November 2016 – Thoughts Towards a Better World

"A Matter of Honor" – the 75th anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

November 30, 2016/0 Comments/in War /by dickbernard

A week from now, Dec. 7, 2016, is the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941. As many know, my Dad’s brother, my Uncle Frank, went down with his ship, the USS Arizona.
(click to enlarge)

Grandson Ryan (taking photo) at the USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, Dec. 18, 2015

But for this moment I digress, to call attention to another victim of Dec. 7, Pacific Fleet Admiral Husband Kimmel, who, along with his Army General colleague Lt. General Walter Short, became the “fallguys” for the immensely successful surprise attack by the Japanese. [See postnote at end of this post.]
Nov. 24, 2016 came an e-mail from Thomas Kimmel, grandson of Adm. Kimmel. The contents of the e-mail are below. I first met Mr. Kimmel on-line perhaps 7 years ago. He knows my story, and I was introduced to his.
The full title of the book is “A Matter of Honor: Pearl Harbor, Betrayal, Blame, and a Family’s Quest for Justice.” (click on title for the link to Amazon.com).
I bought the book, and have completed it. It is extraordinary. My hope is that many have an opportunity to read and discuss its contents (which, I would argue, apply to situations in the present day). Of course, its focus is Admiral Kimmel and in large part the events that took place during his tour of less than a year as Pacific fleet commander. But if you open the book, your eyes, too, will open. It is a page turner.
The e-mail from Thomas Kimmel:
“On Tuesday, November 15, with the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor
approaching, HarperCollins released a new book A MATTER OF HONOR.
In the aftermath of the disaster, U.S. Pacific Fleet commander in
chief Admiral Kimmel was relieved of command, accused of dereliction
of duty, vilified. What the public was not told was that crucial
pre-attack intelligence, pointing to what was coming, had not been
shared with the commanders. The Admiral and Hawaii’s Army commander
became the scapegoats, the fallguys.
With new information, A MATTER OF HONOR not only tells Kimmel’s story
but resolves long-running controversies, at last clears President
Franklin D. Roosevelt of the charge that he knew the attack was
coming, and uncovers duplicity and betrayal in high places. This is,
too, a heartbreaking human story – of a military man, his sons and
grandsons, in a fight for their family’s honor that is continuing.
High advance praise for the book from historians and military experts
can be found on the book’s Amazon page. A later commander of the
Pacific Fleet, Admiral Lyons, says it is “the most comprehensive,
accurate and thoroughly researched book” on the subject ever written.”
Publishers Weekly says it reads “like a thriller”.
Close to and on the December 7th anniversary, History Channel and The
Movie Network (in the Americas), Channel 4 (in the UK), and BBC
Worldwide will be running documentaries based on the book.
What I [ask is] to post a review of A MATTER OF HONOR on
AMAZON. It’s important to get this information to the public, and
posting a 5-Star review on AMAZON accomplishes that. I assure you
there is nothing in it for me other than supporting Admiral Kimmel’s,
and, accordingly, my goal of getting the full story of the Pearl
Harbor attack available to the American public. It’s amazing how much
new information is contained in the book.
If you do post to AMAZON, good. If you convince others to do so, better.
Feel free to use any of this information on your blog.
Thanks again for your help and interest.”
I will followup on some of my own impressions of the book at this space on Dec. 7, 2016. Suffice for now: I highly recommend that you read the book, and pass the information along to others.
POSTNOTE December 1, 2016: It was not till I was near the end of the book that I noted that restorative legislation had been passed in the 106th Congress, signed Oct. 30, 2000, but was never implemented. Overnite, I accessed the wording of the actual language of the legislation which, to my knowledge, remains in full force and effect, but as yet not implemented. The six page document is here: public-law-106-398001. I plan to deliver in person to the office of my local Congresswoman, and two United States Senators, this legislation along with a note urging their efforts to implement a Law long on the books. I encourage readers to do the same.
The Kimmel website is, aptly, PearlHarbor911attacks. It includes contact information for Thomas Kimmel.

Dick Bernard: At Thanksgiving 2016.

November 23, 2016/0 Comments/in Quietings /by dickbernard

Tuesday night came the first snowfall of the season here in Woodbury. Perhaps there will be a little left as we go “over the river and through the woods…” (not really, but across town for a family gathering Thanksgiving Day.)
Happy Thanksgiving wherever you are.
This year I’ve been thinking back to a small Thanksgiving ‘trilogy’ I included in a “kitchen table” newsletter, Chez Nous*, I edited in the 1980s and 1990s.
There was one photo included:

Preparing Wild Rice

Three short articles accompanied the post, from Nov. 1993. You can read them here: thanksgiving001. Author Ernest Ebert was a retired North Dakota farmer, then in his late 80s, who wrote often and eloquently about rural life. Jim Northrup has since become a noted Native American author. He is Ojibway from the Duluth area. Sammi Whipple grew up on the Red Lake (MN) Indian reservation. Each tell brief stories from their own perspective.
In addition:
Earlier this week came a once-in-awhile mailing from a good friend, who occasionally selects a few poems for some of us on her list. With her permission, I’d like to share these with you: poems-at-thanksgiving-collected-by-a-friend
Finally, not everyone is comforted by the just completed U.S. election. Pastors everywhere get caught in the middle . Another friend sent along a message from Fr. Joe on Nov. 13, 2016; I asked Joe, who’s a friend, for permission to reprint, and later in the week he sent on another message, for Nov. 20. Both are printed here, and speak for themselves: fr-joe-nov-2016001. A book I’d highly recommend: “The Impossible Will Take A Little While“, by Paul Loeb. Note: This very well known book was most recently revised by Paul in 2014.
Happy Thanksgiving.
* – If interested in this and other articles from the old Chez Nous, go here , click library, click Chez Nous. All 1000 pages are available on line, fully indexed. These were “kitchen table” productions in the time pre-dating sophisticated word processing. A new compiled three volume set of these 1980-2002 newsletters can be purchased. More information here (scroll down).

#1186 – Dick Bernard: The Road to Serfdom

November 17, 2016/0 Comments/in Politics /by dickbernard

Wednesday’s e-mail brought a most interesting commentary by the English commentator George Monbiot on Fredick Hayek, Margaret Thatcher and “The Deep History Behind Trump’s Rise”. The column is well worth your time to read. I offer it and what follows as grist for conversation as we try to make sense out of November 8, 2016.
Most readers would recognize Margaret Thatcher; fewer, perhaps, Frederick Hayek, 1974 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics.
I first learned about Hayek in the summer of 2003, when a Connecticut member of an education listserv, a corporate middle manager, and neocon policy supporter, recommended Hayek’s book, written about 1943, “The Road to Serfdom”. The Iraq War had begun not long before; the “Mission Accomplished” banner had already been hoisted; and in those days long before Facebook, YouTube or Twitter, I got the book and read it cover to cover.
Labor Day of 2003, thirteen years ago, I commented on what I had just read. You can read my comments (three pages) here: hayek-serfdom001. The comments speak for themselves. Note especially Hayek’s Group One, Group Two and Group Three.
To Jeff, who shared Monbiot’s column, I wrote in part as follows:
“My copy [of The Road to Serfdom] included an adoring forward written by Milton Friedman, who you might remember. I wrote a long response to my friend in Connecticut. He didn’t like the response….
I especially like Monbiot’s concluding comments.
*
I am led to repeat my favorite quote from WWII, by Hermann Goring, as he was nearing his time to die at Nuremberg (ultimately he committed suicide first). Goring was second only to Hitler in power in the Third Reich. I found it impossible to believe that the below quote attributed to him was real, until I read the entirety of Nuremberg Diary, and at p. 278 found the actual quote. Goring said this to Gustave Gilbert: “Why, of course the people don’t want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece?
Naturally, the common people don’t want war, neither in Russia, nor England, nor for that matter, Germany. That is understood, but after all it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simpler matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”
Quoted in the book Nuremberg Diary, p. 278, Gustave Gilbert, Farrar, Straus & Co., 1947. Gilbert was psychologist assigned to the Nazi prisoners on trial at Nuremberg.
I am reminded of another quote I saw at the entrance to Auschwitz-Birkenau 16 years ago: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana
*
Today’s Just Above Sunset talks more about mass communication in America: “A Well Informed Public”
The Newspaper; Government by Twitter, by myself, August 3, 2016
“The Pencil“, compassion in politics, as described by Hubert Humphrey., written by myself, 2004.
* Agree or disagree with my observations, I think Trump is only the most recent in a long succession of leaders who have organizing figured out. Granted, the leadership is not positive, and it never lasts, but it does real damage.
Some personal thoughts on the future as I see it, perhaps in early December.
Happy Thanksgiving.

P&J #1** – Dick Bernard: Post 11-8-16; "a house divided…."

November 12, 2016/1 Comment/in Politics /by dickbernard

As of Nov. 16, Hillary Clinton is up 671,246 votes over Donald Trump in the U.S. popular vote, tallying over 60,000,000 votes in all; but Donald Trump has won the electoral 290-232. About 95,000,000 didn’t vote.
It’s time to read carefully Article Two of the U.S. Constitution: u-s-constitution-art-II001*. Perhaps the hated “Obamacare” will be dead. (I comment on this one at it’s end.). Slated to be over is attention to this nonsense called Climate Change, and other things. As we have all been told over, and over, and over, the last eight years were a “disaster”, “believe me”.
The word count at the end of the last paragraph is much too long for Twitter. For the brave who open the above links, there’s much more, and I hope a few of you do. The content behind the links are worth the time to read and think about, seriously.

A respectful conversation Nov. 10 in Minneapolis: Rev Chris Antal and Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (ret) discuss American foreign policy

In an earlier post I noted a personal post-election shock response akin to post-9-11-01. Back in those days – it was Sep. 24, 2001 – I opened an e-mail platform for those who wanted to share feelings. The first couple I wrote are here: Post 9-11-01001.
Pretty soon came P&J** (Peace and Justice) #1, and there was a lot of conversation on-line for a long time. Perhaps 150 people on the listserv. About a year ago I delivered two boxes, perhaps 1,000 pages, of e-mails from that post-9-11-01 series to the Minnesota Historical Society for archive. In some later day, maybe somebody will take a look at those boxes, which are a history – as I recall – of about the first year after 9-11. We on that list were on the losing side of the majority opinion, then. War on a credit card won. We were set to “Make America Great Again.” Afghanistan Oct 7 2001001
2001-09 is not remembered fondly.
After September 11, 2001, our nation took the course we seem to know best: beat the hell out of ’em, whoever ’em was, then (in Afghanistan, initially; Iraq a short while later).
It didn’t work well, as those of us remember the next 8 years know especially well; and it carries forward to today.
But memories are short. We can very well be beginning a repeat performance of post 9-11-01, only this time we simply escalate a long-standing internal civil war within our own country.
Nowadays, of course, communications have changed. E-mails are for old duffers like me. Blogs like this are too long for most readers. Already this is too long for most of todays readers (newspaper columns for commoners like me are limited to about 600-700 words.)
Now, things like Facebook (founded 2004), YouTube (2005), Twitter (2006) are still current, but almost old hat. iPhone (2007) and its variants are the rage. We have more ways to communicate less; we can pretend other opinions don’t exist. Fantasy can trump reality.
But we need to connect, far beyond headlines, and much more personally including with people of differing points of view. We need to take the time to understand what has happened, and why it happened, and mostly to be accountable for what happened, and will happen from today forward. The accountability piece is important, and difficult. It is so very easy to blame somebody or something else.
There are many issues. We avoid respectful talking and listening.
Today’s Trump (and Republican) “style” of winners and losers terrifies me. The polarization is dangerous in the communities which we call the United States, and Planet Earth. Raw anger has overwhelmed basic reason.
We are at another fork-in-the-road moment for our nation, and for those of us who don’t like what just happened, this is no time to sit on our rear ends and blame whomever.
It is time to get to work.
* – If interested, look here. Personally, I have signed on to this, at least to make my feelings known.
** – I’ve done this blog for a half dozen years. It has always been open to constructive commentary from individuals who wish to post. I almost never have someone “take the bait”. How about you? It must be constructive and fairly short (this one is about 500 words in total, for perspective.)
Related post and links here.
COMMENTS:
from David: Lots of things to think about as we contemplate the presidency of someone so clearly unqualified to do the job. Not the least of which is what the Democrats need to do to field candidates and policies that connect with the angst felt by many in this country.
During the final debate, Trump floated the idea that should he lose the election, he might not accept the results as legitimate. Criticism rightly came from thoughtful folks on both sides. I fear that supporting the idea of trying to persuade Electors to vote against the results of their respective states would only confirm the fears of those who felt that the election would be “rigged.” Clinton won the popular vote but lost the election due to the arcane Electoral College system. We don’t have to like the man, but Trump, according to the rules of the game, won, and is now President. If the results were reversed, Trump winning the popular vote, Clinton winning the election via winning the most electoral votes, would those now signing the Change.org petition support a call to overturn the results of the Electoral College? I doubt it.
I was amazed that there wasn’t a popular uprising against the Electoral College system when Gore won the popular vote but lost the election to Bush. It appears that the general public is pretty much satisfied with the system. If not, we should change it via a Constitutional amendment. But, just because we’re deeply disappointed in the results, let’s not support a movement that calls on us to change the rules of the game after the final whistle blows.
Response to David: It is good for as many people as possible to understand what is in Article II of the Constitution of the United States. In our current system as it is, it is a pipe dream to imagine a major amendment to the existing Constitution or Bill of Rights passing muster, regardless how necessary. It would take a cataclysmic event, and speaking for myself, I don’t want to see that to get change. This is a good time, however, to call attention to the problems with the Electoral College as it pertains to an election for President of the entire United States of America. Just my opinion.
from Jeff: For all the angst about rural vs urban, about angry white working class, etc…. it really gets down to the enthusiasm gap, Clinton did not inspire enthusiasm like Obama did for the Dems. As a result in places like Detroit, ‘Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and I assume in Miami and other place, the number of votes for Clinton were nowhere near what Obama got, and in the outstate areas people who voted for Obama as “change” particularly in 08, voted for Trump as change in 16.
As for me, I am historically trained and keep up with history in my reading, from many eras. To me I have to reach to the past to reconcile the present and consider the future, (though I know that every time is different), I am seeing a Trump presidency to follow 3 possible previous outcomes.
Hitler 1933+
Nixon 1968+ (hubris, racism, white rural backlash, protests)
Reagan 1980+ (tax cuts, increased spending, deficits, except this time Russia is not the enemy)
We can survive the last 2, I hope. I don’t want to think about the first one.
from Jane: BIG fork in the road! Plus it’s starting to be even more of a swamp than ever as people object to Trump stealing the election — but it was okay for Clinton to steal it. Plus Trump is now consulting with John Bolton, psychopath extraordinaire. America is in big trouble now.
Fr. Joe in a message to his parishioners Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016: gillespie-nov-13-2016001

Dick Bernard: The 98th Armistice Day (aka Veterans Day #62)

November 11, 2016/0 Comments/in Peace & Justice, War /by dickbernard

November 11, 11 a.m., 2016
This is about Armistice Day, though my free cup of coffee today comes compliments of Veterans Day by virtue of U.S. Army duty 1962-63. I’ll wear my dog tags today, but mostly think about the Veterans for Peace Bell Ringing at 11 a.m. which I will have to miss for the first time in many years.

Years ago my mother remembered the first Armistice Day from the perspective of a nine year old on the family farm about 5 miles “as the crow flies” from tiny Grand Rapids ND.
Mom’s sister, my Aunt Florence, “was born the year World War I ended [Nov. 3, 1918]. The hired girl and I were out in the snow chasing chickens into the coop so they wouldn’t freeze when there was a great long train whistle from the Grand Rapids railroad track. In the house there was a long, long telephone ringing to signify the end of World War I.”
WWI was a very nasty war, including for the U.S. which entered only for the final year. One of Grandpa’s hired men was killed in the War. The World War I flu, aka Spanish Flu, raged across the U.S. 1918-20. Mom and grandma got it, but everyone in the family survived…this was not always true.
WWI was supposed to be “the war to end all war”.
Of course, “the war to end all war” only spawned an even worse war, World War II.
I am moved to write about this today because recently I was helping my friend, Annelee, edit her third book. Annelee has written about growing up in Nazi Germany, and her third book, tentatively titled, “And That is That”, is intended to sum up her 90 years, the first 18 of these growing up in what was supposed to become the “1000 year Reich” of the Nazis and Adolf Hitler.
For a few short years the Hitler experiment seemed to work, particularly for those who joined the Nazis (Whose ranks did not include Annelee’s parents). But dreams died hard.
In a draft of her chapter entitled “War”, Annelee wrote “I believed then that WWII would be the war that ended all wars.” She was born in 1926, and like every other German, suffered immensely the ultimate consequences of the Third Reich collapse which was obvious to all beginning in 1943.
Hitler’s avenging the humiliation of Germany at the end of WWI had failed.
We never seem to learn.
There have been numerous wars since WWII, of course, all of them justified by someone or other, none of them doing anything other than fueling the next war.
War is very good for business.
Now we are entering the era of “Make America Great Again”. “At whose expense?”, I wonder….
It was a good slogan, lots of sales of hats and stuff, but I doubt anyone has any idea what it will really mean, if anything.
These days there are almost no military people – maybe one in a hundred Americans actually go into the service. Cynically, maybe another bigger war will “Make America Great Again”?
As I end this piece, I’ll simply reprint something I did back in March about the human cost of war, just to America, through its involvement in Wars. And our human cost has been very low compared with other societies around the world.
Let’s make “Armistice Day” mean something more than a free cup of coffee for someone with a set of dog tags. Why not rename Veterans Day to Armistice Day, as it began. Veterans everywhere are honored on Armistice Day. And give peace a chance.
(click to enlarge)

The history of American war as seen by the American Legion magazine May, 2015: America at War001. We are a nation addicted to war, I think.

Dick Bernard: After the Shock: Moving Forward After November 8, 2016

November 10, 2016/0 Comments/in Links, Politics /by dickbernard

POSTNOTE Nov. 11, 2016: Comments at the end of this post. In addition, I highly recommend “Broken Glass“, posted overnight, with lots of reflective long term thinking. We are in the first days at the fork in our national road – which fork do we choose? Each of us bear part of the burden.
* * * * *
I have added comments from several individuals and some additional data to yesterdays post. I will continue to add if/as others are received.
The last most recent e-mails:
1. from friends of many years: “My word! [we] are shocked. I like what Time magazine said heading one of their articles before the election: “This election is about what a woman can do and what a man can get away with”.” From another: “I’ve been in tears most of the day.”
2. Just Above Sunset, very long, but very worth reading in its entirety, “Waking up to Trump”. #
This is the most recent data on the election (and its context):
Donald Trump, 59,611,678 votes (279 electoral, 270 required for election)
Hillary Clinton, 59,814,018 votes (228 electoral)
In our country of 325,000,000 people there were 216,000,000 potential voters on Tuesday.
Roughly 100,000,000 people didn’t vote….
More data, including links, at yesterdays post.
In a very real sense, we are at the shock stage – two days after our electoral 9-11-01.
I doubt that the results Tuesday were expected by anyone, including those who won.
THE “FORK” IN OUR NATIONAL “ROAD”
9-11-01 brought us years of war and near financial bankruptcy because of our societies choice of which fork in the road to take 15 years ago. We were quite okay with war, then. Afghanistan Oct 7 2001001
Now, 11-8-16 presents its same fork in the road, but now it is among ourselves, in our own families and towns.
Everyone has to decide, which fork to take. There is no “on the other hand” in the coming days….
Here’s an old graphic from some workshop about 1972 that I always find useful for reflection at a time like this.
(click to enlarge)

Handout from a circa 1972 workshop.

* * * * *
# Just Above Sunset is a six-days per week digest on the national/international scene, free, is worth your subscription. Its compiler is a retired guy in Los Angeles. (his bio is at the blog). It just quietly comes to your mailbox, easy to access, or delete.)
NOTES
Today, note the next nine people you see (you are the tenth).
Three of them voted for Donald Trump
Three of them voted for Hillary Clinton
Four of them did not vote at all.
In January 2016 the Republican Party controls the Presidency, the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. Who will they, and their supporters, blame?
COMMENTS:
From Audrey: Thank you Dick.
from Bob: My thoughts are simply this — “never discount the combination of anger and ignorance.”
from Bernie Sanders via Steve: NOTE: in my space, I tend to not insert comments from prominent people, like Bernie. At the same time, he was the messenger for a large number of progressives in the year preceding Hillary Clintons nomination.
Bernie Sanders: “Donald Trump tapped into the anger of a declining middle class that is sick and tired of establishment economics, establishment politics and the establishment media. People are tired of working longer hours for lower wages, of seeing decent paying jobs go to China and other low-wage countries, of billionaires not paying any federal income taxes and of not being able to afford a college education for their kids – all while the very rich become much richer.
To the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him. To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment politics, we will vigorously oppose him.”
Dick, responding to Bernie’s comment via Steve: Personally, I’ve never had much confidence in always angry people, generally….
I am often motivated by anger, but I try to channel it into (I hope) constructive action. Too often I see people stuck in just being angry, but never doing anything constructive with it. There were plenty of these in Bernie’s camp. Of course, there’s also the poster child for destructive anger: the prisons are full of these, who take out their anger on someone else, with a gun, or whatever!
from Don: Thanks, Dick, for the excellent link to the “Sunset” article.
The wisdom and experience of people like you will guide us through the next few years, but it’s going to be tough.
You have my total support. We are, in fact, united together.
from Frank: Today I’m starting to feel a bit like our Native brothers must surely feel. We have a government that is supposed to be for the people, but functions for the bottom line of companies, and makes power something to be bought and sold. (Think oil pipe line) Common Good???? No such thing. We want the government out of our lives, and yet demand more aid for the military, the farmers, and every southern state that has a disaster.
We have socialism in a hundred ways, and yet the 3.2 beer joint philosophers don’t want to hear the term. They admire the bully, the Putin-type, that in their mind dictates the way, and takes no shit from anyone. They feel we can go back to an island mentality, and we don’t need the rest of the world. (Check anything with a plug-in to see this as fallacy) They will hate those with darker skins or a different heritage, and plot to destroy them on their way to their faux-Christian churches. They will talk about being pro-life and want the death penalty, and a halt to welfare. If you stand in the way of what they want, you will be destroyed. Ask any Native American.
This could be a very scary time in our history, but, am I currently disillusioned? Yup.
from Annelee, who grew up in Nazi Germany and was 7 years old when Hitler came to power in 1933. The other comment comes from a 19-year old who voted for the first time on Nov. 8.
Dick, here is a refreshing outlook of a young man I call my friend —I think he is nineteen, the first time he could vote.
I wish those protesters would go home. Hillary earned my respect with her concession speech. If her supporters would only listen to what she said. Or don’t they hear?
from her young friend, Jerry: Wow.. what a crazy election! I cannot believe the outcome of last night. I am neither sad or happy, but shocked. I am sort of excited to see what new changes will come when Mr. Trump gets into office. Who knows, maybe he will be the best president the United States has ever had. I am not a supporter of him, but I cannot dislike him right away, because he has done nothing to damage the country as of now. Maybe he will bring lots of good to the United States much like Hitler did in his early reign.
I cannot believe you have lived during the time of two very powerful leaders, Hitler and Trump, it is crazy to think that you have experienced both of them! You have seen a lot of powerful things in life, and have survived some of the hardest times, another reason why I look up to you with great respect. I may not agree with Mr. Trump on all issues, but I will never hate him. I learned from your books that it is not okay to hate anything or anyone, people may not agree or like the actions or beliefs of someone, but you said to never hate.
Hopefully the next 4 years will bring lots of good to America!

Dick Bernard: The U.S. Election 2016

November 9, 2016/0 Comments/in Politics /by dickbernard

I write at 12:09 a.m. Central Standard time Nov. 9, 2016, and it appears it will be President Trump, and continuing Senate and House Majorities of Republicans – it appears to be virtually a sweep for the Republicans. [UPDATED below]
Here is a map of updated results. Of course, it will have changed by morning. It shows only AZ, MN, WI, MI, PA, NH, ME in play. Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton have yet to appear at their respective campaign headquarters.

It appears Americans are going to have the opportunity to find out what Trumps mantra, “Make America Great Again”, means.
From time to time I’ll update this post. You can comment directly to this post if you wish; or to me at dick_bernardATmsnDOTcom. Keep it serious and respectful, because this is a serious matter with huge long term implications for not only ourselves but for the world at large.
Earlier last night, a friend sent a graphic that somehow already seems out of date, a few hours later. Here it is. Take a look. What will this 2016 election really mean?
UPDATE 4:30 p.m.
Some Basic Data:
325 million – present population
226 million – potential eligible voters 2016
59,333,439 Hillary Clinton popular vote 2016
59,165,778 Donald Trump popular vote 2016
131 million voters 2008
69 million Barack Obama popular vote 2008
60 million John McCain popular vote 2008
Yesterdays post is here.
Minnesota Up-to-date results here.
Presidential election up to date, here.

1:49 a.m. Nov. 9: Here’s the first commentary, very brief, from my favorite blogger, Just Above Sunset.
COMMENTS:
PERSONAL, from Dick: Personally, I think most of us will rue the results of Nov. 8, 2016. The biggest victims will most likely be Trumps most avid supporters, the economically disadvantaged who think nobody cares….As best I can tell, the Republican policy has been to encourage people to distrust Government itself, and to offer itself as more trustworthy than the opposition.
Some highly generalized data which is sourced above:
A. Of the U.S. 325 million citizens, about 225 million were potentially eligible voters on Tuesday.
B. Of these 225 M, about 120 million, about 60%, voted essentially in equal numbers for either Trump or Clinton (these were almost all of the votes cast). This was, in turn, about 12 million fewer votes than cast in the 2008 Obama/McCain race.
C. About 100 million potential voters didn’t vote at all; about 30% of the potential eligible voters voted for Trump, who received slightly fewer votes than Clinton, but won the electoral contest.
Unfortunately, I have noticed that we Americans are generally very sloppy about our civic responsibility. For some of those who actually voted, casting a single ballot every four years for President is seen as fulfilling their obligation. Sad but true, we get exactly what we deserve. And now we have to hope that there will be some semblance of fairness in our government the next two, and four, years.
*
More Comments.
1. from Bruce: Dick, Clinton just wasn’t the candidate to run. If they were really serious about stopping Trump, any other candidate would have won, especially Bernie. This has to be on them & nobody else. I worked & voted for Jill hoping to get a real progressive party up & running. It looks like that was lost too.
2. from Jeff: The question to be answered… why did millions of voters in Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa and Minnesota for starters….. who voted for Barack Obama 4 years ago, vote for his exact opposite yesterday?
I think the by word from here on out is, be careful what you ask for, you might get it.
My main fear is for our institutions and the rule of law. A President who is riding with the alt right and is an authoritarian populist now has a Congress on his side, now you must watch people like McCain, John Roberts, etc. in order to find out if integrity and the Constitution really can prevail.
3. from Madeline: Bernie would not have fared better–this was white backlash! Racism et al. And it wasn’t likely the same people who voted for Obama. I and many friends are wearing BLACK today–funeral for all that was decent in our society. What I’m hoping for is change in count or Electoral College mutiny, or DRUMPF being prosecuted by FBI over Tuesday’s disclosure of their investigation.
4. from Maryam: Two thoughtful quotes reflect how I feel today.
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it–always.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
“What I do know for certain is this: The Republican Party and Donald Trump will have control of all the levers of government, from the courts to the Congress to …the White House. That is an awesome responsibility, and it is all going to be on them. Do they understand that? Personally, I will not wish them ill. Too much is at stake for my country and my children. Unlike the Republican Party for the last eight years, I am not going to try to make my president fail. If he fails, we all fail. So yes, I will hope that a better man emerges than we saw in this campaign. But at the moment I am in anguish, frightened for my country and for our unity. And for the first time, I feel homeless in America.” -Thomas Friedman
5. strong>from Rebecca: This is a response to one of my dear friends who is distraught over the election results.
What a surprise election! It was learned that people told the pollsters that they were voting for Hillary when they planned on voting for Trump all along. They didn’t want to admit they were voting for Trump. What does that say about many in our culture who we’re reluctant to speak about what’s really on our minds? Even more reason to focus on the latest research that shows that dialogue, rather than other educational approaches, as to what makes a difference. Dialogue, not debate, is a tool showing promising breakthroughs in learning how to collectively live together.
Those who voted for Trump just can’t stomach another 4 years of their voices and circumstances not being heard for many years. Just like the acting out kid in the classroom seeking attention, no matter what the price, he/she finally does get attention. However what will be done with this new-found-attention? It’s one thing to get it and quite another to come up with workable solutions. The devil is always in the details. However, sometimes the kid who was rebelling the most has something valuable to contribute when a genuine effort is made in “listening to understand.”
Just like the classroom circle process you and I developed, as peace educators, where everyone’s voice was heard and ideas explored, the same is needed at at the adult level. There obviously are things to discuss, not hide, when a whole bunch of people rise up and say, “Let the change begin” when they get a leader who is willing to challenge the status quo when certain aspects of it are not serving groups of people well. There’s no force like the force of unmet needs. Even Democrat leaders were saying this morning, “We need to find a way to reach out to the working class.” The working class used be the base! What happened that the Democrats strayed away from their base?
I voted for Hillary too and yet paid close attention to Trump out of curiosity. He first comes out of the gate with “emotions” combined with a few morsels of reason/logic. As humans most of us (bell curve) tend to react with our emotions first and then engage in reason and logic. He begins most conversations with what many people are already emotionally experiencing but too hesitant to express. He has well crafted the technique leading with emotions first.
However, it is interesting to note that more than one person has reported that Trump is flexible…if he hears more and more reasons/logic he’s willing to change his tune. It has been said that this is one of his most redeeming traits.
I’ve begun to see people forming and ready to reach out to his unusual leadership style in case he became President. I believe there is going to be a lot of “quiet” work by good people who will never receive any credit, but will be his daily influencers. If he casts them aside others will be ready in the wings to serve in this way. He is “teachable” and deep down has a good heart. (Point being – dig down deep.) There will be those who can reach these two aspects of his being.
In the meantime, in our own circle of friends and families, it’s important not to use our energy to bash Trump but take our conversations deeper and look for inclusive solutions. This may ultimately be one of Trump’s greatest gift – He calls it like he sees it and it is up to the rest of us to deal with what has been there all along – hiding under a rock or right in front of our noses, causing temporary blindness. It hurts to live in a society where some need to hide their true voting intentions. What’s the lesson to be learned here? What would that dialogue look like?
6. from Jim: In Blaine, a lower middle class (heavily blue color) suburb, a snotty young Republican, big fan of Trump’s, repeatedly posted on his Facebook page that the Confederacy was an outstanding government and that Abraham Lincoln was the worst president in U.S. history. He quite easily won a seat in the Minnesota Legislature.
I’ve seen two or three similar stories just in Minnesota — which voted Clinton — in the first few hours since the election returns have been available.
Another one is a terrible ex-shock radio blabbermouth who at various times has said nobody has the right to tell others they can’t own slaves and that men have a native right to use force to keep their wives in line. He got a House seat, although it was fairly close.
And that, again, is Minnesota. Dig a little and you’ll find worse in Mississippi or North Dakota or….
They’re feeling untouchable.
7. A friend in France: I was watching television all night and saw the shock of the world about Trump’s election. What are your feelings?
8. from Barbara: Today is a day for mourning because this is a national tragedy.
I am crying for all the little girls in America. For all the little girls who are being told it is ok to be sexually assaulted because that is just something guys do.
I am crying for all the little girls who are being told that misogyny is not only ok, it is rewarded with the highest prize.
I am crying for all the little girls who are being told “no, you can’t be anything you want to be in America.”
I am crying for all the little girls who will kill themselves because they cannot be a “ten”.
I am crying for all the little girls who are being told once again that your value is in how you look, not in who you are.
I am crying for all the little girls who are being told men do not have to respect you. They can call you every vile name and you just have to tolerate that emotional abuse.
I am crying for my granddaughter who has to grow up in a hate trumps love world.

Dick Bernard: Election Day in the U.S. November 8, 2016

November 8, 2016/2 Comments/in Politics /by dickbernard

First, the New York Times offers free subscription for today and tomorrow: check here.
Those who follow this blog know that when it comes to elections, it is my habit to publish before the polls close. In this case, the polls are about to open, and I simply want to reflect on observations here and there, mostly in the very recent past.
First, a photo from Rochester MN last Thursday, Nov 3. (click to enlarge)
I think the sign says a lot about the current state of our country’s fractured political conversation (disclosure: I’m a long time member of the American Legion.)

Rochester MN Nov. 3, 2016

Some things I saw/experienced the last few days.
Saturday evening we took our older-than-ourselves neighbor, Don, to the Minnesota Orchestra to hear Dvorak’s “From The New World”, which was magnificent, of course. Leading off the concert, unexpected, was Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” featuring five very short quotations of Abraham Lincoln between 1858 and 1863.
It was intensely moving, in a great part because the reader was Alan C. Page, retired Minnesota Viking, and Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, and a member of the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame.
Justice Page read from the heart, as well he would.
You can read the quotations here, from the Orchestra program: lincoln-portrait001.
Earlier Saturday, the local group of Evangelical ministers met the next table over, as always, to discuss some text or other in the Bible. This particular Saturday there were five, one still wearing his “Make America Great Again” hat. At the end, the person I’ve come to see as the leader of the group, said “vote twice on Tuesday”…there was no need to explain…I’ll see what they have to say, if anything, a few days from now.
Sunday morning, at the Basilica, I wondered how my Catholic Church would handle the issue. The Priest who gave the homily – retired, an outstanding homilist – did not touch the issue of the election. On the other hand, the Church petitions, a regular feature at Catholic Mass everywhere, following the Homily, was perfect (in my opinion). In effect, we were urged to take our responsibility as citizens very seriously.
Whatever happens today, it is pretty clear to me that more so than in most other elections in my adult life, people are attending to voting as more than a perfunctory and optional act. If nothing else – I say this as a positive – this election has seemed to get people’s attention, finally, that this is their country, and ours is a troubled place.
Of course, in the short term, there is a big downside for whomever perceives they “lose” – or “wins” – today. But maybe a few more will come to the conclusion that this country is every one of us, together, not just somebody who is President, or a faction that dominates, or, as I heard some disgruntled old guy say to his wife at the polls some years ago: “There, I voted. Now I have the right to complain.” But at least he was there, and he voted with passion, for or against somebody unknown to me.
Complaining, of course, isn’t enough.
Friday, I stopped in at an excellent conversation on the issue of peace and war in our world. Leader of the conversation was Paul K. Chapelle, a former Army Captain in Iraq War, a graduate of West Point. I’ve heard him before, he is always outstanding.
We were not there about politics, but in his quiet sort of way Mr. Chapelle took a moment to recall Homer’s Iliad, and two of the characters, Ajax and Odysseus. Mr. Chapelle, wise beyond his years, observed that Ajax had been magnificent in battle, of great strength. At the end of the battle, though, the people voted for the more eloquent Odysseus.
There was no discussion nor definition, of the meaning as seen by Mr. Chapelle. It was left for each of us to consider.
I looked up Ajax when I got home. The story is linked above.
As people who study war know, Warriors often prevail but only in the short term. In the long term, we need wisdom and we desperately need peace…and it has to come from within and among all of us, every day, in every way.
Do vote, but voting is only a tiny beginning.
I wish us wisdom.
POSTNOTE: My personal position on this election is here.
COMMENTS:
from Jeff: I have to admit, the sign at the American Legion sure made me chuckle.
I am not sure what they were thinking, but the sign did ring true… a bunch of old white guys who instead of doing something to change things are sitting in a bar…. ? Speaks volumes…
I know they meant it differently… but that’s how I saw it.
The race is to the swift.
When will the Baby Boomers cease to be at the top of the pile? Its time to tackle the real problems… instead of fighting the old culture wars isn’t it?
from Larry: Your “Election Day in the U. S. November 8, 2016” is probably your best essay yet. They’re all good, Dick, but this one was exceptional. I love the inclusion of the Lincoln quotes.
You are fortunate your Catholic priest did not push Republican candidates. As I listen to the Roman Church’s “Eternal Word Television Network” (both the radio and tv versions) and the Catholic “Real Presence Radio Network” station in our area, I cannot believe how they subtly and not-so subtly promote an extreme right-wing agenda along with encouraging votes for the most despicable Republican Presidential candidate in my lifetime. To that denomination denying a woman’s right to choose “trumps” everything. Everything! And to the “charismatic evangelicals” protecting their “religious rights” (read: 501(c)3 tax deduction) is everything, despite the character of the Republican Presidential candidate.
As I said, Dick, you were fortunate you attended a Catholic church with a priest who refrained from pushing a political agenda.
from David: Regarding the sign outside the Rochester American Legion Post: What is it with the electorate that so many feel that the way to solve the complex problems facing our country is to elect “outsiders” or “ordinary folks”? Having experience in government or governing is seen as something to vote AGAINST. Would these same people take their car to someone who advertised that they hadn’t done much work on cars? Or, seek out a surgeon who bragged that all she needed was common sense to cut you open and do that bypass operation? When did ignorance become a virtue?

from western Wisconsin, thanks to David.

There are so many campaign lawn signs out there that I can’t believe anyone pays attention to any of them. However, a long-time Democrat just down the road from us has a creative bent to his urgings. Note the actual donkey on the trailer. When I stopped to take the picture, the donkey perked up and came over to the side of the trailer to get petted and fed some green grass. I think the two of us have a lot in common; politically, that is.

Dick Bernard: Dec 22, 1987, and Nov. 7, 1997: Remembering Two Days in the Life of Dad.

November 6, 2016/0 Comments/in Family History, Quietings /by dickbernard

Today we were planning to be at Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville IL, for the 50th anniversary of the Apartment Community, where my Dad, Henry Bernard, lived the last ten years of his life, 1987-97. A scheduling conflict caused a change in plans, so, rather than being on site today, I decided to do what Dad liked to do…look through pictures and reminisce. His travels “were by the National Geographic”, he liked to say.
I’ve picked one particular day in his life at Our Lady of the Snows: his 80th birthday, December 22, 1987.
(click to enlarge photos)

Henry Bernard at home, Apt. 96A, Our Lady of the Snows.

Dad moved north, from San Benito TX, in August, 1987. His San Benito friends, the Brasher’s, were “winter Texans” and lived in Belleville, and suggested he “try out” the Apartment Community for a trial period. He was 79. Mom had died in 1981. It was time.
Depending on one’s point of view, Dad either came and conquered, or was conquered by, this beautiful place with a great view of St. Louis Gateway Arch directly west. He took an efficiency apartment, which over time became his house (in almost a real sense). The beautiful grounds became his lawn, perfect for long walks; the chapel and the library were a short walk indoors, and there was a woodworking shop which he used, and exercise facilities as well. I would guess he was considered a “character” by the community at large. In assorted ways we kids saw him in action each time we visited. He was no recluse!
I choose one particular visit.
His 80th birthday was December 22, 1987, and he set himself a goal, per a national fitness program, to walk a 15 minute mile every day for 80 days, ending on his 80th birthday. His chosen route began at the ampitheater down the hill, and was timed to end at the Angelus bell.
My sister and I were there in the very early morning of day 80, to walk the route with him. He posed for a photo before he began.

The Walking Route, Dec. 22, 1987. The goal was at the more or less directly behind Dad.

It was a rather icy day, I recall, but that was no deterrent for our Dad. He’d set his goal…period. Back and forth, row by row, he walked briskly. He was hard to keep up with. He was 6’3″, and he had been conditioning for this for 80 days! He arrived at his destination after 13 minutes. We were not far behind. I was pooped. The Angelus Bells rang.
His apartment, 96A, was a place to behold: a single bed, a homemade desk, a recliner, telephone, radio (to listen to the St. Louis Cardinals baseball games, etc.) There was never a dull moment in his life, right to the end. At his Memorial Mass at the Apartment Community Chapel a few weeks after his death we played an audio tape about family that he had recorded some years earlier at Our Lady of the Snows for St. Louis’ shutins on Radio Information Service (RIS) for the Blind. It was a nice testimony about him, for others.
I had especially hoped to be there this year because, not part of the communities planning of course, his death was on the evening of this day, early in the morning of November 7, 1997, when Dad died in the geriatric unit at Our Lady of the Snows. My sister and I were there at the end. He almost made 90.
Less than two weeks after his death I was back in Illinois, at a conference at the O’Hare Hilton, and picked up a copy of the Chicago Sunday Tribune. By chance, this day, I came across this column by Mary Schmich: My father died 1997001.
To this day, when somebody’s father dies, I sent them a copy of the column.
The following Memorial Day, 1998, we family members gathered at the Apartment Community to dedicate a flag pole to the memory of our Dad, and his brother, our Uncle Frank Bernard, who died December 7, 1941 on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. We thought it a most appropriate memorial, and it is still there. Here is the program from that day: henry-bernard-flag-dedic008

Dedication of flagpole with Grandpa Bernards 48 star flag, Memorial Day, 1998, Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville IL

We Dads are people like everyone else. We have our stories, our triumphs, tragedies, dilemmas…. This is a good day for me to remember my Dad. I hope this story has a similar effect for you, about someone in your own life.

On the grounds, Dec. 22, 1987

At work in his “office” in Unit 96A

Checking for a “postal” in the days before computers took over. I doubt he ever actually touched a computer!

The Birthday Photo in Dad’s unit Dec. 22, 1987.

The St. Louis Gateway Arch from the Apartment Community Grounds, Dec. 22, 1987

Dick Bernard: Two encounters with the Chicago Cubs

November 3, 2016/0 Comments/in Quietings /by dickbernard

This morning we were in Rochester MN, across the street from St. Mary’s Hospital. We were having breakfast and struck up a conversation with a couple whose daughter was having surgery across the street. They were from Austin TX, and they were giddy about the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series a few hours earlier in Cleveland. Others around were giddy as well. Apparently the game was watched by tens of millions last night.
We hadn’t watched the game. Indeed we hadn’t followed the series. The last time I’d heard, the Cubs were down three games to one, almost an insurmountable obstacle. But they had come back, and in the 7th game prevailed.
Nonetheless, diehard fan or not, the Cubs first championship in 108 years was uplifting, and not just to fans in Chicago. And it caused me to think back to two personal encounters with the Cubs back in the 1950s when I was a teenager.
Those days we lived in the country near the tiny village of Mooreton ND (west of Wahpeton). Long trips were perhaps 100 miles and those were very few and far between. Our media was radio, and at the time my baseball hero was Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees. (North Dakota hero Roger Maris was to come later.)
I can fix the dates we went to Chicago quite easily: in 1955 my Uncle Art married Aunt Eileen and they moved to Chicago, where Art was a sales engineer for General Electric. In the summer, we drove over 600 miles to Chicago to meet the new bride.
(click to enlarge)

Dick, at right, and Frank, summer, 1955.

Then, in the summer of 1956 Art and Eileen had their first child, John, and I have a family photo of us visiting the family in suburban Chicago.
It was an adventure taking long trips in those days before the Interstate. You went through cities, not around them; four lanes were rare and not limited access, and usually just wider highways. There were 7 of us in our 1951 Plymouth Suburban on both trips. Air conditioning? You opened the car windows…. The second trip I had a drivers license and could help drive – an adventure in itself. It was a very long trip compared with today.

At Anoka MN, summer 1956, from left: Henry, Frank, John, Esther, Mary Ann and Florence Bernard. Richard was apparently the photographer.

The highlight of both trips to Chicago were, for me, a game at Wrigley Field, the first professional baseball games I had ever seen.
Likely my Uncle had access to tickets through General Electric, and both times, I remember, we sat in the stands above the first base line, looking towards the deep outfield in left.
Of course, the games were day games as Wrigley did not have lights. Both times, the weather was beautiful. On neither visit were the White Sox in town, so our only experience was to see the Cubs, twice. No photographic evidence exists that we were there, which is disappointing. We were.
I don’t remember much of the detail except for one single fact for each year: those years, the League was eight teams; and both years, the Cubs and their opponent, one the New York Giants, the other the Pittsburgh Pirates, were 7th and 8th in the standings. Why do I remember that? I don’t know.
It made little difference. The games were great to watch and a cut above the town team contests we were used to back home.
I’ve always wondered if we saw legendary Ernie Banks in those games. My guess is that we did, since he began his career with the Cubs in the early 1950s. But at that time, he was just a player, not yet a legend!
All I have of those couple of afternoons is pleasant memories of major league baseball in a unique baseball park, named for a chewing gum that was popular at the time!
Congratulations, Cubs.
The wait was worth it, and the ending last night was spectacular. If only the game had been in daylight at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
Thanks for the memories.