They, the Canadians, export toilet paper to the USA. Food prices up. Now Trump piles tariff shade on you more ways than you might have thought. With Food and TP he gets you coming and going.
Developers are Crabgrass
Friday, August 28, 2026
Putting toxic chemicals on the grassroots.
Below, I write a bit about Jarad Kushner + Hakim Jeffires doing a meet and greet over common ground.
A perfectly expected thing, that some cluck about. Always, there will be a dissatisfied few. There are disquieting voices, that's been known for some time.
Then it seems video turns up that has no connection to why they'd meet, and now, two more, here and here. I must be really bad at searching for meaningful video content. Probably best to stick with mainstream coverage, because of its diversity and depth of communication of ideas and causal speculation you find there.
Lesson learned. My bad.
And then there is my incomprehension of the motives of critics of Ken Martin. Compare his money tree chops with the other party, it's an eye opener of what's wrong with Martin. Isn't it obvious? Not something two busy people would be taking time to discuss. But, for each, Jeffires and Kushner, it touches, possibly, their common ground. They do I believe know who Martin is.
I just wish I understood the world better.
I admit to my own limitations as an elderly person, facing death soon enough, after having lived different places and seen different things. So, readers, help me to understand.
There is an arguably interesting video, here, and I fail to see it relating in any way to the meeting between Hakeem Jeffries and Jarad Kushner. Which is why I mention the two in a single post. No connection whatsoever.
Some people expressed outrage, two people, one in government, one without any express governmental official title or specified duties. One needing his paycheck the other connected to a monarch, Saudi, and a would-be monarch, USA. And the video, talking of liberal and fascist meeting of minds.
And then that video, a skeptic and an idealist, wholly diffeent from Kushner and Jeffries where no idealism was involved.
Both sides of the aisle!
ABC - with an image - and "COMMON GROUND" the headline says but they differ, the two
Jeffries told ABC News in a statement, "Throughout this Congress, Republicans have adopted a my-way-or-the-highway approach to governing that has failed the American people. To stop the madness, we have repeatedly made clear that an extremist approach will not work and will be met with forceful opposition. The American people want bold change and that’s what House Democrats will deliver. In every conversation that we have with the Trump administration, we will continue to make it explicitly clear that the affordability crisis is not a hoax and nothing short of transformational policy change is acceptable. We are fighting for an affordable America. The question is whether Republicans will join us."
The timing of the talks is striking. The midterms are less than 75 days away and Republicans are facing headwinds in recent polls. Democrats feel cautiously optimistic about their chances of taking the House and Jeffries would be in line to be the next speaker.
MSN carrying CNN - with an image
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is defending himself after facing some criticism over his meeting with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and close adviser.
Jeffries recently met with Kushner privately in New York to discuss ways the White House can collaborate with Democrats on key issues, such as immigration, housing and the cost of living, a source familiar with the meeting told CNN.
The minority leader said Tuesday on CNN’s “The Situation Room,” “We have a responsibility to solve problems and sometimes that means meeting with people on the other side of the aisle to figure out what the opportunities will be in order to address the things that the American people definitively want us to address, which from our standpoint, is the reality that the cost of living in this country is way too high.”
When asked by Wolf Blitzer if anything was accomplished in the meeting, Jeffries said, “No, it was just a high-level, topical conversation.”
Having differentiated coverage of events in our nation is a benefit of our having multiple recognized news outlets of merit. We can see that. And from having two reports with images, we can see a pattern that Kushner ties his tie tighter.
He does. Check the two differing images in the links. It is a clear difference. The images prove what's there to see. You cannot miss the difference.
Thursday, August 27, 2026
QCTV has posted MN SD 31 and SD 34 candidate forum video. Which includes the House Districts A and B for each SD.
Readers in Norway or Singapore may enjoy seeing how politics is local and handled in the Minnesota Twin Cities north metro area. Peoplers living there who will vote to decide who will represent their interests in the state legislature, in turn, need to see what's there to choose from.
It is how it works.
It is praisworthy that candidate forum events are held, and then available for home viewing by QCTV.
People of many kinds always say transparency in government is a good thing. But those really believing that will take the time to view candidate foura. (forums?) They are imperfect but better than nothing.
Later but before the general election the LWV - League of Women Voters - will keep up their tradition of holding pre-election candidate forums, so this is not a one shot thing but rather multiple chances to see people wanting our votes answer the questions being asked.
It is better the more events of this kind are held. There are too few, not too many.
=================================
One thing, concerning the Republican "fraud" song and dance - where did that $9 billion claimed number come from that the one HD 31B candidate glibly sang out as if it were some kind of FACT?
Nobody has yes stood up to a microphone and tried to justify that absurdly high fictional number.
We'll see. Somebody at some point will loudly and publicly call that Emperor as butt-naked, so to speak
I await that heppening..
Where will the glib Republicans then find themselves repeating the number and then when called for proof having to say, well a federal prosecutor said that number once, a couple did, and we're running with it as if true. We have little else to tout. A bad war and high prices? And attacking Canada? Tariff mischief that consumers end up paying? Let's try to sell "fraud."
Monday, August 24, 2026
MN Senate District 31 candidates will debate, in Andover, MN, this evening - tonight. QCTV will broadcast it.
The notice was by email today.
See our Candidates in Action Tonight!
(August 24th)
North Metro Mayors Legislative Forum
Andover City Hall
5:30 PM
The North Metro Mayors Association candidate legislative forums continues on Monday. The series of forums starts at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, August 24, at Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, MN 55304. Arrive at 5:00 p.m. It's a great opportunity to hear directly from our legislative candidates before the November 3rd, Election Day.
SD31A, House at 5:30. Brian Walker (D) and Harry Niska (R)
SD31B, House at 6:00. Jen Bloomquist (D) and Peggy Scott (R)
SD31, Senate at 6:30. Gadisa Berkessa (D) and Calvin Bahr (R)
The public is invited to attend in person. Please come to Andover City Hall to support our 3 great candidates!
The forum will also be broadcast live on QCTV, and will be recorded, and will stream live on their YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@qctv?si=
q95LiD3SRVsOmXAq
THANK YOU-- See you there!
SD31 DFL Communications
While the email was from being on the DFL mailing list the guess is that SD 31 Republicans will be getting the word out also, to those on their mailing list.
It will be good to see Niska and Walker talking. Each is a clear and direct mind, each seeing things differently in ways they should clearly delineate. Ditto, for the other candidates.
UPDATE: Related, a site that says nonpartisan, but about Minnesota's candidates:
https://election2026.net/minnesota-2026/
related: https://quarex.org/
FURTHER: Many a slip twixt cut and lip. No QCTV live broadcast, at 5:30 pm
wtf, I don't know. The hope is that QCTV is there, and recording, but not doing a live broadcast.
For that we wait until tomorrow morning to see.
NOT MY FAULT. SOMEBODY'S FAULT. NOT MINE
Next Morning, 8-25-2026 - Strike out - not posted at QCTV - worth another look mid-day.
MinnPost covers the Walz BWCA protective executive order (whatever he calls it that's what it is).
The U.S. is a Constitutional federal power among the several states, each of which has its own power.
Hence a balance of power, or a two-horse carriage, however you view it. In the two-horse analogy, the carriage does not go smoothly if the horses each is of its own mind, and do not pull together.
MinnPost wrote:
Gov. Tim Walz’s decision to use his authority to halt all state permitting of a proposed Twin Metals copper-nickel mine in the Boundary Waters will not stop the federal government from considering new permits for the project.
That’s because the proposed mine site is on federal land in Superior National Forest and Congress in April lifted a federal moratorium on any sulfide mining in that area.
So, Twin Metals can pursue a restoration of federal leases that were cancelled by the Biden administration, and if they are obtained, the federal government can move forward with its environmental review of the project.
Related: The battle over mining near the Boundary Waters now moves to home turf
“The state government cannot prevent the federal government from issuing leases and conducting an environmental review,” said Becky Rom, the national chair of Save the Boundary Waters. “And you might see these leases issued without consideration of science.”
Yet, the plan Twin Metals has to mine copper and nickel in the Boundary Waters is a two-track process. On the state’s track, Walz, in his waning days in office, used his executive powers to put down a clear marker of where the state stands on the issue of nonferrous mining in the Boundary Waters’ watershed.
Brad Karkkainen, an authority on environmental and natural resources law at the University of Minnesota, said Congress voted to end a moratorium on mining that had been established by a rule issued by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
“The congressional action removed federal impediments to mining development in or near the Boundary Waters,” Karkkainen said. “It does not compel mining development, nor does it override the state’s concurrent and independent authority to issue or deny permits for any new mines within the state of Minnesota.”
Julie Lucas, executive director of Mining Minnesota, an industry trade group, called Walz’s executive order “a political decision dressed up as an environmental one, and Minnesotans deserve to know the difference.”
The difference is political rhetoric, when the reeach of the power is the question. More:
“The governor’s own Department of Natural Resources concluded a six-year legal review that considered more than 4,000 public comments and the most current science available, and ruled definitively that Minnesota’s nonferrous mining regulations are strong enough to protect the Boundary Waters and its watershed,” Lucas said in a statement.
Walz’s order also instructs the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to draft legislation to be considered by the next session of the state legislature that would ban sulfide mining in the watershed.
Legislation aimed at protecting the Boundary Waters has failed to win approval in the past.
Still, the governor’s actions, which included halting all state government work on environmental reviews or permitting work on mining proposals while litigation over state mining regulations is ongoing, is a new chapter in a continuing battle over the future of copper-nickel mining in the state.
The two carriage horses will not pull together.
Sarah Strommen, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, acknowledged the federal government is moving on a different track. But she said the state would not cooperate with the federal government’s review in any way.
“It’s important to note that while the federal government cannot unilaterally authorize a mine to begin construction, it can begin its environmental review process and may ask DNR to be what is referred to as a cooperating agency … it would not be prudent for the DNR to participate as a cooperating agency in any federal environmental review” she said.
At a press conference Tuesday in Ely, Walz said he is confident his executive order will withstand any challenge.
“This is solid,” he said. “As I said, we’ve done the legal work.”
Joshua Huder, an expert on separation of powers at Georgetown University, said this is likely a case “where state law and federal law overlap, meaning Walz may be able to put in place a ban even if Congress has prohibited the Department of Interior from keeping its ban on the books.”
Nevertheless, Walz expects a blustery and hyperbolic response from the Trump administration, which he threw a zinger at in his press conference Tuesday.
“These people can’t manage a reflecting pool, so why would we think they could manage this mine?” he said.
The bottom line, he added, is “there’s nothing they can do about it.”
The state is using its "nuclear option" for the remainder of the Walz term. Ramsey's former mayor, Strommen, is in tune with her boss. And will serve as DNR head until a new person may be appointed.
Rep. Pete Stauber, R-8th District, who sponsored the legislation to lift the federal moratorium on mining in the watershed, said in a statement that it order [sic] is “radical” and “job killing.”
“Simply put, the governor’s executive order is an outright war on Northern Minnesota and our way of life,” he said.
They are special up there on the Iron Range, you do know that?
Walz’s successor will decide whether to keep the executive order, which sunsets 90 days after the governor leaves office, or scrap it.
[...] Environmental groups and tribal leaders, meanwhile, applauded Walz’s announcement.
“Walz made it clear that federal overreach will not decide the fate of Minnesota’s waters,” stated Chris Knopf, executive director of Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. “He defended what is best about this state. This is the kind of action a governor is remembered for.”
At the very least, Walz’s order pauses what was already going to be a lengthy timeline for copper-nickel mine permitting in Minnesota. Even proponents of the project have said they expected years or even more than a decade to pass before mining got up and running.
So. Stalemate. Restart the tournament with this stage being neither for nor against a contestant. Just like a stalemate in chess.
Pop the popcorn, while Tofoya and Lisa Demuth each articulates her crystal clear governing heart-felt position on the question of protecting the drinking water, the outfitter economic bloc up north, and tribal treaty rights where the fishing and wild rice harvesting are mooted by poisoned water.
Each will of course be eager to be detailed and specific and to not leave policy positions to guesswork. Sure.
No equivocating or gaslighting. Pure and simple answers, eagerly given. Sure.
Klobuchar too, must not try a straddle. We know already Flanagan, wanting to be the first female tribe member in the Senate feels the land beneath her feet, and sees the water as of critical importance. Amy, however, will need at some point to respond without equivocation. When, that's her call, but election day is her deadline.
AP reports on latest Scott Bessant news regarding Iran and expansion of sanctions against it.
Strangely, China is mentioned only once, in passing, while China clearly is a factor.
In part:
“We are level-setting with every country to tell them our expectations. We know who they are. They know who they are,” Bessent told a news conference. “So when the hammer of U.S. Treasury actions falls upon them, they will have no one to blame but themselves.”
Washington has promised the new sanctions would put even more pressure on an Iranian economy already battered by previous sanctions and a U.S. naval blockade. But the announcement Monday provided little detail and did not name which countries could face secondary sanctions. China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are Iran’s largest trade partners.
Bessent said Trump has been “making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions” with Iran and has already seen results. The UAE announced last week that it was suspending all trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran until further notice after a reported missile attack on the Gulf country.
“I am confident the president, as you all know, is quite persuasive,” Bessent said, adding that the UAE decision was “not a coincidence.”
Arm twisting China is unlikely. Others might step into line because they know Trump is an SOB of unequaled magnitude. Not that Bessant is any better. More excerpting -
Pakistani delegation visits Iran
Pakistan, which played a key role in brokering a 60-day ceasefire in June, sent a high-level delegation to Iran on Monday to encourage the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations, two senior officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media on the record.
The military confirmed only Field Marshal Asim Munir’s visit, saying it was aimed at de-escalating tensions in the region.
Trump spoke with Munir ahead of the army chief’s visit to Iran, according to a person familiar with the discussion.
So, will it be another bluff, or will there be teeth to the threat? Iran has weapons which could reach regional U.S. oil company assets, and they are the closest of cronies to Trump, so a threat of retaliation there should be expected to affect things.
Last, does Trump really want the current economic situation to change? His oil buddies are gaining record profits, and that's something Trump can chew on before rocking the current stalemate boat.
The guess here, nothing of consequence will result. More bluff and buff, no real will toward any short term change. China needs oil and Iran is positioned to yield China a favorable discount per barrel.
The Carney - Canada situation is more interesting. Canada, long term, will have to reach out, and new Canadian alliances will not dissolve later just because Trump must exit the White House. Trust is a factor and once Canada has formed what it sees as trustworthy new dependencies, it will not come back.
The bridge has been burned. There will still be cross border trade, but Canada will diversify, and like it.
UPDATE: A Crabgrass bet, it will be a while before robotaxies of Teslas will be operational in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, or Montreal. In part because of winter climate and battery chemistry, a matter affecting Minnesota too, but then also, China could look to Canada as it has to Mexico and South America, as a potential foreign plant locale. Jobs to Canada, via a trade war from Trump.
Why not?
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