Somali fraud

Fraud on a huge scale has been uncovered over the last year in Minnesota. Largely, though not entirely, those involved were Somali. It's a bigger issue than the gangs (yesterday's post). It got the attention of not only the state, but the whole country. 

Social welfare government programs were the target of the fraud. Nick Shirley, not a professional journalist, published a video of his visit last December to multiple childcare facilities run by Somalis. Site after site appeared to be caring for few or no kids. 

Yet they were drawing huge payments from the state of Minnesota. Altogether, the fraud schemes stole hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars from taxpayers.

State government officials, especially the governor and the lieutenant governor, apparently turned a blind eye to evidence of fraud in these programs even though they were alerted to the evidence. The threat of being called "racist" was seemingly enough to get their cooperation.

If you are American, you probably know most of this. If you're not, this is a simple explanation for you of what's going on here. It's all in the courts now, and convictions have started. But the politicians aren't being prosecuted - yet.

The Somali community in Minnesota has earned their notoriety.

from Imprimus

Somali gangs

"A dozen Somali gangs with hundreds of members, mainly teenagers, are wreaking havoc in Minnesota, committing public shootings and murders out in the open, according to local officials." 

One official is the Ramsey County sheriff. He says that up to 300 young Somalis are involved in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul). Gang battles arise from social media and rivalries, not from drug traffic which is more common among criminal gangs. 

"Somali gangs were responsible for at least 14 homicides in the past two years, as well as over 100 shootings" in the metro area according to the sheriff's office. 

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, head of Minnesota's largest public law office, flatly denies the situation described by the sheriff in a political statement a few months ago:

"There are no roving gangs of Somali people harassing, threatening, or doing anything inappropriate to community members. Those are simply lies."

Well, somebody is definitely lying.

from Washington Examiner

Fly test fail fix

Starship was scheduled to launch yesterday on test flight #13. But it didn't. It's a disappointment for all concerned, and that no doubt includes those who invested their own money in the success of SpaceX last month by purchasing the spaceflight company's stock.

"The stock is on a five-day losing streak." 

Some engines failed to ignite "triggering an automatic launch abort," as Elon reported on X. Two of them will be replaced by new engines and then the test flight can proceed next week. 

It's just as Jim Bridenstine (former NASA administrator) described SpaceX five years ago. They "fly, test, fail, fix - repeatedly." Yes, that's SpaceX, and that's life, too.

from CNBC

Nuclear & NASA 3

By the end of 2028, we will have launched our mission to Mars on the "first-ever nuclear reactor-powered interplanetary spacecraft" -- if Administrator Isaacman's ambitious goals come to pass.

Called the SR-1, it will begin a new era in space flight. “After decades of study," he said, "and billions spent on concepts that have never left Earth, America will finally get underway on nuclear power in space.” 

Chemical propulsion (hydrogen and oxygen) is being used to power rockets now and will continue to enable escaping Earth's atmosphere. But nuclear will power movement in space. It's far more efficient. So, with the same volume of fuel, space craft will be able to go further and faster.

from MIT Technology Review

NASA changes

Every incoming executive probably has plans to change something in his new role. New NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has a plan for America's space program which he says will take us back to basics.

We need more launches, he says first, "on a yearly cadence." Can our Artemis-designated space vehicle, Boeing's SLS, keep up with that aggressive push in light of its history of missing both budgets and target dates? His response: "It's 100% achievable." With regard to past SLS failures, NASA will take responsibility to "make better decisions." I hope so.

An additional launch was added to the original Artemis plan. Artemis 3 will launch next year, 2027, because it's "imperative," he says, to practice the docking of the SLS with the lunar lander (made by either SpaceX or Blue Origin). No human feet will stand on the Moon's surface til Artemis 4 which is scheduled for 2028.

Voter cleanup

How frustrating it is to learn of illegal or corrupt practices happening in real time while also knowing that nothing is done about it. Many of us believe that some of our elections have been corrupted, but we don't have the power to stop it.

Judicial Watch does have the ability to get things accomplished in the legal arena. Using various actions, they've worked on cleaning up voter rolls in several states. Their lawsuits in Oregon and Colorado led to the elimination of 1.1 million ineligible names recently, people who had died or moved away or were otherwise ineligible to vote.

Added to other initiatives, they have managed to get a total of over six million voter names across the country off the voter rolls--names which should not receive a mail-in ballot for the above reasons. 

It's good to know that somebody in a position to make a difference is getting things done.

from Judicial Watch

Somaliland

Migrants from the African country of Somalia, known in America for fraud and crime, seem to have earned a bad reputation. So, the people of Somaliland, located next to it on the African continent, would like to have it understood that they are a different country.

Though each country speaks the Somali language, Somaliland has a different system and a different currency. Their one and only terror incident in 35 years, according to the official below, was perpetrated by a terrorist from the United States who was radicalized in Minnesota. A proud and stable democracy, Somalilanders refused an offer from China.

As the official says, they live in a tough neighborhood.

Welcome, world!

So much energy, so much passion is happening during the World Cup hosted in the US this summer! It's been thrilling to see global visitors have fun here, and to hear many say they felt a warm, friendly welcome. Somebody produced an awesome song about it.

Scots celebrated their Scottish-ness, Norwegians their Viking-ness; as the song below says, "Flags from every nation waving proud and on display!" We loved it. Only a small minority of us stick up their noses (meaning) at people who love their own country. Do I love America, too? I sure do. 

Our visitors liked things I wouldn't have expected, like Walmart and Costco and Buc-ee's, things in our day-to-day ordinary life and . . American food, another surprise. Media portrayal of America did not lead them to expect overall abundance in our way of life. I'm glad they came.

Enjoy 😄

Quiet

A few readers of this blog went back to something from 2013. It got my attention, so I went back and read this 13-year-old post again. It's still good! Hope you enjoy:

Introvert

When I reserved Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking at the library, there were 500 people ahead of me.  It took about six months to finally get the book. The author did a TED talk which is a favorite of Bill Gates.

Somehow this self-identified introvert woman has really made headlines, and it cannot have happened by accident.   So, she put herself out there in uncomfortable situations by speaking in public and promoting and doing whatever she had to do, all to affirm that it's really ok to be an introvert who likes to do none of this 😄 

Author Susan Cain says on her website, "I’m actually not sure if I went to the cafés to write or wrote so I could sit around in cafés, which is my favorite activity."

Here's her TED Talk, which has been viewed by 4.7 million people. She says that introverts should be allowed to do what they do best (see my post "Strengthen Your Strengths"), and that is to think and create in solitude.  

Space debris 3

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

America's Space Force has a program in place to mitigate collision risk. Its 18th Space Defense Squadron monitors and tracks "all artificial objects in Earth’s orbit to ensure the safety of our satellites, astronauts, and space exploration endeavors.”

Satellite operators use "AI-powered maneuver planning systems [to] analyze conjunction data and suggest safe trajectory adjustments in real-time."

Clearly, blowing up a satellite (yesterday's video) would turn one dangerous object into many and is decidedly not the right thing to do.

Taking responsibility for what you send into space is the right thing to do. So, Starlink (as the largest launcher by far) has a plan. They monitor their satellites and de-orbit the ones that fail in a controlled, safe way. In the 6 months ending May 31, 2026, they "successfully executed controlled atmospheric deorbit" on 216 satellites. As they descended, eventually there was "total thermal destructive burn-up." 

Watch the video to see how Starlink actually works to deliver internet access:

Space debris 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

All told, there's more than a million pieces of space debris greater than one centimeter. 

Each functioning satellite in orbit represents a significant financial investment for the country or company that launched it, and continuing investment in operators who maintain it to keep the data flowing. Collision is a growing threat which they take seriously.

Yes, they have already happened (video below). One satellite stopped working and was out of control when it crashed with an American satellite. Another was intentionally blown up by its country. Both resulted in thousands of fragments:

America's Space Force and the European Space Agency both have projects in place to mitigate the risk.

(cont'd tomorrow)

Space debris

Space looks mostly empty, and it is. But there's a bit of concern about the number of things humanity is putting into orbit.

Satellites of all kinds number 14,500 this year with 90 countries having at least one. They function for science, weather, military, communication, spy purposes. Starlink, providing internet connectivity, has 9900 up there (as of March 2026) with plans for a total of 42,000.

But there's more. Over 3000 defunct satellites are still orbiting though they no longer function. Rocket upper stages and fragments of old rockets or satellites also float through space.

Tens of thousands of pieces of "debris" (including functioning satellites) are being tracked. 

from "How Many Satellites Are in Orbit?"

(cont'd tomorrow)

Faith & freedom 3

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Human rights, responsibilities and liberty were granted by our Creator (see the Declaration). American founders and the people believed the government must support these things. So, they fought a war to separate themselves from a tyrannical king and to set up a self-governing system--not an easy task.  

After the Revolution, Founder John Adams had this to say about the government they instituted: 

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.”

Os Guinness, the interviewee in Wednesday's video, has explained the American system well. Freedom requires virtue, virtue requires faith, and true faith must be uncoerced--it requires freedom (image).

Happy Independence Day, Americans! Respect your heritage and enjoy your holiday.

Faith & freedom 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post) 

Liberty was, in one sense, the goal of all the revolutions: liberty from the ruling regime. 

Les Francais (the French) wanted release from their monarchy. But they murdered their king outright, then moved on to aristocracy in a "nightmare bloodbath of terror." Faith in God was present among the people, but it wasn't the foundation of the revolution. Priests and nuns were also targeted in the bloodbath. 

Russia's Tsar and his family were killed by Bolshevik revolutionaries in 1918 to make way for communist rule. Both in Russia and after the revolution in mid-century China, millions of their own people were killed to make way for regime change. Neither revolution resulted in the people gaining the freedom to govern themselves.

But America's revolution did bring that about. Faith in the God of the Bible had grown deep in its people, largely descendants of the strong people of conscience, faith and courage who had dared come to this land. The Great Awakening increased that faith's presence. They knew God was their ultimate Sovereign, not the government.

from NY Post

(cont'd tomorrow)

Faith & freedom

"Many educated people have no idea about this," says Eric Metaxas in the video below. In writing his book, Revolution, he found out that our founders were motivated by a strong desire for freedom inspired by their Christian faith - and schools tend to neglect that faith connection.

Other revolutionary wars happened in other countries, but usually they didn't end well. The French revolution (which happened soon after ours) produced mass executions, less freedom, and eventually a new dictator (Napoleon). 

Our own revolution produced peace, more freedom, and a form of government where the people were free to govern themselves. Metaxas's book documents the faith in God that led to a different sort of revolution resulting in good outcomes. It led to "covenant" power of the sort in the Bible, not to "hierarchy" power like the sort in the Roman Empire.

(cont'd tomorrow)