How to Speak Minnesotan

A Prairie Home Companion from American Public Media: "HOW TO SPEAK MINNESOTAN

Dear Garrison,
I realize that your show's main pull is nostalgia for a Minnesota (or an America) that once was. Ethnic Norwegians, Swedes, and German Catholics living in sheltered communities.

However, the Minnesota of today is largely urban-centered and that Norwegian/Swede cultural domination is slowly giving way to Hmong, Laotians, and Vietnamese, Somalis and Ethiopians, Mexicans and Russian Jews. Perhaps your show could reflect this new Minnesota a bit more.

Thanks,
Douglas, from St. Paul

Douglas, the Somalis and Ethiopians who listen to the show regularly like it just the way it is. They feel that it teaches them something about American English and the midwestern culture in which they find themselves. It was strange to them when they arrived, and the show makes it less so. You are naive about culture, my friend, if you think that we can put it on and take it off as one might put on a serape or put some African carvings up on the mantle. We are who we are. Foreigners realize that. When they come to the midwest, they find a very distinct culture. It doesn't reflect them particularly and they have to accommodate to it, just as you would need to make peace with the French if you lived in France. "

Marketplace: Should we fear China... or ourselves?

Marketplace: Should we fear China... or ourselves?

Catholic Charities USA - Caring for the Strangers Among Us

Catholic Charities USA - Caring for the Strangers Among Us
Selected Teachings from Our Catholic Faith Tradition

The essential starting point for Catholic social teaching is the dignity of every human life. Created by God and redeemed by Christ, every person possesses a fundamental dignity that comes from God, not from any human attribute or accomplishment…This clear commitment to the dignity and value of every human life must be reflected both in individual choices and actions and in the policies and structures of society.

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WSJ.com - Deja Vu

WSJ.com - Deja Vu

Mae M. Ngai | The Strange Career of the Illegal Alien: Immigration Restriction and Deportation Policy in the United States, 1921-1965 | Law and Histor

Mae M. Ngai | The Strange Career of the Illegal Alien: Immigration Restriction and Deportation Policy in the United States, 1921-1965 | Law and History Review, 21.1 | The History Cooperative

No statute of limitations

There is no statute of limitations for illegal immigration like there is for many crimes.

In Minnesota, for example, charges in most crimes have to be brought within three years, after which the perpetrator cannot be prosecuted. Arson is five years, as is theft, forgery or fraud. Bribery of a public official is six years. Sex offenses against adults are nine years. Kidnappings and death crimes have no statute of limitations. (Source)

Our current system has no statute of limitations for illegal immigration, which isn't even a crime in most circumstances. No matter how long you've been here, you never emerge from that threat of deportation. An illegal immigrant could get in more trouble for simply being here than for arson, theft, bribery, or sex offenses.