Klobuchar, with no progressive running a primary challenge, is the clear better choice when facing a Navy vet reported to be fretting over the border and pro-Palestine demonstrations. While the guy's not reported a MAGA full captive, he's not been reported much at all. MinnPost publishes,this week. [UPDATED: The Fraser guy is hating on the Boundary Waters. DOA.]

Klobuchar looks to have no real contest. The MinnPost item notes she'd not had a real contest last time either. 

The Republican's name is Joe Fraser (not Frazier). Google the name. Yeah. If you only google the name you get returns about a British gymnast. 

search = Joe Fraser minnesota

campaign website

Months ago, MPR reported:

A retired Navy commander and political newcomer embarked Tuesday on a U.S. Senate campaign against three-term Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a race that has drawn little interest from established Republican officeholders.

Joe Fraser, 50, of Minnetrista, said the incumbent deserves a spirited challenge. He traveled to Duluth as part of a kickoff campaign that will be as much about introducing himself.

Fraser, who spent 26 years in naval intelligence, said he has worked in the business and banking sector since leaving the military. Since 2022, he has been president of the Minnesota Council of the Navy League of the United States, a nonprofit civilian group that assists families of people in sea branches of the military.

That career took him all over the world and led to many moves domestically. Fraser moved to Minnesota a few years ago, meaning he wasn’t living here the last time Klobuchar faced voters.

He said he would make border security, inflation and the national debt a campaign focus. And he said he would make Klobuchar’s longevity an issue, too.

“Part of the problem that we get into politics is everybody thinks their seat is safe. That’s not very democratic,” Fraser said. “It drives me nuts when people just assume that the incumbent is going to when you have to earn it. And going for a fourth term is just — that’s a career politician whose biggest objective is just to continue to get reelected.”

[...] Klobuchar’s campaign issued a statement that, in part, said she’s focused on “delivering results for Minnesotans” on drug prices and veterans health care, and that she’s seen as a bipartisan collaborator on Capitol Hill.

[... Fraser]  said he personally opposes abortion but said women deserve to make choices about their care.

And on immigration, he said the borders need to be secure but he also pointed to the positive contributions that newcomers to America can make.

He said President Joe Biden legitimately won and said the Capitol storming by former President Donald Trump’s supporters was “a discredit to the Constitution.”

Unlike current members of Minnesota’s Republican congressional delegation, Fraser wasn’t yet ready to get fully — or at least publicly — behind Trump with the party’s primary season still in progress [in January, when MPR published]. He declined to offer an endorsement in the presidential race with voting ahead of Minnesota’s March 5 primary already in motion.

Not Paul Gosar nor Matt Gaetz, but not a threat to Amy's reelection either. While a Navy vet, he's not Steve Bannon, which cuts well in his favor.

His viewing Klobuchar as a career politician shows a familiarity with politics in Minnesota, while having been elsewhere much of the past during his Navy career.

One particular MPR paragraph is of interest:

 Republicans hope this time is different and plan to use her national ambitions as a campaign messaging point. Fraser brought up Klobuchar’s 2020 White House run in labeling the incumbent as “a failed presidential candidate.”

The Crabgrass view is Klobuchar does not and did not really position herself as presidential, but ran that 2020 campaign as part of the establishments' wanting to vex Elizabeth Warren's campaign ahead of the South Carolina putsch for Biden, where Mayor Pete, Klobuchar, both timely exited the contest while Clyburn came forward to bless Biden. 

It was an inner party will to sidetrack Bernie and Warren, it worked, it was anti-progressive, and this Fraser guy as a Republican seems even more anti-progressive than Amy. Which IS anti-progressive. Minnesotans may love her but she's no progressive. And not presidential. (Among Democratic women Senators, Maria Cantwell is Presidential, while also not particularly progressive.)

__________UPDATE__________

Fraser has a facebook page. A little bit of looking, he'd ruin the BWCA and Rainy River watershed and wild rice waters, over inauspicous mining. A loser that way. And not really a winner any other way. Expect Klobuchar for six more, easily.

_________FURTHER UPDATE_________

Strib just did an item on Fraser. This sinks him unless he were running in a primary against Stauber -

He's also critical of what he views as her lack of support for mining in northern Minnesota and said she's not a vocal advocate for Minnesota jobs. Klobuchar's campaign notes she's been endorsed by the steelworkers union and is a "strong advocate for trade enforcement to stop Chinese steel dumping."

Not here that long, learned to sing Jobs, Jobs, Jobs to whore for Iron Range votes.

Sorry Charlie, you're not the big tuna. Product differentiation, yeah. But no chance.

Strib in reporting says little about Klobuchar, and nothing really new in comparison to posting noted above. Fraser seems better than some Republicans - at least admitting that Biden won 2020, but BWCA is a national gem, the most popular National Park in the nation with tourism booming on the Iron Range because of it. 

Let the billionaire Chileans and Swiss sulfide miners mine elsewhere. There's plenty of untapped ore worldwide. Sulfide mining is poison the way those money grubbers operate on the cheap. Their histories of rape and run mining is not a winning policy position on which a newcomer Minnesota politician should seize. 

Statewide, proposed copper mining in vulnerable environments is unpopular, and a losing game. And the steelworkers back Klobuchar, as Strib noted.

___________FURTHER UPDATE___________

Copper reserves, top five, in a five part series. Remainder of Top 20 (including the U.S. --- we're only No.9 between Congo at 10, India at 8. Let them mine in Afghanistan, it has the 6th greatest reserves, well more than our nation; and not much on an environment to ruin.)

__________FURTHER UPDATE__________

Somebody should clue Fraser into Prove It First conservative thinking - don't do it unless you can prove it will be lifetime trouble free. Not a money sink and threat to waters left for the public to cope with after the mining company's put a lock on the gate because profitability ceases.

Cluing him on that could open his eyes. Turn him into a Democrat. Once enlightened, Friends of the Boundary Waters could use his support.

 

REPUBLICANS - Don't do as they did. Do as they say. That is, if, and only if, you trust them more than you trust your own good judgment and sense of human decency.

 Crabgrass earlier wrote that Biden is being too much a Zionist; from history dating to 1948 and Truman's having Jewish voters and no Arab voters, onward, policy has been Zionist, and AIPAC and other lobbying and money donors have been active. Getting more and more so.

This is not the Israel that negotiated over two states. This is rabid all-for-us coalition action, Netanyahu bad enough, the slobs he has had to take into his ministries to have a coalition are much, much, much worse. Combined they are a rogue government, one so bad that it awakens the moral sense in college students; those most concerned with their future careers and lives and having to pay student loans nonetheless will stand for what's right. And have stood so. Seeing daily evidence of humans starved, killed, maimed and made into homeless refugees forced hither and yon by air dropped leaflets before the bombs fall. Hospitals and schools destroyed. Approaching forty thousand dead Arabs. And Rafah beckons over-the-top foul war mongers.

The Republicans? https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/coons-mccaul-israel-report-weapons-pause/story?id=110134778

Compare: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pausing-military-aid-key-tool-presidents-foreign-policy/story?id=110117137  --- which states.

In the summer of 1981, President Reagan held back the delivery of U.S. fighter jets to Israel for two months after it bombed a nuclear reactor in Iraq.

In July 1982, he halted a shipment of cluster shells to Israel over how Israel used the weapons during its invasion of Lebanon. American officials at the time were reviewing if the use of the weapons violated an agreement between the U.S. and Israel.

So ignore that, that was then and today's not the day for Republican kissing the Gipper's ass. So rhetorically flexible they bend over to meet themselves going the other way from their "treasured" history of using might to curb Israeli over exuberance for killing in questionable ways and numbers.

Republicans overlook recent history as well as past actions under their guys. (When their guys used a leash when needed, they silently stood in place.)

Republican whoring that way goes down to their grassroots, e.g., here and here.

Blinken, authoritative in foreign policy over decades of public service, in other administrations and in private consulting before joining Biden's cabinet, himself being Jewish, willingly is point man for doing what moral necessity demands. This is not about Jewishness, it is about the moral limits of how to wage war and yet avoid gross levels of unnecessary civilian carnage. The Israelis simply overstepped bounds, and if we give them yet more heavy bombs they will continue to irresponsibly use them. They are who they are, they are not like earlier Israeli governments, which accepted two state realities and acted, in retrospect, with grater decency.

AND --- These present Republicans are, in an election year, whoring for Jewish votes by standing on Arab corpses waving a Star of David Flag.

They should stop.

BOTTOM LINE: Do you trust these guys?

image link

Minnesota's Congressional District elections appear to favor party incumbancy. Then there is MN5. Not living there, I nonetheless care. [UPDATED]

 Living in the Sixth District, Emmer is so secure there that he's made Republican Party leadership by being so secure there. It's a circular thing.

In MN5 Ilhan Omar is the incumbent, again this cycle having Don Samuels sniping at the seat. Without giving it too much time since I have no vote there, a few words are merited.

Decisiveness. A great word.

Health care, important to every person on earth. Important in Minnesota.

Taking that focus, and disliking indirection, weasel words, examine campaign websites on - health care.

Don Samuels -

Advancing Healthcare as a Human Right

A vague thing. "Advance," as in a goal. Word search that thing = insurance. He likes it. Mentioning Obama and Klobochar, their approaches being fine to him.

Two things he likes, status and quo. And coattails. Grabbing two. Go status quo, but then move the needle - somewhat?

Ilhan Omar -

"Provide Healthcare Coverage for All

Ilhan will fight for Medicare for All, a single-payer healthcare system that guarantees quality care for every American."

A very specific goal - for ALL. And PROVIDE, not ADVANCE. Decisiveness.

 

Word search Omar's policy/issue presentation for the word "insurance." Not too great a fan, with her seeing a clear better way if only the status quo could be changed. 

BOTTOM LINE: Omar says single payer. Samuels does not. A distinction with a difference.

..........................................

From there readers should look at how each of the two define issues and answers, who is vague, who is precise, who says things are okay but can be better, who says things are problematic and need fixing - and which of those wordings seem more aggressive about moving off current dead center?

Omar is there trying. It's her job. Samuels was on the City Council, and right now is involved in a small nonprofit.

On his "meet Don" page, he does paragraph after paragraph, until, near the end, "Don is the CEO of Microgrants, an organization that targets small grants at individuals and organizations in communities." They've a website, there's a link, so have a look. Financials are given, but a breakout of Samuels' salary level cannot be seen from aggregate numbers. Presumably grants are not given to Samuels, nor to any entity in which he owns an interest, a point without a specific website disclosure or disclaimer. 

 

MicroGrants looks helpful to the community and lists partner organizations.

 

Just saying. the nature of politics suggests that Omar's people have a chance to scrutinize things, there is annual reporting to the AG, and if anything were problematic the opposition would note it. Samuels seems okay. The people backing Samuels likewise are expected to have done due diligence vetting. There already was the last election, with no personal questions about any money improprieties, either side.

And the primary, in CD5, is the election. The general is a coronation of the primary winner, the district being as solid single party Democratic as CD6 is Republican. Omar gained the CD5 DFL Convention endorsement. First ballot. Large margin.

 

UPDATE: MPR - first ballot MN5 convention:

 Samuels received 85 votes and Rep. Omar picked up 133 votes. Samuels vows to stay in the race, which will be a closely watched Democratic primary race across the country.

FURTHER: https://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary?cycle=2024&id=MN05

From last cycle, same two candidates, https://spokesman-recorder.com/2022/08/03/who-is-funding-don-samuels-campaign-and-why/ 

That item seems to be published from within the CD5 community. Favoring Omar. Because she is a progressive. It speaks for itself. 

Presumably endorsements from within the DFL and the CD5 community will track what they were in the 2022 campaign. Support from outside the district ought to not differ much either. However, Samuels having made 2022 closer than expected might tip more funding, possibly alternate sources, his way.

Samuels offers some experience and if winning he seems he could handle the job. Crabgrass decisively favors Omar as progressive rather than middle of the road. Also with a belief she is brighter and more effective than Samuels would be.

But that balance this cycle is for people in the district to decide. 

FURTHER: Fox9 from back when Samuels first announded a 2024 candidacy.

FURTHER: Samuels has a Wikipedia page, and it says:

Samuels launched a DFL primary challenge for Minnesota's 5th congressional district against Ilhan Omar in March 2022. Samuels was endorsed by former Chief of the Minneapolis Police Department, Medaria Arradondo^[21] and Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey.^{[22] [...]} Samuels announced another primary challenge to Ilhan Omar in November 2023. The campaign's launch in November will lead to a longer campaign period than in 2022 when Samuels launched his challenge in March 2022 for an August 2022 election.^[27][28] His campaign is being managed by Joe Radinovich, who also managed his 2022 campaign.^[25] Public safety will be a theme of the campaign as it was in the last campaign.^[26] Samuels initially differentiated himself from Omar on the Israel–Hamas war but both candidates agree on the need for a ceasefire.^[22]

Radinovich is tight with Jacob Frey, and ran DFL and lost CD8 to Pete Stauber; so put Samuels in with the Cargill's good, the Chamber of Commerce is good political folks, middle road to Republican-lite; and nationwide there are a lot of Black preachers with good intentions, connections, and bona fides in politics like Samuels; but only one vocal Somali in the House, and diversity matters. 

 Omar has steered cash back to the district while not coddling folks there, and she's been a very fresh voice in the DC deep-stated Gestalt; where Samuels might well fit in as a Blue Dog / New Dem sort; Clinton-comfortable judging by the political company he keeps. Not bad folks. But very ordinary Dems and not innovative. 

As noted earlier, Samuels seems more comfortable with the party's status quo than Omar is. I would say Samuels is not a Hakeem Jeffries nor a Pelosi, but he's no Jamal Bowman either. 

Bowman and Omar seem more kindred in spirit than Samuels and Bowman, as best as Crabgrass sees things. And change if it ever comes will need the Omar and Bowman contingent more than those walking the familiar more traveled path.

For a perspective, I'd be cheered immensely were Samuels running DFL in CD6 and ousting Emmer, but he's not, and in CD6, Emmer'd be reelected, wide margin. 

It's in part that Omar is a national treasure, of a kind we need if not to sink into the mud of a slowly strangling status quo.

Like, don't look to Amy for change, it ain't there. She ain't ever pushing any envelope. Innovation is not in her DNA. Incrementalism is.

Again, voters in CD5 will decide. Both of the DFL primary front runners (there are two stragglers too) seem credible, each appealing to a different part of the party - Omar with the young and innovaters, Samuels perhaps too patient with the establishment. 

Or that's the impression Crabgrass has. Samuels would be okay. But not a Wellstone. Not a Vento. Not a magnet to inspire party growth.

 

FURTHER; Dark money, last cycle, Samuels.

Endorsements, this cycle +++. Start with the caveat that endorsements are not credited too highly here. Nonetheless, the item states:

Omar’s campaign has sought to steamroll Samuels with a slew of early endorsements, including every Democratic U.S. House leader — such as Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — labor unions, the majority of the Minneapolis City Council, Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, and nearly all of the Minneapolis legislative delegation. 

There are some high profile names missing, including 5th District resident U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who are both key figures in the still-powerful DFL establishment but have found themselves opposite Omar on many high profile issues, from support for Israel to support for police. 

House Majority Leader Jamie Long, DFL-Minneapolis, who has endorsed Omar every election since her first run, said she gets results. 

“I know there’s some members of Congress who do their work and work hard and there are some members who fill seats, and Congresswoman Omar is one who works hard and gets results for our constituents,” Long said, adding that Omar can represent people of color and immigrants in in the district who have never “had a voice in Congress.”

D.A. Bullock, a filmmaker and Northside resident, said Omar’s refusal to be silenced is precisely what’s needed to represent the Black and immigrant communities of the 5th District.

“It’s important for those people to be able to speak out and speak to how we make this American experiment a better place for everyone,” Bullock said. “I applaud her for the bravery of that because I know that comes with a special form of pushback from those who want to keep things pretty much the same as they’ve always been.”

[...] 

The congresswoman has long been a fierce critic of Israel and its treatment of Palestinians. With much of Gaza in ruins and the death toll mounting by the day, many in the Democratic mainstream have come around to where Omar has long stood. Many Democrats, including Biden, are now calling for a ceasefire and are critical of Israel’s actions.

But Israel has strong backers — including in the 5th District — who would love to see Omar gone. The political arm of the AIPAC has funded candidates it believes can unseat members of Congress who have been critical of Israel. The super PAC hasn’t donated to Samuels this election cycle, but his campaign has attempted to court the group for funds. Samuels’ campaign manager told The New York Times that $4 million would be enough to defeat Omar. 

So as mentioned earlier and mentioned in that quoting, from Omar's perspective, Frey, Klobuchar and Radinovich are establishment types in the way. And Samuels uses one of them directly and courts Israeli money, according to the item. Factor that in with last cycle, where dark money was used against Omar. The last paragraph, last sentence of the quote, Radinovich said $4 million; and "donated to Samuels" is distinct from "spent on behalf of Samuels," i.e. dark money from a PAC not affiliated and, ostensibly, not coordinated with Samuels' campaign. 

There is wiggle room.  Palestinian Gazans are suffering, and Omar is outspoken.

Joe Biden is waffling about Israel. Making a token stand at this point, "Do Rafah cleanly," after what's been done, is unconvincing.

It is too little, too late, but the bottom line remains, it is Biden or Trump.

Given that, Biden needs to be reelected. And DC astounds, time and again.

CNN:

A group of 26 House Democrats sent a letter to Biden on Friday saying they are “deeply concerned about the message the Administration is sending to Hamas and other Iranian-backed terrorist proxies by withholding weapons shipments to Israel." The letter does not specifically mention Biden’s interview with CNN this week where he first publicized his warning. 

The group of House Democrats, led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, also requested a briefing from the White House to get more information on Biden’s decision, as well as how and when aid appropriated by Congress for Israel will be delivered.

Gottheimer was instrumental in killing Build Back Better, and is one of those "only difference is the sack" individuals who seem to be drawn to concentrate in DC.

These people make it harder for Biden to tardily do the right thing.

The belief here is that Biden is truly conflicted, and a prisoner to past policy dating back to Truman, 1948.

Being familiar with reporting of how displaced persons in encampments in Europe after the end of WW II fighting showed Jews being the last to find a way back to civilized living, they in Israel have still rough edges to their civilized lifestyle.

Some worse than others, some in Bibi's coalition government.

Another bottom line besides no matter what, reelect Biden, is if anything, tardy or not, marginal or not given death and destruction after October 7, anything nonetheless which could make Rafah actions less brutally ugly than otherwise is a humanitarian good result; and Biden now is doing the right thing beyond reasonable doubt.

Biden is a better human than Trump. A better President. And a better risk.

Suck it up and vote for Joe - that does not ring as either an endorsement or a winning slogan. It is however a compelling truth. It must be. Trump must be undone, and giving Biden four more years is a part of that necessity.

Do it. The nation needs better sense than conflicted emotion. Work it out.

__________UPDATE___________

To ensure opinions here are clear, the contention is that Biden during the past Israeli actions was either negligent, or intentionally complicit in a grotesque infliction of siege pain upon civilians bound since the Nakba to remain living confined tightly together within Gaza, with the reason for that starvation siege plus aerial bombardment imposition that they are Palestinians and hence to many Israelis second class humans (untermenschen?), and that to have treated them more decently would have resulted in more IDF loss of life, had a more care-taking ground campaign been started earlier. 

Hence an aerial campaign, with a later ground campaign - all things on the edge of Rafah now and at the crossing into Egypt, with over a million civilians concentrated there because Israel's past conduct of the war continuously told them to evacuate south or die.

It might be that Israel's government and military would prefer to bomb Rafah relentlessly now until no human there remains alive, the million number not being an impediment, but the world would repel in horror if they did that.

There is no urgency now, the rest of Gaza is being finalized, with everyone driven south except the dead.

So, the U.S. policy is now, allow the civilians safe shelter, stop starving them, segregate them from combatants, and then bomb the remaining combatants until no human among them remains alive. It seems that.

But, Israel sets its own course, with or without big fucking bombs given them by our nation, whereas if civilians are safely removed, we give them the bombs and watch the carnage, the aim not being to prevent carnage, but to limit it to Hamas personnel, who we have no national aim to protect from destruction.

And after Rafah - - -  guess.

Or that seems to be how things shape up.

 

Trump and the IRS appear to be in dispute about a tax matter. That is not news. That is status quo.

 The coverage is fairly widespread, if you do a search, but a number of readers likely have not seen the story, at this link, a NYTimes original, or covered by ProPublica.

Both items overlap, each saying miditem-

It is unclear how the audit battle has progressed since December 2022, when it was mentioned in the congressional report. Audits often drag on for years, [...]

In response to questions for this article, Trump’s son Eric, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, said: “This matter was settled years ago, only to be brought back to life once my father ran for office. We are confident in our position, which is supported by opinion letters from various tax experts, including the former general counsel of the IRS.”

An IRS spokesperson said federal law prohibited the agency from discussing private taxpayer information.

The outcome of Trump’s dispute could set a precedent for wealthy people seeking tax benefits from the laws governing partnerships. Those laws are notoriously complex, riddled with uncertainty and under constant assault by lawyers pushing boundaries for their clients. The IRS has inadvertently further invited aggressive positions by rarely auditing partnership tax returns.

Highlighting was used because of confusion over whether the animals in Animal House are equal. Two IRS employees have been all over TV discussing Hunter Biden's taxes yet are still collecting paychecks, not fired for it, not disciplined.

Calling them "whistleblowers" is a confusion, not an explanation of why Hunter's taxes are public fair game, Trump's are somehow different. Yes, Trump's wealth is greater, while Hunter was overcoming an addiction, yet - Hunter's tax situation is being handled by DOJ special prosecutors who filed criminal charges; Trump's, by discretion.

There is distress in seeing different strokes for different folks - Trump getting to skate the whole lake while Hunter is cabined, cribbed, confined into  a bad spot. 

Not that a reader has to explain it to me, rather she must explain it to herself. That, or declare unfairness the way of the nation, Trump getting "fairer" attention than Hunter Biden gets. Yes, Trump is being prosecuted. But for other things and he earned it. Eric Trump says, "We settled." Hunter would have settled under the terms of a settlement agreement the prosecutors had negotiated and signed, which appears to be how the IRS generally handles back taxes paid current with penalties included. They generally don't multi-count indict.

Instead, Hunter is indicted.

Thinking again, yeah, explain it to me. 

I don't fully comprehend what our nation is doing.

I mean, I comprehend it in the sense I read the stories and believe them. The comprehension discrepancy goes more to WHY, than to WHAT.

Is anybody startled or surprised by how judicial discretion can be stretched and tailored to fit objectives?

 search = Aileen Cannon news [past day]

EmptyWheel takes notice.

THE BOT -

My question to Microsoft's Copilot in Windows preview =  Is it fair that Judge Aileen Cannon struck the prior trial date and continued things indefinitely?

Yes, it was fishing to see if the bot would split hairs over "fair" being subjective. The question was parsed with "fair" ignored, the BOT saying:

Federal Judge Aileen Cannon has indefinitely postponed former President Donald Trump’s federal trial in Florida. The trial was initially scheduled for May 20, but due to a tangle of pretrial conflicts between special counsel Jack Smith and Trump’s attorneys, the date has been pushed back. Judge Cannon intends to resolve other issues in the case before setting a new trial date¹². This reshuffling further complicates matters for Smith, who is also awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. The outcome of this ruling could impact another case against Trump, related to charges for attempting to subvert the 2020 election². So, while the postponement may raise questions, it aligns with the complexities of legal proceedings. 📜🔍

So, bot-speak allows every Crabgrass reader to form a separate opinion of how the question might have been better answered. ". . . may raise questions . . . aligns with the complexities of legal proceedings" suggests the BOT should go into politics, seeking federal office of some kind. Fitting into either party by feigning profound analytic skills. Not that advocacy these days would approve of fence straddling.

Strib publishes an op-ed, behind a paywall, an item worthy of commentary.

Titled,

Why we protested at the University of Minnesota

The calls from students are clear. The time to divest is now.

 It is authored by an encampment participant - 

Gillian Rath, a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota, is with University of Minnesota Students for a Democratic Society.

Leaving readers to gain access, while respecting Strib's copyright, excerpting will be sparse. Opening the item:

In the early hours of April 23, the University of Minnesota police arrested eight students and one university staff member for establishing a Gaza solidarity encampment, which was set up to protest university investments in apartheid Israel. Alongside other universities across the country and other SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) chapters, students from the UMN Divest Coalition established the encampment. While protesters peacefully camped on the Northrop lawn, the university responded by calling in police to confiscate their tents and charge nine with trespassing. Seven of the nine arrested are members of SDS. Only hours later, more than 1,000 students, alumni, staff and faculty members gathered in front of the Student Union to defend the nine arrested.

The protest, organized by the UMN Divest Coalition, quickly transformed from a small crowd on Tuesday morning to one of the largest protests on campus in recent history. Photos of police surrounding students quickly spread across social media, leading more than a thousand to walk out in support of divestment and dropping the charges. During this time, students gathered for speakers, a Passover Seder led by Jewish Voices for Peace, and the creation of a new solidarity encampment.

The "Divest" thrust of the protest's orientation was clear at all times.

At the same time, the University of Minnesota has continued partnerships with weapons companies complicit in this violence. [...] and tuition money is reinvested back into the economy of war for profit. [...] It is clear that divestment from genocide is both long overdue and fully within reach.

Throughout the following week, the UMN Divest Coalition continued to hold protests [... with] pitched symbolic tents in solidarity with both displaced refugees in Rafah and university encampments all across the U.S.

As noted in an earlier post, the university and encampment occupants at U.Minn. negotiated to the point of the encampment being ended - per a Strib item which was reposted open, with links here and here.

Of interest to 60s survivors, two Wikipedia entries - 

Students for a Democratic Society

 and 

Students for a Democratic Society (2006 organization)

The original SDS was a thorn in Lyndon Johnson's side, founded at Ann Arbor Michigan in 1960 (and folded 1974) which was a nominal historical precursor to what appears to be today's Gaza - Divestment protest coordinator, at least in part, other organization possibly also involved.

Of interest, that second Wiki item ends its story:

In March 2010, members of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee's chapter of SDS staged a protest outside the Chancellor's building. The event, designed to protest rising tuition costs, was met with a police presence. Police began using pepper spray, and arrested sixteen members of the protest, including both SDS members and allied organizations on campus through the Education Rights Campaign.^[24]

Reaching beyond, this item: 

Students for a Democratic Society calls for nationwide encampments for Gaza, stands with Columbia students for Palestine

By staff -- April 23, 2024

From the outside looking in, the campus encampments with their focus upon divestment of endowment money as a cause in solidarity with Gazan civilian suffering all have a common thread suggesting likely coordination, with new-SDS a factor but likely not uniquely so. Time will flesh out details.

From AJ:

story link: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/29/mapping-pro-palestine-campus-protests-around-the-world

UPDATE; That item is well presented and factual, not editorializing, Do follow the link.

Dueling YouTubes? Apart from an interesting Republican oriented blog post.

Gary Gross posted a most interesting item, asserting Trump's building a "team" to offer to voters appears to him to be an important thing along with who gets second spot on Trump's ticket. Ultimately he suggests after naming "team" possibilities that Trump would be best served with either Marco Rubio or Ron DeSantis as VP nominee.

The suggestion is that "team" solidarity is as big or bigger than second spot on the ticket, but that either of two other Floridians would be good Veep choices lacks a geographical balance, (Trump himself being a Floridian -- as if that State's Republican bias is a positive thing - Florida with its swamps somehow special).

Gary ends his post with a video clip of Trump working an F1 race - in Miami - after Gary's final sentence suggesting, "Finally, I'd bring back Ben Carson at HUD and I'd install Elise Stefanik as Education Secretary." The boost my image by dumping on university education maven, Ed Sec? His preference. It can be debated.

What is interesting is the F1 Miami video, left bottom offers, "Watch on YouTube," which Crabgrass did, and right there on the sidebar offering of other things, an ABC segment,

Stormy Daniels expected to testify Tuesday in Trump hush money trial

 

Obviously, that item seemed, here, to have greater gravitas than a campaign stop at a non-NASCAR auto race. (If it was NASCAR it would seem more fitting, but either way, the hush money trial is real news, not "He stopped and campaigned.")

 

Readers are invited to view both videos, to form their own independent viewpoints.