TO THE EDITOR:
In the next elections, I ask everyone to consider electing people with morals and a sense of duty. Tom Emmer hasn’t said one word against this illegal, unconstitutional, politically motivated, violent occupation. This is not “law enforcement”. This is intentional provocation to try and prove we’re a bunch of violent reactionaries. We are doing an amazing job proving them wrong. We’re meeting their kidnappings, murder, and violence with peaceful demonstrations, community organizing, and imagination. I’ve never been more proud to be a Minnesotan. Keep the faith, keep it peaceful, and dump Tom Emmer.
Duncan Ryan
Becker, MN
TO THE EDITOR:
Previously, I wrote Rep. Emmer begging him to remember Minnesota values and use his influence with President Trump to change the course of his (Trump’s) decisions. The response I got was thanks for supporting Trump which I clearly did not. I’m asking Rep Emmer again to remember your Minnesota values. It appears you have pledged allegiance to a president and administration who cater to the wealthy and lie to the rest of us. Your daily Facebook posts demonstrate how out of touch you are with us. You misrepresent what is happening in your weekly columns. The violence you blame on our state officials is caused by your poorly trained ICE agents. Do the 1500 “worst of the worst” you boast ICE has arrested and detained include the high school DACA kids, five-year-olds or citizens? Reports indicate that 476 Habeas Corpus petitions on behalf of erroneous arrests of immigrants have been filed. The Department of Corrections refuted another lie. Convicted illegal alien criminals are turned over to ICE, not turned loose on Minnesota streets. I used to pray that you and this administration have a change of heart. I now pray for a change in leadership.
Joyce LeClaire
Big Lake, MN
TO THE EDITOR:
Emmer steps in line with whatever comes out of Donald Trump’s mouth. He helped push the “Big Beautiful Bill”, the most blatant theft of low and middle-income American wealth, through the House. He has cheered an emboldened administration as it claws back appropriations, ignores judges orders, slow-walks the release of the Epstein files, and empowers ICE with carte blanche to send 3000 hastily-trained officers to our state. But they aren’t getting just the worst of the worst: they are asking people for their papers (illegal), knocking down doors without warrants (illegal), shooting drivers when they try to drive away (illegal), and dog-piling legal observers and executing them in the cold morning light (illegal). This administration destroys so much good in the pursuit of its narrow-minded, grievance-driven goals. Rep. Emmer, I call on you to stand up for decency and remember your oath to defend and protect the constitution. WE THE PEOPLE have eyes that see, we have hearts that break, we have votes we cast. Emmer has shown his loyalty, and it’s not to Minnesota, but to power. History will judge. It’s cold, I’m going to go use your column to get my wood stove going.
Curtis Weinrich
Clearwater, MN
TO THE EDITOR:
The Oath of Enlistment (for enlisted): “I, _____, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.” These are not just words. We are watching the Constitution bend in real time. Reports show violations of the 1st, 4th, 5th, 10th, 14th, and now the 2nd Amendments. People in our country have been shot and killed while exercising the simple right to protest and document. One man was legally carrying a firearm, disarmed from behind, and then shot ten times. This isn’t rumor. It’s on video. If watching that doesn’t stir fear or grief, it’s worth asking what we’ve trained ourselves not to feel.And yet, members of our community still show up. Not because they’re paid. Not because it’s easy. But because it’s terrifying but necessary. They stand for friends, neighbors, and rights that belong to ALL of us. If you believe these people are “the problem,” pause. Would defending your neighbors, your rights, bring you pride or shame?
Vanessa Davenport
Big Lake, MN
