ALSO, August 1: very interesting informed comment on the current Nuclear talk, as well as information about the 81st anniversary (Aug 6&9) of Hiroshima and Nagasaki observances in this area, both here.

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The Minnesota Primary Election is August 11, and because our law allows early voting, the vote has already started.

I’ll vote early, but wanted to wait until I could hear Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in person – which opportunity came July 30 (photo).

Peggy is the DFL (Democrat) endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate.  Rep. Angie Craig, also a Democrat and current Mn Congresswoman, passed on the normal endorsement process for the same seat – not uncommon.

Of course no candidate, or no person, has the luxury of an in-person face-off with a candidate. Even an average size and population state, as Minnesota is, has millions of potential voters and tens of thousands of square miles, and only two Senators.  So, when I have the opportunity to see and hear a candidate in person, I accept it.  I have my opinion about the process of selecting candidates – that’s for another time.   (I’ll be voting for and support Peggy.   I have no issue with Angie, but can only vote for one.)

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, at Woodbury MN July 30, 2026

On Thursday, Peggy made a very positive impression to a good sized crowd.  She has done a great number of local visits across our large state.

“Second-in-commands”, as Lt. Gov., VP, and the like, generally are out of the spotlight, and so they are often not well known, even if their role is crucial.  Think of VP Harry Truman who became President when FDR died; Lyndon Johnson after the death of JFK; Gerald Ford after Nixon resigned (VP Spiro Agnew had resigned earlier)…Richard Nixon was vice-president to Eisenhower and later ran for President; George H.W. Bush was vice-president to Reagan, and later became president.

In recent Minnesota history Karl Rolvaag was Lt Gov before being elected Governor.  Ditto for Rudy Perpich.  Earlier in Minnesota history there were 7 others.

The occupant of second chair, so to speak, may not be as visible, but the occupant has to be ready, just in case, and “just in case” does happen, really pretty frequently.

Peggy has paid far more than her dues in public service, details at her website.  Leave the content of the legally anonymous dark money attack ads out of your deliberations for her (or any) candidate.  I’ll comfortably cast my own vote for her.  A friend who has worked with her said  “I’ve never met anyone who works harder than she does! She truly cares about people and helping everyone. There have been times when she and I haven’t agreed but she always listens and tries to find common ground. However, she is never afraid to fight for what’s right.

At the Thursday gathering, the “f” (fraud) word came up.  Peggy handled the question competently.

I’ve taken considerable interest in this issue since the beginning.  The attack narrative is that Minnesota is soft and my party is incompetent on crime.  I totally disagree.  Long and short: Fraud doesn’t start at Minnesota’s borders, nor is it the exclusive province of the Somali community, which is portrayed to be collectively guilty.  Fraud is a problem everywhere.  The longest Minnesota sentence so far in the fraud cases was given to a white lady who grew up in the next door suburb to me – 41 years was her sentence.  Only about 1 of 1000 Somali’s (about 60 in all) in this state were perpetrators who in various ways cashed in on the fraud.

Every state and country has crooks, just waiting for opportunities.  They are like germs in pandemics: they look for openings and attack.  Deliver us from the evil of mal-information, which is epidemic in this era, and likely to get much worse.

We’re stuck with negative, deceptive and dishonest message mongers exploiting our freedom of speech.  The tactic works.  But this doesn’t mean we have to buy the BS messages.  Consider the source, the content and the context.

Minnesotans, vote by August 11.  The six other statewide primary candidates I support are here.  I support the endorsement process.

POSTNOTE 1:  Earlier in the day of Lt. Gov Flanagan’s meeting with us, the front page headline of the Minnesota Star Tribune screamed “St. Paul mayor facing sex harassment probe“.  The new mayor, a woman, is only at the point of being accused, but this instantly became front page news.  I remarked to friends later the same day that if the circumstances involved a white male official the odds would be pretty solid that the allegations would not even be news especially in older days.   (The mayor is female and of Hmong ancestry.)  Stay tuned.

On the same front page was another headline “Cyberattack hits state’s water utilities“.  There was almost immediately a conclusion shared publicly by the President of the United States, that of course it was Gov. Tim Walz’s fault and the plot was Iranian based.  Front page news?  “Truth”?

These were reminders that this election season will be slimy, likely far worse than normal times.  Minnesotans which are apparently at or near the top of the Presidents enemy list, needs to be prepared to be dragged through the mud.  For everyone: Be very wary and aware.

POST NOTE 2: I did a post referencing Tony Fauci July 30.  You can read it here.

COMMENTS:

from Larry: