Ground – Outpatient Services, assessments – Red Wing (651) 347-6500
• Midwest Recovery – Outpatient Services, assessments – Red Wing (651) 846-9010
• Zashata Burton with Moment to Moment Healing – Assessments, individual counseling – Red Wing (651) 380-0043
• Nystrom & Associates – Substance treatment services, counseling – Red Wing (651) 977-500
• Goodhue County Treatment Court – Helping non-violent offenders within the criminal court system.  Treatment Court Coordinator Kaitylyn Olmsted  (651) 267-4958

Thank you for this list of resources. Nina Arneson, Director of Health and Human Services, Goodhue County, has been very helpful and responsive in finding health related info.

Goodhue County approves refugee resettlement

What didn’t they get in the packet? Executive Order 13888_2019-21505, which initiated the requirement for consent, prior consent, to accept refugees. That’s new. The consent however, is a restatement of existing county policy. There was no copy of the ” Presidential Determination – 2019-26082_Refugee Admissions FY 2020″ which limits refugee admissions to 18,000, a severe cut from prior years. And a basic outline of the Refugee Resettlement Act and implementation of the law. So I sent the Commissioners that info. Also missing was Gov. Walz’ proclamation of consent:

Governor Walz to Trump Administration: ‘The Inn is Not Full in Minnesota’

THANK YOU, Goodhue County Board.

Yesterday, the Goodhue County Board‘s Committee of the Whole consented to refugee resettlement, continuing its long-standing policy of accepting refugees. This meeting left me feeling that despite the loud, angry, misinformed, in some cases outright lying and inciting, opposition, “the right thing to do” prevailed. I spent two days researching, lobbying, emailing, fbing, twitting (naaah, not much), Legalectricing, and phone calling, many others doing the same, and so many showing up.

County building was on lockdown, only one entrance open, metal detector, and at least 7-8 deputies at door, as many upstairs in hall and in meeting room, due to a “credible threat.”

This whole mess started with years of anti-Islamic rhetoric (How Minnesota Republican Operatives are sowing distrust of Muslims) and then tRump’s open campaign to end Muslim entry into the U.S.

Then came the Muslim Ban Executive Orders, challenged in court at every turn and almost always the court finds them unconstitutional (how many times do we have to do this… well, we have to do this EVERY time he issues one of these Orders).

Remember
Executive Order 13769 -Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States ???

Then last fall, along comes Executive Order 13888, which requires that a state and local government must give prior consent before any refugees can be resettled in that jurisdiction:

Note Pending legal challenge to tRump’s E.O. 13888.

And don’t forget that tRump cut refugee admissions to just 18,000 for the entire U.S.:

Anyhoo, state by state, county by county, we’re going through this process to consent to refugee resettlement. If there’s no consent, then no refugees can settle here (initially, they can be settled elsewhere, and move here, though if they do move into a non-consenting state, their 90 days of financial aid ends). Goodhue County addressed consent last night, and granted consent, which means that the County will continue its long-standing policy of acceptance of refugees. It was an administrative action, because the County policy is, has been forever, to accept refugees. Accepting refugees, for Goodhue County, doesn’t mean much, as the last refugee resettled here was in 2011, exactly ONE, and in 2010, also exactly ONE. None since. But it’s an important symbolic statement to make in light of EO 13888.

Last night it was a packed room. Here’s the Board:

Here are the documents included in the County packet:

1. Refugee Resettlement in Goodhue County

Documents:

Refugee Resettlement Presentation.pdf

Refugee Resettlement Additional Information.pdf

And it’s been an ugly time here in River City, with the Red Wing Tea Party agitating, with an irresponsible “candidate” for MN’s Congressional District 2 (this time around) delivering an inciteful rant about Goodhue County’s consideration of consent, a decision required by E.O. 13888. There’s been a rash of anti-Muslim wildly false and hateful statements, things that are jaw-dropping. When we got to the county building, all the entrances were roped off, saying to go around to the 5th street entrance, and going in, we’re greeted bydeputies galore, a sign in sheet, and metal detector. At the beginning of the meeting, there was an announcement that there was a credible threat, hence security beefed up like I’ve never seen at the County.

In the Red Wing Republican-bEagle:

Goodhue County approves refugee resettlement

A prior post here on Legalectric:

Refugee Resettlement in Goodhue County

THANK YOU, Goodhue County Board.

Stearns County tabled its E.O. 13888 Consent agenda item until the next meeting, a request for a letter from county consenting to refugee settlement. In Stearns County, there have been 662, 22 in 2019, and 12 in 2018. The County documents are below.

Stearns County Board – Video – Refugee Settlement begins at about 19 minutes in: VIDEO HERE