Community Solutions Podcast

www.commsolutionsmn.com- It’s been a while, thanks to a technical meltdown at Comm Solutions HQ. We will not be kept down! We’ve got a couple of back episodes to release, but we’re storming forward. In this episode, we discuss the passing of Senator Joe Lieberman, and his mark on the future of the Democratic Party. They have drifted so far since the days when senators like Mr Lieberman were welcome in the now super radical party. Speaking of which, we are losing a ton of farmland to the ultra rich and to the government… and apparently Minnesota is trying to give a bunch of state land “back” to Native Americans. The crazies are definitely running the DFL. The United States is playing a dangerous game with their support for Israel and/or Hamas/Hezbolla/Houthis/Iran. They are playing both sides and it is going to come back to bite us in the heinie. We went on the record at the time this was recorded to predict that the protests in this country are going to get ugly. Spoiler alert: they have. Jason went down to t

www.commsolutionsmn.com- The State of the Union address was uneventful, so maybe that was a win for President Biden, although his angry demeanor and use of the weord "illegal" kept him from getting a bump in the polls. This guy is in trouble and Democrats are starting to get nervous. Unfortunately, the Republicans weren't able to capitalize on the response either. That makes us nervous. The elections are coming faster than we think. Have the ballot issues been fixed? The drop boxes? What steps can conservatives take to close the gap and get more people to the polls? In the battleground states, President Trump is doing very well. Robert Kennedy Jr is going to get on the ballot in many of these states, which is currently siphoning more votes from President Biden, widening the distance between the two major party candidates. Democrats always have a huge advantage in early voting. Will Republicans finally embrace it enough to make up those deficits? All the complaining hasn't helped them to bring in enough new vo

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Super Tuesday proved a couple things, one that noone in the Republican Party is going to stop President Trump, and two... there's a pretty big contingent of the Democrat electorate that is voting "no preference" or "noncommitted" over President Biden. That's troublesome. Those folks may vote Biden in the end, but if they don't, it could potentially solidify some of the swing states for Trump. There's been a lot of speculation about President Trump's VP pick. Some people are even openly vying for it. We review some of the names on the list and give you our analysis. When MN Democrats are in power they attempt to pass their entire agenda, even if half of the state is against whatever they are doing. Take for instance, the new legislative session. The Dems want to enshrine LGBTQ "rights" in sports and to ban the removal of LGBTQ flags in schools. They want to require the usage of "proper" pronouns in HF4394. Rep Leigh Finke is behind most of these fascistic trans bills that are coming t

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Now that the 2024 presidential race is set between Trump v Biden, what is the Democrats play? It looks like Trump is ahead in all of the important places for now. What does that mean for the Dems in the House and the Senate? Will Biden even make it to the general election? Is Harris the heir apparent? Is it time for them to look to 2026 legislative elections, and just skip it this year? The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with the nations of the world to create a set of protocols to future pandemic response. This isn't meant for coordination between nations. This is to give the WHO sweeping powers to declare a worldwide pandemic and control the behaviors of billions of individuals around the world. This is a war against "disinformation", "misinformation", and "malinformation". This is what the World Economic Forum said was the greatest threat (including climate change) at Davos this year. They've got to shut us up so they can control the narrative. This agreement is an off

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Another state primary down, and another state primary solidly in the "W"column for President Trump. Nevertheless, Nikky Haley is staying in the race with no path to the nomination. It's certainly her right to do so, but at what point is she helping Joe Biden and the Democrats? We declare the inauigural "Conspiracy Week", where we discuss our favorites from JFK, to AI, and the crazy things we see happening with the Biden administration. Lastly, we discuss the previous purpose of NATO and what it has become. It was devised to stop the advance of communism in post war Europe, but after the fall of the U.S.S.R., there was really no need for NATO anymore. Don't worry, outdated government doesn't ever go away, it just gets repurposed. The scope of NATO has expanded, the number of countries have grown, and has us head to head against Russia once again. Are we on the brink of war with Russia? Will Ukraine be admitted? NATO has a budget that's over $1 trillion annually (largely funded by the U

www.commsolutionsmn.com- The Robert Hur report came out, not clearing President Biden of wrongdoing, but rather claiming that he is incompetant to stand trial, so no charges. So if he's too bad off to stand trial, how is he well enough to be the president of the United States? Which is it? Are you comfortable with that? ...or are they trying to expose him to get rid of him? We discuss, but would love to hear what you think. There has been a ton of discussion around the recent "Border Bill", it's defeat in the House, and the new Senate Foreign Aid Bill... just not in the mainstram news. Speaker Mike Johnson promised that the Border Bill was DOA. There was quite a bit of accusation floating around, that the Republicans were anti-border, but there was no honesty around the details of this bill. There was a small sliver of money going to the border, but half of the money in the bill was going to Ukraine. There's money going to Israel, but also to Gaza. There's money going to our military in these various areas wh

www.commsolutionsmn.com- This last week, Ilhan Omar made a speech that was smilar to a Donald Trump speech... except that it was about Somalia. It called for a Somalia-first policy, including a secure Somalian border. If the Squad didn't have hypocrisy, it wouldn't have any political strategy at all. Never mind that she took an oath to put our country and our constitution before all others and to defend it against all enemies, she was elected to represent everyone in MNCD5,  not just one group within it. Of course no one else's interpretation of the Somali language was accurate and the local news media either ignored it or ran cover for her. The Democrats seem to be ok with it too, as any challengers have been soundly put down. Their own undemocratic primary process is designed to keep people out that the party doesn't want. We can't keep our own border secure, because there is no political will in the Executive Branch to do it. We've seen people on the terrorist watch list come across. We've seen all kinds o

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Well... It's January, and with that, we have new city council and school board members in select locations. St Paul has set a record. No, not for the most females on an elected body, but for possibly the most juvenile and uninformed public meeting in history. They sat around and cheered that there were no elected men on the council, had a guy run around the room with a bubble machine, and praised Hamas... minus one council woman. The Iowa caucuses just happened, and President Trump cleaned house. It's early in the process, but things look like he's the one to beat. We give you our expert analysis on Iowa and the contests that lay beyond. We also address the recent attacks on our free speech. Where does free speech go too far? Misinformation/malinformation on social media? Petitioning our government for grievences? Violent rhetoric? Burning down buildings?  The elites and world leaders are pushing to shout down any dissenting voices. People are called conspiracy theorists, just for sta

www.commsolutionsmn.com- We’re back with season 8, and we’re off to a raging start. We’re going after an issue that seems like a national issue, but it really doesn’t get more local than what’s in your wallet. The Federal Reserve has been talking about issuing a new currency… a progammmable digital-based currency. This isn’t the first time a new US currency has been implemented. Most times the American consumer got the short end of the stick on the conversion. This new currency will no longer have physical money, but will be completely digital and run through the Federal Reserve system. This will have huge implications for you, because the Fed will be able to track and trace every dollar you earn, invest, and spend. This currency will be programmable, which means that they can control how you use your money. All they have to do is program the restrictions on your account to allow you buy certain things or not, spend your money somewhere or not, or donate to a certain organization or not. The Chinese are alrea

www.commsolutionsmn.com- We have recorded 299 episodes over seven seasons. That's a bunch more than most podcasts. We have stood the test of time, and taught many in Minnesota (and elsewhere) all about the ins and outs of local government. We've done shows on budgets, government handouts, local elections, transit, property taxes, and bike lanes. You can only tear apart so many Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports before it sounds like we're doing the same show over and over. We're not going anywhere... after all we still face the same old problems. But we're facing a whole lot of new problems as well. We want to make sure that we look at any issue that affects us locally and continue to provide solutions that might actually change the game that's being played. We're looking for people of courage and innovation to stand up against the corruption and growing shadow of autocracy in our world. Join us as we tease what's to come; the future of the Community Solutions Podcast. Have you checked out our Spotif

www.commsolutionsmn.com- It's no secret, we hate odd year elections. Very few people come out, and the majority of those are activists, union members, and the uber political. Should 3,500 people decide who makes policy for a city of 50,000? Why don't we just make it easy for people to vote? We hear so much about making it as easy as possible for everyone to have their voice heard, and then so many places have these odd year elections. They are done solely so one side can control the election results. This is the wrong way to go about it. You will find odd year elections in small cities like Appleton and in big cities like Minneapolis and St Paul. Some races have competition and some are completely uncontested. How do races even go uncontested, let alone an entire slate of races in a single city or school district? There were numerous referendums and sales tax implementations on the ballot, which passed more in the metro than outstate. Minneapolis also has a number of races where candidates are either on th

www.commsolutionsmn.com- The war in Israel is front and center on the world stage, and there are a number of things that are starting to surface, that we didn't think that we would ever see again. When Hamas blindsided Israeli families and concertgoers on not only their Sabbath, but also on a huge religious holiday, it proved its cowardice and barbarism. At least everyone is condemning it. Well... not everyone. We are seeing universities engaging in professor-led protests, where hordes of rabid demonstrators shout slogans that are code language for killing the Jews. This is totally unacceptable on every level. The Democratic Socialists of America have been squarely on the side of Hamas. We've seen the pure hate coming from people like Ilhan Omar and Rashide Tlaib, but the DSA in Minnesota has been hard at work spreading discrimination. This was on full display at the protest they were involved in at Bryant Square in Minneapolis. DSA has Minnesota chapters in the Twin Cities, Duluth, Red River Valley, and t

www.commsolutionsmn.com- If we want to change the direction of our government, it takes us getting serious about our local elections. Top-down government never works, but yet we almost completely ignore the offices that are closest to us. The real problem is that we are playing a game that progressives created and wrote the rules to. Almost every city in Minnesota (and really, in the nation) are either a weak mayor/council or manager/council form of government. The progressives created this so that administrators could run the day-to-day operations of the government. Our government was set up to have separation of powers to limit the strength and function of each branch. We need to have some elected representation to provide oversight of the city employees. That should be the function of the mayor. The mayor should decide the direction of the administration, have veto power, propose a budget, etc. Stong mayors have traditionally had a full-time position, and in smaller cities, that's just not feasible. We

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Our fantastic legislature passed a 1% increase in the sales tax this year that just took effect. This pushes Minneapolis' sales tax up over 9% and St. Paul is almost at 10%! Of course, the DFL wants to claim that this increase is "for the kids", yet the kids never seem to be any better off. Our taxes keep going up, and it's getting harder to keep up with the increases. Part of this money is set aside for "affordable housing" and the rest is for transportation. They want to build affordable homes, rental units, and provide rental assistance. It's part of the $0.50 tax on deliveries and pegs the gas tax to inflation. As if that wasn't enough, Golden Valley wants to go over and above that to implement another 1.25% sales tax (along with further bonding) to go toward public buildings because they haven't saved a single red cent. If the sales tax isn't approved by voters, Golden Valley says they will find another way to make you pay it. The cost for these projects is $190 million over

www.commsolutionsmn.com- We hear all around us about the impending doom that is climate change. A group called C40 Cities in collaboration with Arup advisors have come up with some ambitious climate goals so that we can all save the earth... or something like that. There's a problem, however, that if we do these things, we will have to completely give up our way of life. Their JUMP Campaign demands things that no one wants to do, including the elites that say these things and then will keep doing them after they've forced you to stop. First, they expect that we will eat a largely plant-based diet. Second, that you buy no more than three new pieces of clothes per year. They also want to limit your freedom to travel. Are you sold yet? Washington DC, New York, San Francisco, Houston, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philidelphia, Portland, Phoenix, Seattle, New Orleans, Miami, Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal have all signed on to implement these standards. Do you like your car? Too bad! Do you like to

www.commsolutionsmn.com-  Ramsey County is trying to pass a $842 million budget, and there is no expense spared. It's 750 pages of endless spending to the tune of almost $1 billion. They have huge personnel costs, as they have well over 4,000 employees. There is all sorts of state aid and federal aid, mixed with bonding, to meet the demands that they have laid out. Ramsey County has hundreds of millions in debt. That's a ton of extra money that its residents are paying just in interest payments. Ramsey County doesn't care. You're just an open wallet to them, and most governing bodies have the same attitude. We also discuss the $535 million funding gap for Southwest Light Rail. Hennepin County and the Met Council decided to get together for a little "Let's Make A Deal" to cover this endless financial sinkhole. Have you checked out our Spotify playlist? At the beginning of each episode, Jason quotes some song lyrics that have to do with the subject matter of the podcast. Andrew never knows what they ar

www.commsolutionsmn.com- It's no secret, our school districts are struggling with discipline issues. The inmates run the asylum, with schools allowing them to talk back to teachers, be physically violent with teachers, and with grading standards being erased. Parents no longer back the teachers, and the Teacher's Union is the one empowering the students over the teachers. Teachers need to give feedback to their unions and threaten to stop paying dues if they don't start to back them. That said, Minnesota School Resource Officers (SRO's) are being pulled from schools by the police and sheriff departments because a new law from Walz and the MN Legislature have made it impossible to restrain students, even if they pose a danger to themselves or someone else. For fear of being sued, these departments have pulled their officers. Some conservatives are clamoring for a special session, but do we really believe that will change things? We don't trust any of 'em. We also remember Bob Barker passing away at the

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Just about everyone agrees that the Met Council is way too powerful. They threaten cities with litigation if they don't fall into line. So what glorious ideas are both Republicans and Democrats agreeing upon to fix this problem? Dismantle their authority? Of course not! We're going to elect them! People don't know who their county commissioner or park district representative is, and yet they will make an educated decision regarding their Met Council rep? Both parties in our legislature are making excuses as to why they can't strip the Met Council of its power over our counties and cities. There is little political will to make significant reforms over just changing the window dressings. The legislature is rushing this through, wanting some elections as early as 2024. Who will be ready to run? Only the people they are already grooming. We also discuss a recent meeting one of us attended in a room full of lefties regarding John Marty's bill for single payer healthcare in MN. It's

Golden Valley is a mess. In their pursuit for "equity" they are destroying the city. They wrote an equity plan that required all contractors looking to do business in Golden Valley to answer certain equity-related questions. They put equity ahead of fairness and have a plan to ensure things work that way. Equity has become the foremost standard in hiring police officers, which by the way, they are at 50% capacity. Scott Nadeau (a whitey) was the interim police chief, wanted the job, and was passed over for Virgil Green (who is black). Mayor Shep Harris influenced the decision toward Green. Jesse Smith (who was on a city equity-based task force) encouraged people to find dirt on Nadeau and engage in race-based hiring. Are hiring quotas a fair way to grow a workforce? They acknowledge that Golden Valley is built on stolen Native American land, but don't do a dang thing to give the land back. Put your money where your mouth is. Why aren't they doing anything about it? Because they're not serious about it.

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Minneapolis Public Schools just approved a $976 million budget. That's almost $1 billion! They cite rising costs and lower enrollment. Shouldn't fewer students equal fewer dollars spent? Maybe they can afford it? Not a chance. The district is running a $42 million deficit. This is absolutely irresponsible. Kim Ellison (yes, of the Keith Ellison "Ellisons") is a major factor here. Minneapolis is spending $27,000 per kid. That's a lot of money. Where is it all going? Minneapolis is talking about closing schools and has great ideas for those locations... like housing homeless people. They are basing the poor results on COVID lockdowns and the recent teacher's strike. They refuse to discuss poor student performance. The state of Minnesota is threatening to take over the district to right the ship, but we know that won't help stop the madness. We also discuss the case of John Thompson's kid killing some people with his car. The video was leaked, and the Hennepin County Attorney, Mary