We don't know. I mean, we welcome immigrants here. Some of them you kind of raise your eyebrow. They come from very warm climates, and it's got to be quite a shock to come to Minnesota. Is there any particular reason they're here in Minnesota? I think for the most part it was economic opportunity. We also had the lowest unemployment rate in the United States of America. Other than this current recession that we're in, which is also national, Minnesota's economy has been phenomenal, so it's not unusual for us to get that type of activity going on in Minnesota, and up until Sept. 11 there was no reason to distrust it. Now maybe there will be a little more lack of trust, now there will be more investigation as to companies and what goes on here.
And again, a lot of these people, in the case of the Somalis, they may have been duped too. They don't know what they're contributing to. You know, many charities, you contribute to and then lo and behold you find out later they're not what they portrayed themselves to be. So again, people need to have the self-discipline and self-control to investigate for themselves: What is it that I'm involved with here? And don't be led into something that on the surface may seem good but underneath may not be. But I don't think it was meant that somehow the Somali population of Minnesota is involved in terrorist activities. I don't believe that. We've all seen some of our top charities not do exactly what they said they were going to do.
How do you grade the job that President Bush is doing so far?
I think he's doing very well. If you could look at a positive, though, I will say that I believe the war helped him, because had there not been Sept. 11, and had the recession hit, even though President Bush isn't responsible for that recession, you learn quick enough in these chairs that whoever's sitting here is going to get the blame regardless. So in his own popularity it's probably been very positive. Now, as a president, I think he's doing a very good job. He's leading the nation, I think his resolve is clear. I like the fact that he's speaking his mind very clearly and telling the public what his intentions are and what he's going to accomplish, and he doesn't seem to be wavering from that and I hope he continues on that track.
Do you think the war on terrorism is generally a good idea? Do you have any fears of it becoming bogged down, like a Vietnam or a War on Drugs?
Well, I think it's inevitable: We have to fight it. We were attacked and there's 4,000 dead people in New York. It's a case that I think the terrorists kept getting bolder and bolder because they saw us having no resolve. You know, they attacked a ship and got away with it. They attacked our two embassies and basically got away with it. They've been sniping at us for a long time. Well, now they've awakened a sleeping tiger, and I don't think it's quite what they had in mind. I think they're rockin' and reelin' and wonderin', "Whoops, maybe we got a little too bold and brash." And they'll pay the price for it now.
Would you want your son fighting in Afghanistan?
Would I want him fighting there? Of course not. I don't think anybody would want anybody to be fighting there. Do I think the cause is good enough? Yes, I do, and that's how I judge. It's a quick judgment: Would you send your son? And I would have to tell you that yes I would in this case.
How do you feel about the civil rights questions that are coming up, that have kind of shaped up as a battle between John Ashcroft and your old "Batman" co-star, Sen. Leahy? Where do you fall in that argument of civil rights vs. security?
Of the people we're going after? I feel they have no civil rights. Civil rights and the rights in our country are for our citizens. This is a declaration of war, and they should be treated the same as any other person who's the enemy. And in fact they're the worst enemy, because as I said, they're not targeting military against military, where you can deal with them and call them a prisoner of war, because they're an honorable military person who's just simply carrying out -- you know, I don't ever blame the soldiers. Let's remember, in normal times, war is the result of failed political policy. And the soldier is just a tool used by the particular government. They are not at fault. Which was the case in Vietnam. Too often we'd blame the warrior and not those who sent them there.
In this case, though, this is in a way a whole different ballgame because this is a war of attacking innocent civilians, and in that case, people can say what they want, but I don't want to show 'em any mercy. I think that if you show them mercy, that'll give them more strength. Let's remember, I'm an ex-Navy SEAL, and the thing you learn is, whether people want to know it or not, you have to fight them on their level. You have to be as ruthless as they are.
You're not worried about any kind of slippery slope in terms of our justice system?
No, because those things have always happened in times of war, and then when the war is over, those rights are usually given back. But at a time of war we're all going to pay a price. We're all going to lose certain freedoms as a result of the safety that needs to be put in place. So I'm not worried.
I'll tell you what I'm more worried about in Ashcroft's case. I'm a great believer in states' rights, and it troubles me greatly every time the federal government is overruling what a state has done. I'm more worried about what Ashcroft is doing with the assisted suicide in Oregon than I am with these perpetrators. And then if you take it a step further, the medicinal marijuana issue. When you have states' people passing these laws saying, "This is what we want," and the heavy hand of the federal government comes in and says, "We don't care what your citizens said. We are the boss," that troubles me a lot more.
And there I have been a little disappointed in President Bush because he is a governor, and he came in and told all of us governors that he was going to [follow] a federalism of giving powers back to the states, and yet it doesn't seem that that's happening at all. In fact it seems the opposite is taking place. The federal government continues to try to erode what I consider our states' rights. I believe our country was formed with strong states and a limited federal government power.
Is there some pushing through of what might be unpopular policies under the radar while the war is going on?
Oh, there's always going to be that. You're going to get policies going into place under, quote, "national security." It's just a matter of people have to use their level heads and deem is this really a security item or is this someone's personal agenda.
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