Do you think it is possible Minnesota might at least force them to ditch the masks and slap plates on their vehicles? I counted 4 pickup trucks without plates, driving around with men wearing masks while I was running errands today. I live in Blaine, a suburb of Minneapolis.
I have this image in my mind, of a pick-up truck with four armed white dudes in balaclavas and fatigues coming up against a pick-up truck with four armed black hoodlums in balaclavas and fatigues, each telling the other to "put down the weapons, step out of the vehicle, and keep your hands in sight", neither producing any identification or badges (just like Treasure of the Sierra Madre), as onlookers run a book on which of the groups will comply with which other.
All of a sudden, one of the white guys challenges the black guys: "How do we know you're ICE?"
It’s telling to me that while I was reading your narrative, I automatically assumed the opposite. I was balking at the “hoodlums” description until I read your final sentence. For the rest of my life, I will never understand how people of color are on our streets, profiling their own people, yanking them out of cars so forcefully that they lose their shoes in the process. I’ve seen videos of Somali agents participating in taking down Somali residents at Cedar-Riverside. Most of the Somalis taking into custody by ICE or border patrol were eventually released because almost all of them are United States citizens. I will never understand how they (and now I am referring to all ICE/border patrol agents) can behave so lawlessly. Trump and DHS has told them, time and time again now, that accountability is no longer part of the equation. I served the public for more than 20 years of my professional life. Not law enforcement, but I worked with MPD and Ramsey County deputy sheriffs. They were assigned to protect us and the public inside the two major county welfare offices I worked in. People got rowdy, angry, used profane language a lot. I was trained that this was going to be part of the job. We would serve people who oftentimes were coming to us, and it was never going to be for a good reason. That is true. Who is applying for welfare, or asking about the status of an existing case, because everything is going well for them? WE were tasked with being the professionals. We had the training to administer the programs that people were in need of, and part of our pay and compensation package came with a requirement that we pay attention to the LEO’s who trained us on de-escalation tactics. Remain calm, even when someone is standing toe to toe, screaming profanities (sometimes with nonplussed children by their side, which always made me think, those kids have seen some stuff). I will never compare what I did to what LEOs do. They are asked to risk their lives, to run towards danger. I sat behind a desk 90% of the time, and behind plexiglass the rest of it. With armed officers in the lobby, for most of that time. When violence happened, and it sometimes did, they managed it. I wasn’t always thrilled with HOW they handled things. As the years went by, I realized a few things: I could manage the interaction and ensure a positive outcome most of the time with nothing but a genuine, disarming smile. A moment to say, “Welcome. How can I help you?” Managing expectations, and offering resources and tips when it was clear that the person I was helping wasn’t going to be eligible for what they came to the office for. Treating people with respect for their dignity. Offering the mom, hand shaking as she’s filling out an application with kids tugging at her from all angles - can I help? Would you like me to ask you these questions and fill out the responses for you? Later, when I had an office and a staff who reported to me, I made hiring decisions based more on whether I thought they projected a spirit of kindness and service than how quickly they could type or grasp policy. I could train them on those things. We cannot train people to be kind. When people walked into my hub, they were greeted by people who smiled at them, welcomed them in, said, “I’ll be with you as soon as I can” when there were others also waiting. We didn’t need LEOs in our lobby. And I frequently invited St Paul peace officers and other professionals to our staff meetings to do presentations about de-escalation, self-care (our jobs were stressful AF at times), community service. Sometimes we would get coverage from other service areas and I would bring them to community hubs and places of business. We had meals in Somali owned restaurants. Visited the Hmong Cultural Museum. Walked around the Karmel mall. Attended plays and workshops performed by African American and other community members. In later years, we placed workers at community hubs. I fielded calls from all over the county - we will designate a workspace and all necessary equipment if you will provide a worker on site. That didn’t happen without making our presence known in these communities, and demonstrating our willingness to engage and be collaborative and culturally respectful.
The point is - sorry, I know this was indulgently lengthy - had my leadership ever told me, the restraints are gone, accountability is zero, snap back at people who treat you with disrespect and then call for them to be forcibly removed - I would have changed exactly nothing about how I worked for my community. And were it to become obvious that everyone around me was following that mandate, I would have walked out the door. I had skills and abilities that were valued elsewhere - just as LEOs do.
I see so much reflected in my own experience in what you write, I feel as if I'm simply pretending to like what you write. I assure you, your story resonates.
A few months back, I started to work part time at a local high class grocery. We import goods from the UK and Ireland into Belgium for the (well-heeled) expat community here. On quiet days, we don't just sit at the cash register, but busy ourselves with putting out stock. When a customer wants to check out, they ring a quaint little bell and we come as fast as we can.
"Sorry to keep you waiting! How are you today? Oh, I see we have a young gentleman not yet at school whose helping us with the shopping today, isn't that nice?" If, of course some young 4-year-old is there with his mummy and daddy. "Don't worry, we've only just arrived at the cash desk, no problem," they almost invariably assure me. I had a lovely conversation with a lady wearing one of those ventral papooses, who thanked me for my delight at seeing this new born baby. "Yes, we're going to be having our very first Christmas together." I thought it was so wonderful.
I have a colleague who is American, and we had a run-in with each other on my first day when I was just filling in a year ago. He is aggressively pro-Trump and we tolerate the "podcasts" he plays all day in his corner of the unloading bay, where he deals with online orders. I tread on eggs when I'm in his vicinity, but a few weeks ago you could have knocked me over with a feather, when he said to me, "You really are very good with the customers. You chat away in such a genuine manner. No one else here does that. I guess they just can't."
I chat away with customers because I seek human contact with them. I want them to remember their visit to our store for all the best reasons. "We hope to see you again some time soon," I often say. "You certainly will," they smile back as they head out the door.
It's good for business, but more than that, it's good for me, and I think it's good for them. When I was a boy, my mother would take me to the local traders: Mr Meek the greengrocer, Mr Fearnley the butcher, Mr Coakley the barber, Mr Hardaker the baker, Mr Burland the post master, Mr Naif the fish and chip shop, Mr Bloom the chemist. All their stores were identified with these men's names painted above the door. You knew who you were dealing with when you crossed their threshold. And because you did, you went again, and again, until they knew you. And that builds community.
A customer was in during a rushed Saturday before Christmas and his bill came to 107 euros something. Our cash registers and payment terminals are not interlocked, so I have to enter the amount due separately into the credit card machine. By error, I entered 1,007 something. "Oh," I immediately said. "Don't put your card in, I'm aborting, we'll start again." "I should think so, what kind of a trick is that?" he said. I was shocked: "I saw the mistake, I made a mistake, I'm correcting the mistake now, sir." "Do you think I came shopping in some Aston Martin?" he persisted. "I am entering the correct figure now, you were not charged 1,007 euros. You can insert your card now into the machine." He left in a huff and left behind him a cloud of anguish and shame for nothing.
He will never be happy unless he has his thumb on someone's neck. The gentleman has no idea what community is or how to inculcate it. I felt very sad for him as he left.
I didn’t see anyone on the ground, swarming into stores. That could be happening, but I didn’t see it during my brief grocery run (then I drove around a bit to see if agents were conducting raids). From whar I am seeing in local groups, they don’t appear to be organized - it isn’t a swarm, just ICE and possible border patrol driving around and looking for brown and black people. They’re operating drones (I’ve seen them, and others in my local group have as well) and filming in certain areas. A local news outlet reported that they were hanging out at a private school for disabled children. Unfortunately, a lot of the information I get doesn’t come from national news and certainly not from DHS. It’s just what I see with my eyeballs, and what my neighbors pass around. I know they are staying at the Fairview in Blaine, less than a mile from where I live. I drove there and saw a lot of SUVs and pickup trucks with Illinois and Texas G (government) plates, or no plates at all.
I imagine that the argument for ICE agents going "incognito" includes the existence of an opposition network organized on a national level (including "No Kings" protests, etc.). Do they have reason to fear that agents whose identities become known are vulnerable to acts of harassment and worse?
This question would be front-and-center before a judge who might think of ordering the ICE men to take off the headdresses.
I’m not a judge, so clearly not an expert on interpreting statutes and laws. Still, I wonder if the question should be: if they aren’t behaving provocatively, do they have any more to fear than regular law enforcement? I have watched video after video, time and again (and read federal judge rulings) that demonstrate they clearly believe part of their job does not include de-escalation tactics. They rush in, fingers on trigger guards of assault rifles, IMMEDIATELY order people to “get out of the ****ing car” and then smash glass within seconds of barking those loud, profane orders. Stand on rooftops and spray pepper balls at protestors - some of whom are decidedly not behaving peacefully, but definitely not impeding or obstructing, either. And they laugh about it while they are doing it. It is what appears to me to be a carefully orchestrated show of immense force, escalated from right out of the gate. I wonder if a judge might consider, the masks and the no plates and changing plates are designed FOR the cameras filming, everyone with a cell phone and a record button and a live stream in those crowds they are brutalizing. No accountability from top brass, a President who clearly prefers the violence and show of force and thinks that lack of respect is sufficient reason to deliver bullets to skulls. How to ensure there is no accountability on our streets? Masks. Street uniforms that do not identify which agency they are with. License plates that do not track with who is driving the vehicles. Chicken or egg? I seem to recall they were unleashed on the public WITH those masks in place, from the very start.
So their regular procedure is first to scare people and angrily order them around, which is a way to provoke people to be aggressive so then they can feel they have some pretext to arrest them. All the while they are behind masks. Are these procedures themselves not clearly against the law?
Right now, my evolving big-picture assessment of what is going on includes two conflicting elements. I share your perception that federal agents are willfully creating a "shock and awe" effect as they deliberately emulate the proverbial bull in the china shop in selected "sanctuary cities" where the general populatiin is largely against federal anti-immigrant efforts. This, in my mind, is an important part of an overt slide toward an unconstitutional authoritarian ("fascist") regime that certain elements of the "Establishment" (borrowing Bernie's term) percieve to be absolutely necessary to weather the coming financial catastrophe and stay on top of the heap when the smoke clears.
Writing all that just blew a fuse as it came out; I'm going to have to re-charge before continuing.
As I prepare to continue with the "other side" of my evolving assessment, Argentina's old "Dirty War" comes to mind as a possible parallel to what is starting to unfold in the USA.
Thanks Mike, you give an unbiased perspective on a subject that’s out of most of our experiences. While ambitious and possibly low probability of success I am grateful for Minnesota trying to curtail federal overstepping.
Thanks for this analysis, Michael! I appreciated your thoughtful review, albeit over my 'pay-grade' :) It prepared me to have a sense, with lane-lines drawn for me to follow the what-comes-next. And, it sounds like it could make a significant difference ... even if it simply requires no-masks, car plates and seriously limits harrassment of citizens' first amendment rights... my biggest wish ... and, to get ICE folks to detain NOT on skin pigment, and instead on verified criminality...
You asked if this approach was helpful... yes!! Your calm, a-political presentation mentors readers and it makes legal analysis--upon which our Constitutional government is often illusive-- approachable. imho... (ok ... I'm not well known for "humble", but your wisdom brings out the wisest in us :) Thank you!!
Thank you for this deep analysis, which I, an Australian, really appreciate. I have read many reports and opinion pieces about this situation but your highly professional approach has done more than any other to explain the complexities of this case.
I’d love to be drafting discovery in this case against the feds- into all training manuals or written instructions, emails between Noem and anybody involving immigration, questions being asked of interviewees, any amendments to the training procedures from that in existence in prior administrations, agreements regarding deportation into South Somalia, El Salvador, etc.
I would love it, too! It is sad Minnesota finds itself in this position, and I'd love to help. I'm a pretty good investigator, mostly because I'm stubborn and motivated.
Thank you for the “in-the-weeds” analysis. There is so much opinion and noise in a volatile situation such as this one, and it is very helpful to read a detailed analysis of the lawsuit, its obstacles and merits, and how a judge might also look at these. A lot of reporting in general avoids in-the-weeds, and there are likely many good and not so great reasons for that. But we need this type of analysis to truly understand how this suit could be interpreted.
To your question: my take on your format and analysis is right on. You separate individual pieces, explain in plain language what that means and speculate if necessary, and then give the opposing views and how historically they've been viewed by the courts. You gave a look at the harder points but also a crack for argument. Nice job, in my opinion!
Now, how this plays into Dear Leader's mental processes. He gains time in the court processes that mean nothing to him except the time gained before any judicial ruling. He has accomplished the fear factor and the bully with numbers that is what he feeds on. But he also has awakened a basic human instinct to resist that fear. That, along with the courts, may give him a blow to the midsection. If the protests, (PEACEFUL protests, ) continue across the country and continual pressure from all his many "fronts of abuse" here and throughout the world, he may find this and a few of his minions aren't worth the price. This will never be recognized as a defeat, of course, but a retreat is a retreat no matter how you frame it. I can live with more lies as long as he feels the pinch. He's a cornered dog and that's the unknown. An irrational mind already under pressure is capable of the unexpected, even for extreme behavior. That's my concern for now. He WILL jump, ...but which way, and how high. You're the analyst -- that's more your cup of tea, I'm afraid.
Anyway, good job and appreciate the amount of time and effort in doing this for our benefit. Really appreciated! 🎯👌👏
Michael, I am using your dissection of NYT's trump interview to, hopefully, better understand the regime's strategies. In the case of Minneapolis and Minnesota at large, they are doing as they please as quickly as possible hoping institutions, courts, legal checks and balances will take too long. The result will be to normalize their actions and quickly move on leaving these legal actions in the dust (along with the murder of Renee Nicole Good).
Having said that, I applaud and support Minneapolis, Minnesota, Chicago, LA, Jerome Powell, Mark Kelly and everyone else who is standing up and pushing back.
Thank you for the weeds. I don't think it is too weedy. It is all helpful and I appreciate your efforts.
I have no complaints about the way your did this, Michael. I now understand the news of this lawsuit much better than I did. Please, when events like this come up, publish this kind of analysis.
Outstanding analysis! Your training and experience in analyzing all these events is necessary to allow the rest of us understanding. Thanks and God Bless!
I always appreciate your detailed analyses, Michael.
In this case, I especially like Count XI — Ultra vires executive action and and VI regarding use of "border" enforcement authority in MN. An important case.
Do you think it is possible Minnesota might at least force them to ditch the masks and slap plates on their vehicles? I counted 4 pickup trucks without plates, driving around with men wearing masks while I was running errands today. I live in Blaine, a suburb of Minneapolis.
It seems to me that garden variety criminals would love to drive around that way. But it would work only if they were white.
I have this image in my mind, of a pick-up truck with four armed white dudes in balaclavas and fatigues coming up against a pick-up truck with four armed black hoodlums in balaclavas and fatigues, each telling the other to "put down the weapons, step out of the vehicle, and keep your hands in sight", neither producing any identification or badges (just like Treasure of the Sierra Madre), as onlookers run a book on which of the groups will comply with which other.
All of a sudden, one of the white guys challenges the black guys: "How do we know you're ICE?"
It’s telling to me that while I was reading your narrative, I automatically assumed the opposite. I was balking at the “hoodlums” description until I read your final sentence. For the rest of my life, I will never understand how people of color are on our streets, profiling their own people, yanking them out of cars so forcefully that they lose their shoes in the process. I’ve seen videos of Somali agents participating in taking down Somali residents at Cedar-Riverside. Most of the Somalis taking into custody by ICE or border patrol were eventually released because almost all of them are United States citizens. I will never understand how they (and now I am referring to all ICE/border patrol agents) can behave so lawlessly. Trump and DHS has told them, time and time again now, that accountability is no longer part of the equation. I served the public for more than 20 years of my professional life. Not law enforcement, but I worked with MPD and Ramsey County deputy sheriffs. They were assigned to protect us and the public inside the two major county welfare offices I worked in. People got rowdy, angry, used profane language a lot. I was trained that this was going to be part of the job. We would serve people who oftentimes were coming to us, and it was never going to be for a good reason. That is true. Who is applying for welfare, or asking about the status of an existing case, because everything is going well for them? WE were tasked with being the professionals. We had the training to administer the programs that people were in need of, and part of our pay and compensation package came with a requirement that we pay attention to the LEO’s who trained us on de-escalation tactics. Remain calm, even when someone is standing toe to toe, screaming profanities (sometimes with nonplussed children by their side, which always made me think, those kids have seen some stuff). I will never compare what I did to what LEOs do. They are asked to risk their lives, to run towards danger. I sat behind a desk 90% of the time, and behind plexiglass the rest of it. With armed officers in the lobby, for most of that time. When violence happened, and it sometimes did, they managed it. I wasn’t always thrilled with HOW they handled things. As the years went by, I realized a few things: I could manage the interaction and ensure a positive outcome most of the time with nothing but a genuine, disarming smile. A moment to say, “Welcome. How can I help you?” Managing expectations, and offering resources and tips when it was clear that the person I was helping wasn’t going to be eligible for what they came to the office for. Treating people with respect for their dignity. Offering the mom, hand shaking as she’s filling out an application with kids tugging at her from all angles - can I help? Would you like me to ask you these questions and fill out the responses for you? Later, when I had an office and a staff who reported to me, I made hiring decisions based more on whether I thought they projected a spirit of kindness and service than how quickly they could type or grasp policy. I could train them on those things. We cannot train people to be kind. When people walked into my hub, they were greeted by people who smiled at them, welcomed them in, said, “I’ll be with you as soon as I can” when there were others also waiting. We didn’t need LEOs in our lobby. And I frequently invited St Paul peace officers and other professionals to our staff meetings to do presentations about de-escalation, self-care (our jobs were stressful AF at times), community service. Sometimes we would get coverage from other service areas and I would bring them to community hubs and places of business. We had meals in Somali owned restaurants. Visited the Hmong Cultural Museum. Walked around the Karmel mall. Attended plays and workshops performed by African American and other community members. In later years, we placed workers at community hubs. I fielded calls from all over the county - we will designate a workspace and all necessary equipment if you will provide a worker on site. That didn’t happen without making our presence known in these communities, and demonstrating our willingness to engage and be collaborative and culturally respectful.
The point is - sorry, I know this was indulgently lengthy - had my leadership ever told me, the restraints are gone, accountability is zero, snap back at people who treat you with disrespect and then call for them to be forcibly removed - I would have changed exactly nothing about how I worked for my community. And were it to become obvious that everyone around me was following that mandate, I would have walked out the door. I had skills and abilities that were valued elsewhere - just as LEOs do.
I see so much reflected in my own experience in what you write, I feel as if I'm simply pretending to like what you write. I assure you, your story resonates.
A few months back, I started to work part time at a local high class grocery. We import goods from the UK and Ireland into Belgium for the (well-heeled) expat community here. On quiet days, we don't just sit at the cash register, but busy ourselves with putting out stock. When a customer wants to check out, they ring a quaint little bell and we come as fast as we can.
"Sorry to keep you waiting! How are you today? Oh, I see we have a young gentleman not yet at school whose helping us with the shopping today, isn't that nice?" If, of course some young 4-year-old is there with his mummy and daddy. "Don't worry, we've only just arrived at the cash desk, no problem," they almost invariably assure me. I had a lovely conversation with a lady wearing one of those ventral papooses, who thanked me for my delight at seeing this new born baby. "Yes, we're going to be having our very first Christmas together." I thought it was so wonderful.
I have a colleague who is American, and we had a run-in with each other on my first day when I was just filling in a year ago. He is aggressively pro-Trump and we tolerate the "podcasts" he plays all day in his corner of the unloading bay, where he deals with online orders. I tread on eggs when I'm in his vicinity, but a few weeks ago you could have knocked me over with a feather, when he said to me, "You really are very good with the customers. You chat away in such a genuine manner. No one else here does that. I guess they just can't."
I chat away with customers because I seek human contact with them. I want them to remember their visit to our store for all the best reasons. "We hope to see you again some time soon," I often say. "You certainly will," they smile back as they head out the door.
It's good for business, but more than that, it's good for me, and I think it's good for them. When I was a boy, my mother would take me to the local traders: Mr Meek the greengrocer, Mr Fearnley the butcher, Mr Coakley the barber, Mr Hardaker the baker, Mr Burland the post master, Mr Naif the fish and chip shop, Mr Bloom the chemist. All their stores were identified with these men's names painted above the door. You knew who you were dealing with when you crossed their threshold. And because you did, you went again, and again, until they knew you. And that builds community.
A customer was in during a rushed Saturday before Christmas and his bill came to 107 euros something. Our cash registers and payment terminals are not interlocked, so I have to enter the amount due separately into the credit card machine. By error, I entered 1,007 something. "Oh," I immediately said. "Don't put your card in, I'm aborting, we'll start again." "I should think so, what kind of a trick is that?" he said. I was shocked: "I saw the mistake, I made a mistake, I'm correcting the mistake now, sir." "Do you think I came shopping in some Aston Martin?" he persisted. "I am entering the correct figure now, you were not charged 1,007 euros. You can insert your card now into the machine." He left in a huff and left behind him a cloud of anguish and shame for nothing.
He will never be happy unless he has his thumb on someone's neck. The gentleman has no idea what community is or how to inculcate it. I felt very sad for him as he left.
Thank you for your amazing service. At the last judgment you will be RICHLY rewarded!
https://endlesschain.substack.com/p/the-godfather-quiz-the-answers
If you don't want to read the whole thing, scroll to "The Fort Bragg cartel".
I have spent a lot of time in Blaine over the years. Hardly a violent crime area. WTH are they doing there?
I didn’t see anyone on the ground, swarming into stores. That could be happening, but I didn’t see it during my brief grocery run (then I drove around a bit to see if agents were conducting raids). From whar I am seeing in local groups, they don’t appear to be organized - it isn’t a swarm, just ICE and possible border patrol driving around and looking for brown and black people. They’re operating drones (I’ve seen them, and others in my local group have as well) and filming in certain areas. A local news outlet reported that they were hanging out at a private school for disabled children. Unfortunately, a lot of the information I get doesn’t come from national news and certainly not from DHS. It’s just what I see with my eyeballs, and what my neighbors pass around. I know they are staying at the Fairview in Blaine, less than a mile from where I live. I drove there and saw a lot of SUVs and pickup trucks with Illinois and Texas G (government) plates, or no plates at all.
I imagine that the argument for ICE agents going "incognito" includes the existence of an opposition network organized on a national level (including "No Kings" protests, etc.). Do they have reason to fear that agents whose identities become known are vulnerable to acts of harassment and worse?
This question would be front-and-center before a judge who might think of ordering the ICE men to take off the headdresses.
I’m not a judge, so clearly not an expert on interpreting statutes and laws. Still, I wonder if the question should be: if they aren’t behaving provocatively, do they have any more to fear than regular law enforcement? I have watched video after video, time and again (and read federal judge rulings) that demonstrate they clearly believe part of their job does not include de-escalation tactics. They rush in, fingers on trigger guards of assault rifles, IMMEDIATELY order people to “get out of the ****ing car” and then smash glass within seconds of barking those loud, profane orders. Stand on rooftops and spray pepper balls at protestors - some of whom are decidedly not behaving peacefully, but definitely not impeding or obstructing, either. And they laugh about it while they are doing it. It is what appears to me to be a carefully orchestrated show of immense force, escalated from right out of the gate. I wonder if a judge might consider, the masks and the no plates and changing plates are designed FOR the cameras filming, everyone with a cell phone and a record button and a live stream in those crowds they are brutalizing. No accountability from top brass, a President who clearly prefers the violence and show of force and thinks that lack of respect is sufficient reason to deliver bullets to skulls. How to ensure there is no accountability on our streets? Masks. Street uniforms that do not identify which agency they are with. License plates that do not track with who is driving the vehicles. Chicken or egg? I seem to recall they were unleashed on the public WITH those masks in place, from the very start.
So their regular procedure is first to scare people and angrily order them around, which is a way to provoke people to be aggressive so then they can feel they have some pretext to arrest them. All the while they are behind masks. Are these procedures themselves not clearly against the law?
Right now, my evolving big-picture assessment of what is going on includes two conflicting elements. I share your perception that federal agents are willfully creating a "shock and awe" effect as they deliberately emulate the proverbial bull in the china shop in selected "sanctuary cities" where the general populatiin is largely against federal anti-immigrant efforts. This, in my mind, is an important part of an overt slide toward an unconstitutional authoritarian ("fascist") regime that certain elements of the "Establishment" (borrowing Bernie's term) percieve to be absolutely necessary to weather the coming financial catastrophe and stay on top of the heap when the smoke clears.
Writing all that just blew a fuse as it came out; I'm going to have to re-charge before continuing.
As I prepare to continue with the "other side" of my evolving assessment, Argentina's old "Dirty War" comes to mind as a possible parallel to what is starting to unfold in the USA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_War
There are those who believe that the"Supporters of Resistence On Site" (S.O.R.O.S.) is as real as Antifa.
Regarding anti-Soros conspiracy theories, this one is a favorite:
https://larouchepub.com/lar/2008/3526lar_soros_pamph.html
For a more balanced view, see
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/george-soross-long-strange-trip/
Thanks Mike, you give an unbiased perspective on a subject that’s out of most of our experiences. While ambitious and possibly low probability of success I am grateful for Minnesota trying to curtail federal overstepping.
Thanks for this analysis, Michael! I appreciated your thoughtful review, albeit over my 'pay-grade' :) It prepared me to have a sense, with lane-lines drawn for me to follow the what-comes-next. And, it sounds like it could make a significant difference ... even if it simply requires no-masks, car plates and seriously limits harrassment of citizens' first amendment rights... my biggest wish ... and, to get ICE folks to detain NOT on skin pigment, and instead on verified criminality...
You asked if this approach was helpful... yes!! Your calm, a-political presentation mentors readers and it makes legal analysis--upon which our Constitutional government is often illusive-- approachable. imho... (ok ... I'm not well known for "humble", but your wisdom brings out the wisest in us :) Thank you!!
Thank you for this deep analysis, which I, an Australian, really appreciate. I have read many reports and opinion pieces about this situation but your highly professional approach has done more than any other to explain the complexities of this case.
I totally agree with Karenza. Thank you Michael for this clear analysis. It is very helpful.
From the UK, I second that.
I’d love to be drafting discovery in this case against the feds- into all training manuals or written instructions, emails between Noem and anybody involving immigration, questions being asked of interviewees, any amendments to the training procedures from that in existence in prior administrations, agreements regarding deportation into South Somalia, El Salvador, etc.
I would love it, too! It is sad Minnesota finds itself in this position, and I'd love to help. I'm a pretty good investigator, mostly because I'm stubborn and motivated.
Thank you for the “in-the-weeds” analysis. There is so much opinion and noise in a volatile situation such as this one, and it is very helpful to read a detailed analysis of the lawsuit, its obstacles and merits, and how a judge might also look at these. A lot of reporting in general avoids in-the-weeds, and there are likely many good and not so great reasons for that. But we need this type of analysis to truly understand how this suit could be interpreted.
To your question: my take on your format and analysis is right on. You separate individual pieces, explain in plain language what that means and speculate if necessary, and then give the opposing views and how historically they've been viewed by the courts. You gave a look at the harder points but also a crack for argument. Nice job, in my opinion!
Now, how this plays into Dear Leader's mental processes. He gains time in the court processes that mean nothing to him except the time gained before any judicial ruling. He has accomplished the fear factor and the bully with numbers that is what he feeds on. But he also has awakened a basic human instinct to resist that fear. That, along with the courts, may give him a blow to the midsection. If the protests, (PEACEFUL protests, ) continue across the country and continual pressure from all his many "fronts of abuse" here and throughout the world, he may find this and a few of his minions aren't worth the price. This will never be recognized as a defeat, of course, but a retreat is a retreat no matter how you frame it. I can live with more lies as long as he feels the pinch. He's a cornered dog and that's the unknown. An irrational mind already under pressure is capable of the unexpected, even for extreme behavior. That's my concern for now. He WILL jump, ...but which way, and how high. You're the analyst -- that's more your cup of tea, I'm afraid.
Anyway, good job and appreciate the amount of time and effort in doing this for our benefit. Really appreciated! 🎯👌👏
Michael, I am using your dissection of NYT's trump interview to, hopefully, better understand the regime's strategies. In the case of Minneapolis and Minnesota at large, they are doing as they please as quickly as possible hoping institutions, courts, legal checks and balances will take too long. The result will be to normalize their actions and quickly move on leaving these legal actions in the dust (along with the murder of Renee Nicole Good).
Having said that, I applaud and support Minneapolis, Minnesota, Chicago, LA, Jerome Powell, Mark Kelly and everyone else who is standing up and pushing back.
Thank you for the weeds. I don't think it is too weedy. It is all helpful and I appreciate your efforts.
I really appreciate this analysis, thank you.
I have no complaints about the way your did this, Michael. I now understand the news of this lawsuit much better than I did. Please, when events like this come up, publish this kind of analysis.
Michael,
Please, keep up the analysis.
It helps me to better understand what's going on at a deeper level.
Thanks fo what you do.
Jim Mellon
I thought your experiment worked.
No, not too far down in the legal weeds. Reads like a John Grisham novel for fans with a half credit in law🤭.
Outstanding analysis! Your training and experience in analyzing all these events is necessary to allow the rest of us understanding. Thanks and God Bless!
I always appreciate your detailed analyses, Michael.
In this case, I especially like Count XI — Ultra vires executive action and and VI regarding use of "border" enforcement authority in MN. An important case.
https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2026/docs/00190_DHS_Complaint.pdf
(This link worked for me)