Domestic Terrorism In Our Streets

We, the People of Minnesota, are on overload. Processing the events of the last week are damn near impossible. We are living in a surreal war zone, where the government is bent on quelling a riot that has not happened. Facts are meaningless when the so-called leaders of this country continue to spew lie after lie, expecting us to blindly believe what they say instead of what we see with our eyes...over and over and over and over again. The circle on the right is over the hand of the ICE officer shooting pepper spray into the faces of Alex Pretti (the left red circle) and the woman who was shoved to the ground. The tape shows Alex attempting to help her up when they are sprayed. Mr. Pretti is then shoved face down to the ground and is beaten by the officers. He remains face down on the pavement.  According to the New York Times, an agent fired a single shot into the prone Alex Pretti, and then 9 more shots were fired: 8 in rapid succession followed by a single shot. 

The New York Times has an excellent minute-by-minute account.  I would strongly suggest you view it. 

A photograph taken that morning by NYT photographer, David Guttenfelder should also be viewed. This is what's on our streets: a paramilitary force with no training, no leadership, and absolutely no common sense. Take a very close look at the guy pointing the gun. At his crotch. Views who have examined this closely think he's going commando. I sure hope so. I only hope the big, brave urban guerilla got his tiny-weeny winkie frozen and it fell off. It's only fitting because this image belongs in a video game, not on the streets of an American city. I see images like this and I think I'm looking at some other country because we have checks and balances and this could never happen here. 

Silly me.

As I'm sure you have all read, the demonstrations were astounding. Thousands of people showed up in sub-zero temperatures at the airport, the federal Whipple Building, and downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul to protest the takeover of our state. I get that some people are in this country illegally and need to be removed. My issue is that tactics that are being used to terrorize all Minnesotans. This is domestic terrorism by the government.

Rabbi Emma Kippley-Ogman, friend of the Senior Son and once-upon-a-time a Beth Jacob kid, was arrested demonstrating against ICE at the airport on Friday, January 23rd, just hours before the start of Shabbat. In an op-ed published by The Forward, she makes an profound connection between the plague of darkness and our own situation:

Standing there among them, on Erev Shabbes in the cold, I thought about the Torah portion we would read the next morning in shul: parashat Bo, from the Book of Exodus.

In it, the darkness of the ninth plague that befell the Egyptians is described as something that the oppressors — the mitzrim, which I’ll translate as “the ones of narrowed sight” — could actually touch. It was so thick that it kept them isolated from each other, unable to move.

In contrast, the dwellings of those seeking liberation were full of light.

I imagined that palpable darkness not as a punishment, but as a reflection of reality. The oppressors were unwilling to see the humanity of their neighbors. But if they had been, they too could have found themselves in dwellings full of light, able to clearly perceive the richness and possibility of living in a multiethnic community.

So too with the federal oppressors here in Minnesota, and those who collude with them. They are so welcome to join us in the light of that recognition. We were there at the airport to invite them in. Instead, they arrested nearly 100 of us, while we sang and prayed for the protection of our people in the languages of our diverse traditions. Doing this work in coalition builds the power we need to break through the oppression: Our differences make us stronger.

I want to believe that...that our differences make us stronger. I want to believe that all political persuasions will come together to stand for due process and the constitution. I have to believe that because I refuse to believe we are doomed. 

Meanwhile, back on the ranch.....

Back in October, I arrived in Israel the day after the live hostages came home. There were tears of relief, hugs, kisses, but no celebration because some were not returned. They came back in drips and drabs in body bags. The hostages were honored, hugged, buried, mourned, but no one celebrated. So long as one hostage is missing, we do not dance.

Today, the last hostage held in Gaza came home. Ran Gvili's body was found in a cemetery in East Gaza by IDF soldiers charged with the task of finding him. There were photos of the last poster being removed, Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, removing his yellow ribbon pin. The entire country had been holding out for Ran Gvili's return. Without him, all Israel could not be whole. And now he's back. 

President Pinocchio's peace plan is now supposed to begin phase 2. This is the part where Hamas lays down its arms. Sure they will. 

 

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

Even into the bleakest of times, a little levity must fall.

Here's this week's optimistic moment:

The Israeli Bobsled Team has qualified for the Olympics.

!תנו לאנשים שלי להחליק

Let my people slide!

I wish I had a clever title for this.

 Well, I'm back in Minnesota and none too thrilled with the idea. This is one scary place right now. On the advice of a friend who knows about this stuff, I now carry my passport in my purse. I also filled out a form asking if I qualify for Canadian residency. I know it's a long shot, but what the heck. If Minnesota isn't gonna secede from the Union to hook up Canada, I just wanna hedge my bets. I do have friends and family scattered there, but hey! I can drive there. Frankly, we'd be a good addition. And we are a totally hockey-driven state. That's gotta mean something.

But the truth is that I cannot write about Minnesota right now. We are under siege by a crazy person who is using the federal government as a form of retribution. The injustice department is going after our elected officials on all levels of state government. Thoughts are that he is using Minnesota as a target practice for martial law and suspension of our state rights. Since he is already ordering criminal investigations and charges for our elected government officials, including Keith Ellison and Governor Walz. There is every reason to believe he will use us as a testing ground for authoritarian rule, overriding the separation of state and federal powers. California was too big; we are not. And I am not alone in thinking this. 

So with that said, I want to turn our attention to Greenland. I'm guessing you don't know the history of Norway, Denmark, the Danish West Indies, and Greenland because, after all, most Americans don't know the history of the United States. So let's not argue the point and I'll give you a brief overview. Google Greenland if you want a deeper dive, but this should give you an idea 

• Greenland has long ties to Scandinavia, but the ones we're interested in begin in the 19th century, when Norway and Denmark got a divorce in 1841. The Treaty of Kiel severed Norway's relationship with its colonies, putting them under control of the Danish Crown. (Note: Eastern Greenland, however, remained in contention until 1931, when it, too, joined Denmark when the Permanent Court of International Justice decided the matter in favor of Denmark.)
• In 1899, negotiations for the sale of the Danish West Indies to the United States for the sum of $5,000,000 were initiated, but in 1902, the treaty failed ratification by the Danish Parliament and negotiations were halted. 
• Conversations began anew in 1915 when US relations with Germany were floundering and concerns about Germany appropriating the islands became more focused. The sale was ratified in 1916 for $25,000,000. 

Here's where it get interesting. At that time, Denmark insisted that the US make a declaration about Greenland. In the Convention Between the United States and Denmark for the Cession of the Danish West Indies, prepared by Robert Lansing and signed by President Woodrow Wilson and signed on August 4, 1916, there is, tucked at the bottom, a little paragraph:

DECLARATION

In proceeding this day to the signature of the Convention respecting the cession of the Danish West-Indian Islands to the United States of America, the undersigned Secretary of State of the United States of America, duly authorized by his Government, has the honor to declare that the Government of the United States of America will not object to the Danish Government extending their political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland.

In other words, the US has no viable claim on Greenland and no grounds for annexing or otherwise absorbing it into the United States.

Of course, we know how reliable treaties from the 19th and early 20th century are when it comes to sovereignty and indigenous rights. However, this is a treaty with a sovereign nation with whom we have a long standing alliance. In fact, the US signed a Defense of Greenland Agreement with Denmark in 1951 in which

...the US unambiguously recognizes ‘the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark’ over Greenland. In the updated agreement of 2004, the US expressly notes the change of the status of the territory from colony to that of an ‘equal part of the Kingdom of Denmark,’ precluding any US challenge to the lawfulness of that change of 1953.

 That said...

The US has repeatedly attempted to buy Greenland from Denmark, beginning in 1867 as proposed by Seward, the same guy who gave us the icebox known as Alaska. It failed, along with attempts in 1910, 1946, 1949, and 1955. All attempts have been rebuffed not only by Denmark, but by Greenlanders as well. In 2019, Feckless President Felon told Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen he wanted to buy Greenland and she told him that was absurd. He tried again with Norway, and they shot him down as well. 

As we descend further into the Caverns of the Ridiculous, he's the latest attempt of the Dementor-in-Chief's to get Greenland: he wants a consolation prize for not getting the Nobel Peace Prize. I kid you not. T. From the New York Times:

Text message from Mr. Trump to Mr. Store [Prime Minister of NORWAY] on Sunday, Jan. 18, at 4:15 p.m.:

Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a ‘right of ownership’ anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT

The TriWizard Cup

Is this the action of a world leader? Is this the action of an adult? Hundreds of people are now posting memes of President Felon being presented with everything from bowling trophies to participation certificates. The man is unhinged. 

But it's far worse than trophies and prizes. He has cut off funding for childcare in five states. All five have Democratic governors. Thousands of children will be unable to attend day care. It's not simple like, "Oh, they can stay home." It means thousands of parents won't be able to go to work. Many will lose their jobs. They're already lost their health insurance and now they will lose the ability to provide for their families. This is not an an investigation into fraud; this is punishment. 

On January 13th, he posted a screed on Truth Social that ended with this:

FEAR NOT, GREAT PEOPLE OF MINNESOTA, THE DAY OF RECKONING & RETRIBUTION IS COMING!  

9.31k ReTruths                             35.3k Likes                         Jan 13, 2026,7:40 AM

How is this NOT weaponization and threats? It's a call to war. And that's exactly what he wants so he can invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807.  He really thinks that's gonna stop Minnesotans? The man is delusional.  But we already know thia. 

Where is Congress as their constituents starve and freeze? Where is the Supreme Court to prod someone, anyone, to take action against the fascist despot bent on destroying families if not through insane arrests, but through starvation and disease? Where are the adults because they sure as hell are not in the room. 

And he wants to buy Greenland.He wants to "fast track" the building of the cheesy gold-flocked ballroom.  He is mad; crazy mad like a hatter. And the people that voted him in...the south...will be the hardest hit. Who will they blame? Anyone who isn't that feckless asshole in the Tacky Gold House.

Meanwhile, back at what's left of the ranch.....

Whatever happened to WE, THE PEOPLE  OF THE UNITED STATES? 

We were supposed to be forming a more perfect union, establishing justice, insuring domestic tranquility, providing for the common defence, promoting the general welfare, and securing the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity? That is why we did ordain and establish this Constitution FOR the United States of America.

We're coming up on our 250th anniversary, What will we have left to celebrate by July? I am just not sure. 

[Thank you, Arthur, for sending the updated info on Who Owns Greenland.]

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

This is a Margaret Atwood quote...an excellent one at that

Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. 

Women are afraid that men will kill them.

"That's fine, dude; I'm not mad at you."

Renee Good (z"l)

And then she was dead. Dead. Shot through the windshield.

I cannot begin to express, verbalize, define, or even speak about the murder of Renee Good. The revulsion, even days later, is palpable. I think that's because the scum currently running this country are telling us we cannot believe what dozens of phones captured on video. We are being told a woman who addressed her shooter with "...dude, I'm not mad at you," was, seconds later, shot in the head. We are being told to ignore that a physician was denied permission to approach her after the car crashed, or that ambulances were denied entry onto the street.

This is a must watch:  Jen Psaki's analysis. In the introduction to MSNOW explains:

Just two days after the deadly ICE shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis, several videos, shot from different perspectives have been released to the public, including video taken by the shooter, which many on the political right claim supports the argument that the ICE agent was defending himself when he shot and killed Good in her car. Jen Psaki synchronizes several videos for a closer analysis of what the shooter's video actually shows, and what the videos tell us about what Good was doing when she was killed.

What country are we living in?

Where the fuck are all those checks and balances we learned about in 7th grade that are supposed to prevent the usurpation of powers by an out-of-control wannabe dictator? Has the Constitution been suspended and no one bothered to mention it?

I keep thinking this is all part of a larger smoke-and-mirrors act. The "taking over" of Venezuela, the ongoing attempt to annex Greenland, the saber rattling at Cuba, the masked, unidentifiable ICE thugs with their unmarked, unplated cars all tumble together in a way that is too reminiscent of Lebensraum, Sturmabteilung (brown shirts,) and the Schutzstaffel (the SS.) There are just too many similarities to simply poo-poo the obviousness of the trend. 

Long, long ago in a kosher deli in Valley Stream, NY, I sat with my dad's colleague, Rene Slotkin, as he recounted what it was like when his dad was arrested by the Nazis in 1939. How his mother, his twin sister, and he would stand outside the prison hoping to catch a glimpse of their dad. And how they were eventually deported in December 1941 where he and his twin sister would be subjected to experiments by Josef Mengele. You can listen to Rene and his sister talk about it if you're not sure you believe me. I still have my notes from those lunches. I asked questions and he answered long before there was a Holocaust Museum or any other group collecting their stories. This has stayed with me forever...and not for the reasons that are so obvious. Both Rene and Irene are both gone now and in some ways I am relieved because Rene insisted over and over that this could never ever happen here...in the United States. He was wrong.

And if all this isn't enough to make you wonder about the depths of depravity running our country at the moment, The Washington Post ran a long article this morning about the upcoming election and census cycle that should be required reading. 

Trump is trying to change how the midterm elections are conducted. Five years ago, President Donald Trump pressured Republican county election officials, state lawmakers and members of Congress to find him votes after he lost his reelection bid. Now, he’s seeking to change the rules before ballots are cast.

Trump, openly fearful that a Congress controlled by Democrats could investigate him, impeach him and stymie his agenda, is using every tool he can find to try to influence the 2026 midterm elections and, if his party loses, sow doubt in their validity. Many of these endeavors go far beyond typical political persuasion, challenging long-established democratic norms.

They include unprecedented demands that Republican state lawmakers redraw congressional districts before the constitutionally required 10-year schedule, the prosecution of political opponents, a push to toughen voter registration rules and attempts to end the use of voting machines and mail ballots.

The administration has gutted the role of the nation’s cybersecurity agency in protecting elections; stocked the Justice Department, Homeland Security Department and FBI from top to bottom with officials who have denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election; given a White House audience to people who, like the president, promote the lie that he won the 2020 election; sued over state and local election policies that Trump opposes; and called for a new census that excludes noncitizens. The wide-ranging efforts seek to expand on some of the strategies he and his advisers and allies used to try to reverse the 2020 results that culminated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

That was the opening salvo. I recommend you read the whole thing.

In researching this episode, I came across an interesting quote from Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the United States from 1869 - 1877. Now to be honest, Grant was never considered the sharpest spoon in the drawer, but he had his moments and this speech, given at the Ninth Annual Meeting of the Army of the Tennessee in Des Moines, Iowa on September 29th, 1875 is a dilly. Former General of the Union Army Grant said:

If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon’s, but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side — and superstition, ambition, and ignorance on the other.

Maybe he wasn't the dimwit everyone said he was. 

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week 

No, I am not in Minnesota, 

but across the golf course 

from us is a house with the new 

Minnesota state flag at half staff. 
Somehow, this is very comforting right now.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

My happy place

I ditched winter and I am on my grand tour of California. Not kidding. I flew to SFO for a family bar mitzvah in Walnut Creek this past weekend, and now I'm in Oxnard visiting my friend Joan before I hie myself up to Palm Springs for a week on Friday. And what an adventure it's been so far. I shan't bore you with endless details as much as I would like to. Instead, let's do highlights.

Once upon a time I had a boyfriend in Berkeley and spent a significant amount of time there. We split up over 50 years ago and even though we've stayed in touch, I've not been back to No Cal since. We met up for lunch...but instead of two 20-something hippie types, we now grey-haired 70-somethings who couldn't stop laughing about the way we once were. After lunch, we went in search of our old house on Colusa Avenue and actually found it. And while all the other houses around it are beautifully, impeccably restored to their early 20th century glory, our house looked exactly the same: unkempt, untended, and pathetically the same. Quelle tragédie!

This was part of my paternal extended family, the Minnesota part.  There was great food, great conversation, great family sweatshirts, and lots of free-flowing laughs. The shul was Reform,  there was guitar playing involved, and the service was lovely. Coley, the bar mitzvah boy, delivered a terrific d'var Torah describing how Jacob, on his deathbed, provided his sons and grandsons with a living will. Using his great-grandfather's living will as his touchstone, he talked about the importance of relaying our own ethics and beliefs to our children and grandchildren. I know had his great-grandfather, the indomitable Bud Sweet, been there to hear Coley, he woulda bust his buttons with justifiable pride.

Shari & Dave's Vineyard

Sunday I spent with cousins from the other side of my family  wandering around San Francisco. We visited the de Young Museum at Golden Gate Park and it was well worth the visit for the observation deck alone. Great coffee at Blue Danube and great take out from Burma Superstar. But best of all was wine from Cousins Shari and Dave's vineyard. OMG! So much is different, yet there were still a few things I recognized. 

As I write this, I’m sitting on Amtrak's Coast Starlight train heading towards Los Angeles. Due to the torrential rains, we had a lengthy delay after we left Oakland. We were parked for almost two hours south of San Jose due to high tides and flooding on the tracks farther down the line. And even though it’s not raining now, the clouds hang low and there’s a lot of standing water along the tracks. Fields we passed are very, very muddy and I wonder if they will be able to salvage whatever was originally planted. But far more disturbing were the number of homeless encampments along the tracks Some were clearly in use, others with rubbish and tarp piles. Occasionally, I saw cars packed with stuff sitting near tarp-tents. Did the cars run? Not a clue. Perhaps they were simply another form of shelter from the rain. Encampments continued intermittently along the route, each one more derelict and heart-wrenching than the last. 

I'll be spending this week wandering around to Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Ojai. With luck I'll get to sit on a beach to watch surfers. On Friday, there's a rental car with my name on it and I'm driving myself to Palm Springs for some more visiting and writing. 

Okay, enough with the travelogue.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the news is becoming increasingly dire. President Felon has kidnapped the president and first lady of Venezuela. He also announced we’re going to run Venezuela until the new government can be put in place. Once upon a time, he also announced that he was gonna run versa until a new government could be put in place. Does anybody suspect this is  some sort of colonial expansionism run amok? And speaking of colonialism, did you happen to catch the interim president of Venezuela? During a speech flanked by some of her supporters Rodríguez blamed Israel. From i24 News:

Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, on Sunday accused Israel of orchestrating the U.S. operation that led to the arrest of ousted leader Nicolás Maduro, describing the move as a “Zionist attack” against the country.Speaking in a televised address alongside senior figures from the ruling establishment, Rodríguez claimed that Israel was responsible for what she characterized as foreign aggression against Venezuela. 

Really? Maybe they really are all drug lords in Venezuela and she is self-medicating before speaking to the press. That's the most rational explanation I can come up with. 

At the same time, I am concerned about the message it sends to Russia, China, and Iran. This "righteous" expansion can easily telegraph a go-ahead to those countries. It's hard to sanction them when this is monkey see/monkey do. And now, Greenland is up front once again. Can you say lebenstraum, boys and girls?

And if that's not enough to get you're sails swinging back and forth, try this from that shining example of terminal cupidity and arrogance, the uniquely unqualified Secretary of Illegal Military Posturing Pete Hogshead who is now varfing schmutz on Captain Mark Kelly. Which, if you think about it, can be considered a) totally ridiculous, b) incredibly ignorant of the Constitution, c) highly inappropriate since Kelly only reiterated what the Constitution says d) all of the above. Go with "d" on this one. Senator Kelly did nothing but cite the law. If you need a better understand the absurdity of all this, read the NPR transcript Illegal orders' and the investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly of the panel discussion from November 25th, 2025. For his part, Senator Kelly posted the following rebuttal:

Over twenty-five years in the U.S. Navy, thirty-nine combat missions, and four missions to space, I risked my life for this country and to defend our Constitution — including the First Amendment rights of every American to speak out. I never expected that the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense would attack me for doing exactly that. My rank and retirement are things that I earned through my service and sacrifice for this country. I got shot at. I missed holidays and birthdays. I commanded a space shuttle mission while my wife Gabby recovered from a gunshot wound to the head — all while proudly wearing the American flag on my shoulder. Generations of servicemembers have made these same patriotic sacrifices for this country, earning the respect, appreciation, and rank they deserve. Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way. It’s outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that. If Pete Hegseth, the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in our country’s history, thinks he can intimidate me with a censure or threats to demote me or prosecute me, he still doesn’t get it. I will fight this with everything I’ve got — not for myself, but to send a message back that Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump don’t get to decide what Americans in this country get to say about their government

I find the most recent announcements out of Washington DC more than a little creepy. Never mind Secretary of Doom, Hogshead trying to demote Mark Kelly from his retired rank of captain. He’s already thrown out anybody who isn’t straight from the military thereby weakening our military significantly without ever explaining what his endgame is. I imagine it’s the same end game President Felon is playing. That’s assuming President Felon is capable of doing much more than just stand there. But I’m not even sure who’s running the country anymore and I don’t think anybody else is either. It doesn’t really matter how many polls, The Washington Post publishes or anybody else’s for that matter it’s clear the American public disagrees with his latest international intervention. That said, I really don’t think that’s gonna stop him from doing more damage.

I don’t have a whole lot to say about Mamdani at the moment mostly because he’s not my mayor. But I can tell you that his repeal of certain policies that had been established in the previous administration dealing with BDS and other antisemitic/anti-Zionist actions will turn the Jews of Brooklyn, including my cousin Perdie, into targets. Mamdani's tacit acceptance of those changes position may not sound like he's saying it’s OK to go after Jews, but there’s a a very quiet implication that it is gonna be OK. This turns every Jew into an acceptable target, and none of us should be okay with that. It's all subtle, but these policy revisions bear watching 

In a totally understandable move, Tim Walz has stepped away from running for governor of Minnesota. I happen to like Tim Walz and if you think for one New York minute that he has been lax or ignoring the fraud investigations in regard to Medicare, Medicaid, and COVID relief  haven’t been going on for several years, you have another think coming. The problem is that no matter how much investigating goes on, it has to be done right and it has to be prosecuted without imperfection. There is no room for error or miscalculation in this process; it must be scrupulously handled, and above reproach or the whole thing falls apart. The feds however,  don’t investigate, they just run their mouths. They are interested only. is blaming a state that stands on its own values.  Anything the fed can do to  undermine due process in a blue state, they will do. I just hope that governor Walz uses the next year carefully as the AG's office continues to prosecute the fraudsters with iron clad cases. 

And just to be clear, I am not in favor of Senator Klobuchar running in his stead. I think she needs to be our senator, not our governor. 

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week
Train travel ain't perfect,

but watching the scenery go by

is really something to see.