Welcome to Thursday Thoughts! Cutting through the noise to bring you a dose of reason and common-sense commentary. Today’s lineup:

• Day of Solidarity
• U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar
• Possible Government Shutdown
• One More Thing

DAY OF SOLIDARITY:

MTN News reports that a group of Democratic state lawmakers from Montana is traveling to Minnesota this week as part of a multi-state effort to push back against what they consider the Trump administration’s “overreach” in that state.

Montana State Senator Cora Neumann, D-Bozeman, is one of the event’s organizers, according to MTN News. The event is bringing state lawmakers from across the country to the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul on Thursday for a “Day of Solidarity.” It comes days after a federal officer shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

The “Day of Solidarity” should not be confused with the 2018 movie, “Sicario: Day of the Soldado.” 😎

Neumann told MTN News that she sees this action as a way to stand up for states’ rights. She believes many people in Montana and across the country want to see immigration enforcement, but aren’t happy with the way U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies have been doing it.

I think Neumann hit the nail on the head in that last paragraph. 

She believes many people in Montana and across the country want to see immigration enforcement, but aren’t happy with the way U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies have been doing it.

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ILHAN OMAR:

With all the hatred shown by President Donald Trump and his MAGAs toward U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, I figured it was just a matter of time before someone attacked her. 

Omar was attacked while holding her monthly (in-person) town hall meeting. She has more courage than Montana officials Daines, Sheehy, Zinke, and Downing combined. They won’t face their constituents in person. After the attack, she continued with the town hall. 

Trump and other MAGAs say the attack was staged. Incredible. 

The attacker, according to the Associated Press (AP), has posted online in support of Trump. His name is Anthony Kazmierczak, age 55. He used a syringe to squirt liquid on Omar, which some reports say was apple cider vinegar. 

The Independent reported:

Details about the suspect are still emerging following the attack on Tuesday, but Kazmierczak’s younger brother told The Independent that his sibling is a “piece of s**t” with lifelong anger issues who has been fixated on the Somali-born lawmaker – and the Somali diaspora in general – for years.

“I’m not surprised this happened,” the brother said Wednesday morning in a phone interview from his home in North Carolina. “Not at all. Unfortunately, he and my mother are both right-wing extremists.”

Omar is very popular in her district. She normally wins her district with an average of 73% of the votes (4 elections). I hope she is not deterred from public service by the hatefulness of the MAGAs. 

POSSIBLE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN:

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said this week:

“Senate Democrats have made clear we are ready to quickly advance the five appropriations bills separately from the DHS funding bill before the January 30th deadline. The responsibility to prevent a partial government shutdown is on Leader Thune and Senate Republicans. If Leader Thune puts those five bills on the floor this week, we can pass them right away. If not, Republicans will again be responsible for another government shutdown.”

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said the following on the Senate floor:

“Mr. President, funding for a substantial portion of the government runs out this week, and we are on the clock to pass the remaining fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills.

“Productive talks are ongoing, and I urge my Democrat colleagues to continue their engagement and find a path forward that will avoid a needless shutdown and not jeopardize full funding for key agencies like FEMA and the Coast Guard.

“We need to fund these and other essential agencies and finish our 2026 appropriations work now.”

The Democrats seem united about trying to rein in President Trump’s Department of Homeland Security, and feel that with the recent actions in Minnesota, they have some momentum. The U.S. House is in recess, so if the U.S. Senate changes the appropriations bills passed by the House, the bills would have to go back to the House. 

Several reports say the remaining six appropriations bills account for about 78% of the funding for the government. The agencies affected are the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, Homeland Security, State, Transportation, and Treasury.

The funding runs out Friday at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time. 

ONE MORE THING:

Raisin cookies, which look like chocolate chip cookies, are the main reason I have trust issues. 

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