It's important that the Minnesota flag represent everyone in the state. That's the reason we were given for why it should change.

But the tale of how we ended up with the widely panned new design, official as of Saturday, betrays that stated intent.

A thread.

https://twitter.com/SenTinaSmith/status/1788592146150310396

As outlined masterfully by Rep. Olson on Thursday, the process chosen by Democrats for replacing our state flag effectively excluded Minnesotans.

He offered a motion to have the new design voted upon by the people, noting that a 13-member commission had made the decision for all.

This week, Public Safety heard HF 181. It creates a mechanism within the Department of Human Rights for reporting "incidents that may not be criminal" but may represent "actual or perceived" bias.

I asked the author whether a bible verse was a reportable incident.

1/8 Follow-up from Commissioner Lucero sought to assuage my concern by noting her department is already "working on issues" around incidents "that are not necessarily crimes." She referred to issues of discrimination in the workplace or housing, for which we have civil law.

2/8

1/15 As a kid growing up, whenever I heard about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., my heart would swell with gratitude. 2/15 When I considered his dream of a world where we would be judged by the content of our character rather than the color of our skin, I felt like his words had made my life possible – literally.

1/ Hi there. Let's talk abortion. Whoa, whoa, don't run. I promise, it'll be fun. 2/ As I have gone about making a rhetorical defense of innocent unborn human lives, some pro-aborts have smugly offered a comparison which they believe settles the argument in their favor.