The streets of the Twin Cities are currently roiling in community outrage in a rare case of civil unrest in the area. Okay, “rare” is a bit subjective, given just five years ago the place resembled a block-long Weber Grill, for nights at a time, but still, this is not every month in Minneapolis. The latest fracas is a twofold conflict over ICE agents rolling into town and the fact that they are particularly focused on Somali residents, following the revelations of sprawling taxpayer fraud in the community.
Some speculated that the winter conditions would tamp down the protesters, but that was bypassing the reality that these are people who choose to live there. The gentry of Minny are descendants of Scandinavians who left the tundra-like conditions of their home country and settled in the new country in a place just as frigidly miserable. They actually appreciate the dramatic effect from the plumes of vapor wafting in the camera lights as they deliver profanities hurled at federal agents.
But this does raise some questions regarding the presence of that Somali community in the region. Just how is it that people hailing from a desert-filled nation have come to establish themselves in the frosty region whose primary source of warmth is being a hotbed for hockey? The Census Bureau pegs the city as having the highest concentration of Somalis in the U.S., so what was it about this locale that was drawing them, when previously the state would only register in the public consciousness due to Randy Moss, Mary Tyler Moore, or Al Franken groping a snoozing female soldier?
It is not hard to grasp why the people would be interested in bugging out of Somalia. To start, it is tough to measure the overall health of their economy as the country has no formal domestic agencies covering their activities; they leave that task up to other nations to figure out. Among the poorest nations, the place sports an embarrassing per capita GDP that ranks around that of a high school sophomore with a part-time gig at Burger King. The country’s primary economic drivers come from livestock, and family members in other countries cutting checks at Western Union locations. On the rankings of all nations in the United Nations Human Development Index, Somalia lands at the bottom, bested (worsted?) by only Sudan.
Adding to this economic malaise was a civil war during the late 1980s and 1990s, with various factions working to oust the totalitarian military regime. Then, after toppling the tin pot totalitarian, the half dozen or so factions began violently bickering over who would control the place. So sure, with miserable money concerns and a government less stable than an IKEA coffee table put together by a methadone addict, people wanted to flee.
The mystery lies in the choice of location. Somalia encompasses the majority of the Horn of Africa and is perched directly on top of the equator. Its climate boasts two separate dry seasons that take up over half of the calendar. Berbera, the coastal city with the country’s biggest port facilities, sports average afternoon temperatures in the triple digits for roughly a four-month stretch.
So, naturally, these folks fled to the U.S. and set up shop where snowfall is measured against the toddlers. (“By the end of the weekend, we expect accumulation to reach Timmy’s height.”) The question is why? The Somali exodus is largely regarded as having taken place in the 1990s, but it began on the outskirts. Credit goes to the government for fostering welcoming policies and harboring a disinterest in enforcing the rules.
The first wave settled in the town of Marshall, about 150 miles west of the metroplex. A meatpacking plant was located there with casual labor restrictions and in desperate need of workers, because who wants to be rendering cows in the dead of winter? But if you are a Somali who is ducking mortar fire from any direction courtesy of the half dozen communist militia groups, slicing open steers in sub-zero conditions does not sound all that bad.
So now the bulk of Somalis in the nation are in Minnesota, with the figure in Minneapolis surging past 80,000, so if you are wondering why Mayor Jacob Frey is filming hostage videos of himself wincing as he eats in Somali restaurants, you grasp why.
What drew more into the region is what local author Ahmed Ismail Yusuf describes as the state’s open policies and hospitality benefits, which align with the Somali culture term of “mortisoor.” You and I recognize this by another term: Sanctuary Cities. As a result, you have this community over the years becoming entrenched in the area, resulting in some rather imbalanced welfare figures.
As Ilhan Omar tries selling that the Somali community has been a vital cog in the development of Minneapolis, the data says otherwise. In the city, just over half of the Somali households receive food stamps, about three-quarters have at least one member receiving Medicaid, and with both newer arrivals and residents there for at least a decade, over 80 percent receive some form of welfare. That is a hell of a lot of mortisoor being doled out. For the other residents, the totals come in at 7 percent, 18 percent, and 21 percent, respectively.
This paints a picture of a community that has not only learned to game the system but has possibly overwhelmed it, and they have also endeared themselves to state politicians who appear to have participated in this tidal wave of graft. Ever wonder notice how Minnesota politicians have such prominence in the Democratic Party? The DNC picked longtime Minnesota operative Ken Martin as its new director last year. Here is Keith Ellison caught on tape schmoozing and promising influence to Somali leaders, and there is Ilhan Omar suddenly becoming a millionaire 30 times over in no time at all.
And then there was the bat guano-crazy decision to have Tim Walz as the running mate to Kamala last year. The charisma-free goober, the hunter who could not load a gun, and football coach who says AOC “runs a mean pick-six,” baffled most when he was chosen. Now the probable case of his being a conduit to the bilked billions makes his selection less murky. Look at how Kammy was able to ring up a $1.5 billion campaign bill in her truncated bid, and suddenly the choice of the kickline governor who talks faster than a guilty suspect comes a bit more into focus.
Amusingly, the unsavvy Walz even tipped his hand back during the vice presidential debate. If you are curious why he would step down recently from running for office again, look back at that debate. He bragged then about how he was making it easier for people in his state to get into the childcare game. Now that it has been exposed that he made it so easy to open a kids' care program that kids did not even have to be involved for that money to roll in, he is running for the hills – if there are hills in the Cayman Islands.
So now it makes more sense why a largely nomadic people from an arid region are ensconced in the icy climes of Minneapolis. The amount of cash that has been distributed is more than enough to acquire Patagonia ski coats and fur-lined Uggs. With complicit Dems and unchecked tax dollars, they have plenty of layers to keep them warm.