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Cheers to Secretary of State Steve Simon, whose knowledge, integrity and commitment are a continuing inspiration. During his appearance Tuesday, April 8, before the Senate State and Local Government Committee, he was asked about emerging concerns and offered a strong critique of the proposed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act that passed the U.S. House on Thursday. The act requires voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship in federal elections. “An idea that on the surface might seem to a lot of folks reasonable in application, in practical common sense ways could be a disaster for our election system if Kansas is an indication,” Simon said. Before a federal court struck down a Kansas law, some 26,000 eligible voters there were unable to access documents needed to vote. The number could be higher in Minnesota. The law would prove especially onerous for women, some 69 million of whom have a different name than the one on their birth certificates, meaning they would have to show a U.S. passport, enhanced ID or citizenship papers. He pointed out that noncitizen voting in Minnesota is rare, citing a University of St. Thomas College of Law study that found only three instances of convictions of noncitizens voting in Minnesota elections between 2015-2024. Simon’s always ready with the data.
Jeers to the Data Center Coalition for opposing efforts to monitor its energy and water usage while seeking tax breaks. State Rep. Patty Acomb, DFL-Minnetonka, has proposed fees on data centers to help pay for conservation efforts and require public disclosure of electricity and water use. Data centers are critical to an array of services from maintaining financial and medical records to streaming media and navigation apps. Acomb’s measure would require the centers to report on their use along with their efforts to reduce energy and water consumption. Dan Diorio, senior director of state policy for the data coalition, criticized the disclosure requirement, saying competitors could learn trade secrets. Perhaps. But Minnesotans deserve to know how much energy these massive centers suck up and ultimately affect household utility bills.
Cheers to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing in dissent and calling the five-member majority’s decision to allow deportations under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) as “inexplicable as it is dangerous.” She was joined by Justices Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown-Jackson and, in part, Amy Coney Barrett. Her chilling words: “The implication of the Government’s position is that not only noncitizens but also United States citizens could be taken off the streets, forced onto planes, and confined to foreign prisons with no opportunity for redress if judicial review is denied unlawfully before removal.” We can’t say the justices didn’t warn us.
Jeers to Sen. Andrew Lang, R-Olivia, and the Republicans who joined him in opposing veteran status to the fewer than 1,000 still-living soldiers of the Special Guerrilla Units who fought in Laos under the direction of the CIA from 1961 to 1975. Bill sponsor Sen. Foung Hawj, DFL-St. Paul, said their war efforts are “the main reason that Hmong are here in Minnesota because our elders shed blood for this country.” Ostracized and persecuted after the war, most veterans fled their homeland. As Hawj spoke to the Senate State and Local Government Committee, several dozen veterans sat behind him in camouflage gear with medals on their chests. Lang, a combat veteran, thanked the men but said he would be upset if “third-country nationals” were granted veteran status. Fortunately, the proposal remains alive, as does the debt we owe these veterans and their families.
Cheers to the Center of the American Experiment and the Upper Midwest Law Center for receiving $3,500 each from the Minnesota Department of Education for its failure to comply with the state Data Practices Act. “Citizens shouldn’t have to hire a lawyer to access information from their government that is clearly public in the eyes of the law,” said John Hinderaker, president of the Center of the American Experiment. Hopefully, the fines will make other agencies think again before slow-walking data requests. The center received the document.
Cheers to the First Amendment, which protects us all, including those who practice a version of journalism that many likely find abhorrent. Hennepin County District Judge Ed Wahl decided a defamation case in favor of the conservative website Alpha News and former TV anchor Liz Collin. Minneapolis Assistant Police Chief Katie Blackwell sued the site and Collin over the portrayal of her testimony during the 2021 trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murdering George Floyd. In a film and book, Collin asserted that Chauvin was unfairly railroaded for Floyd’s murder. She also questioned whether Blackwell told the truth on the witness stand during Chauvin’s trial. After the defamation case against her was tossed by Wahl, Collin said, “You can’t just sue journalists because you don’t like what they report.” She’s correct. Wahl’s ruling shows the continuing strength of the First Amendment.
