Letters: Omar is AWOL

With the latest developments of an attempted mass shooting at Mall of America by an 18-year-old Somali in the name of eliminating non-Muslim persons, wouldn’t it be expected that the popular face of Muslims in Minnesota, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, would be taking a position on this occurrence? How about letting us know if she supports this type of action?

How about letting us know if she is ashamed of parts of the Somali community fraudulently taking millions / billions of dollars from taxpayers to fund their own “super rich” lifestyles, while complaining that the rest of Minnesota’s population is racist and can’t be trusted.

But wait a minute … maybe “some people did something” will be the feeble answer; just like she stated in response to the 9/11 disaster In New York.

It’s time that this two-faced position comes to a stop.

If you are truly trying to represent the Muslims in Minnesota, either show your “leadership” in fixing this mess or resign.

Common sense should go without saying. Which is why St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry has involved the courts in his political beef with Mayor Kaohly Her. Blind justice is always ready to entertain a fatuous argument if you can hire a lawyer to make it.

The reason the mayor’s tasteless behavior before the chief did not amount to sexual harassment is that it patently wasn’t. Her was not coercing Henry into sex because the diminutive mayor could never have forced herself on the burly cop. If Henry seriously believed he was being pressured into sex he could have arranged an assignation and slapped the cuffs on Her himself. For once a cop would be eager to turn on his bodyworn camera!

The chief raised this phony issue to give his department some degree of immunity from necessary budget cuts. His rogue department is also facing accountability for brutality in support of ICE. If there’s one thing a police department cannot abide it’s a reminder they are servants of the law, not the Law. In every city’s politics police are the date-rapiest department, never taking “No!” for an answer.

For following through on the suit that will cost taxpayers of St. Paul (does Henry even live there?) win or lose, Henry should be tossed out on his irresistible rear.

I can’t remember ever being more angry with my city’s leaders than the current embarrassment with the mayor and police chief. I had high hopes for Mayor Her, she appeared to be logical and grounded, exactly what the city needed. Instead, we find she has very poor judgment. It is time for Her to buck up and own it, no excuses, no story of reasons why, just admit repeated bad judgement and actions … and an unqualified apology to the chief and the citizens of St. Paul.

She should agree to some counseling and make a modest donation to a St. Paul nonprofit that serves victims of sexual harassment. The police chief should humbly accept this as a solution. I have a hard time believing that the chief has been traumatized in any way from the mayor’s actions. I expect he has experienced far more disturbing situations during his many years of service. Whatever motivated him to pursue action has been accomplished … let’s move on from this sad chapter and save the city many hundreds of thousands of dollars and wasted hours.

What’s good for the city of St. Paul needs to be the priority, I’m pretty sure both these individuals pledged this when accepting their important positions serving St. Paul … now is the time!

There is a baffling silence about Social Security’s insolvency potential which is expected to happen around the year 2032. This is only only six years away. If nothing is done, we can expect a 23% cut in the monthly payments that recipients currently receive.

Generations have supported previous and current recipients the program. We’ve as a nation have supported grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, siblings, friends and neighbors. It has been mandated by our federal government for citizens to pay into the program.

Social Security is not designed to make its recipients wealthy. It’s designed to keep recipients above the federally measured poverty limit.

About one out of every five citizens is receiving Social Security. Even then, about 10% of the recipients are already receiving income and are still below the poverty limit. If nothing is done to shore up the Social Security system, don’t be surprised to hear about this 10% doubling, tripling, quadrupling to some number.

And don’t be surprised about homelessness among seniors doubling, tripling, or quadrupling from what it is now among seniors.

Why the silence in federal debates among current candidates for federal office? The window of opportunity to fix Social Security funding issues is rapidly closing. Where’s the sense of urgency to resolve the pending partial insolvency issues in the Social Security system? Do our candidates care?

There is growing criticism of U.S. aid, primarily military, to Israel, which totals $12.5 billion since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. A fair question is: What do we get for it?

Tel Aviv is the Silicon Valley of the Middle East, developing advanced military innovations which are often battlefield tested and shared with the U.S. Military. The Iron Beam laser defense system designed to neutralize drone swarms and rocket attacks is just one of numerous examples of weapons which enhance our national security and save American lives.

Israel is the eyes and ears of the U.S. in the Middle East, providing us with real-time counter intelligence against Iran and its proxies Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houtis, in addition to Russia and China. It is no accident that we were able to eliminate the top two layers of Iranian leadership.

Finally, Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, serving as the front line bastion of western civilization against an Iranian regime with an apocalyptic mission to destroy our civilization; in doing so, Israel has suffered approximately 7,600 dead and wounded.

Though impossible to quantify, what do we get for our $12.5 billion aid to Israel? Far more than what we give!