The Gauntlet

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Yesterday, Robert Mueller threw down the gauntlet to every single one of us.  In my opinion, his action was very significant, and intended, as is his intention to not testify.  To use another metaphor: “the ball is in our court”….

The Mueller Report sits at arm length from me, here:  (there are many ways to access this full report, redacted.  Simply put the words in your search engine.  I purchased my copy at Barnes and Noble.)

No, I haven’t read it all, nor even much of it.  But what I have read is very, very clear and succinct, and when it comes time to exercise its contents legally, it will all be there, accessible and un-redacted.  It represents a sordid chapter in our history as a country.  Yesterday, Mr. Mueller himself summarized what was already spelled out in detail.  Here’s the 9 1/2 minute verbal report by Robert Mueller himself.

Too many of us have chosen to ‘pass the buck’ on this and many other issues crucial to our Democracy’s very survival.  This extends to the people we freely elect to represent us.

We are the government we  choose to criticize.

My Opinion on this matter?  Robert Mueller and Nancy Pelosi are seasoned and reasoned people, with the requisite abilities to lead and inform.

COMMENTS (more in the “comments” section as well.)

from Jerry:  Thanks, Dick, I AGREE IT’S TIME FOR CONGRESS T ACT ON THE MUELLER REPORT.  It’s sad that public opinion may bar us from justice.  Trump has lots of defenders.

from: Duane: Thanks….. Couldn’t  agree more….

 

Memorial Day 2019

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Saturday, friend David Thofern sent a brief note: “Here’s a link to a short (<20 min.) film on the human cost of World War II. It’s appropriate on Memorial Day to note that individual deaths often have profound impacts on us, especially when they are people we know and care about. But when deaths are counted in the millions we can’t get our heads around the concept.  This film by Neil Halloran tries to make sense of the numbers.”

This film is about 18 minutes.  I have watched it.  It is very powerful and thought-provoking about the human cost of war.  I encourage you to watch it in its entirety, and share it.

*

I always attend Vets for Peace (VFP) Memorial Day at the Vietnam Memorial on MN State Capitol grounds.  This year it’s 9:30 a.m. today (May 27).  Ordinarily there are perhaps 100 people, and it lasts about an hour.  It is a very rich observance.  Today rain is in the forecast…just come prepared.

Ringing peace bells at conclusion of Vets for Peace observance May 27. Rain and chill moved the observance to the open, protected area, at the veterans service building on the Capitol Mall. About 100 hardy persons participated in the always meaning-filled program.  Stephen McKeown (at left) recommended an excellent editorial on peace from 1932 reprinted in todays Minneapolis Star Tribune, “The enduring ideals of Memorial Day“

*

Last Tuesday, along with Larry Johnson and Mike McDonald, past and current VFP presidents, and Elaine Wynne of the Resilience Project, the Vets for Peace were introduced to a gathering of about 40 Golden K Kiwanians in Roseville.  It was a very good gathering.  My contribution to the event was this handout, which you might find of interest: Memorial Day 2019001.

Larry Johnson rings Peace Bell 11 times, May 21, 2019

May 29: Larry Johnson’s letter was published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Eliminate the profit motive for war

I second a recent letter writer’s call (“Remembrance, not profit,” May 27) to not support businesses that seek to profit from sales on the sacred day set aside to remember those who died in war. I would, however, take it several steps further, asking that we create a way to stop the even greater sacrilege of defense contractors generating enormous profits selling the weapons used in warfare.

A company should not be allowed to sell war materials unless their ratio of CEO pay to lowest paid worker is something like 10:1, roughly matching the military ratio of general-to-private pay — as opposed to 271:1, which is the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio.

I’d like us to figure out how to solve international differences without sending scores of young men and women out to kill and be killed, but until we do that, I vote for eliminating the profit motive, which I personally believe drives too much of our warfare. It’s right for business to make profit. It is wrong to profit from killing.

I come from a background filled with military, including my own.  As I write, this day, grandson Spencer is in the Marines.  My wife’s nephew, about 50, learned days ago that he is being recalled to Active duty in his Army Reserve Unit to an assignment in the middle east.  Our nation is again beating war drums, making threats.  We are in dangerous times.

*

Last Tuesday, I remembered six persons for this Memorial Day.

Two were KIA: Uncle Frank Bernard, USS Arizona Dec 7, 1941; and Max Soelch, likely killed somewhere in Russia in 1945 near the end of the war (he was a German conscript who refused to join the Nazis.  See End Note).

William L, a Korea vet, who killed himself on his 21st birthday in 1954.  As the story is told, he was at a bar, lamenting with friends how awful the war had been – a repetitive lament of his, I understand – and a ‘friend’ suggested that if it was so bad he should just go home and kill himself…and he did.  He was a relative I never met….  There are lots of William L’s, war casualties as well.

Then there was my Uncle George Busch, who survived three years in the Pacific theater as a Naval officer on the DD 460, USS Woodworth.  He seemed to have lived a normal life after service.

Mike L, my brother-in-law, was drafted about 1971, and was heading to a career in the Army, when someone decided that he was a potential subversive because he’d encouraged high school students to speak out against the Vietnam War when he was a high school teacher before being drafted.  His history is in a 22 page deposition I found in his house and still have in my possession.  It is scary reading.  He was apparently honorably discharged, early, as a Spec. 5th class.

I knew Mike well.  He spent most of his post Army life on disability due to mental illness.  When he lost his house near the end of his life, I found his dress green uniform crumpled in a drawer by his bedside.  I had it cleaned and for years it has been in the possession of the North Dakota Historical Society.

Finally, I remembered Lynn Elling, a personal hero who I met when he was 86.  Lynn was a peacenik first class.  He spent the last two years of WWII as an officer onboard an LST in the south Pacific.  His first duty action was at Tarawa beachhead, about a month after the deadly campaign had happened there.  You can read his story here.

These are just samples of some of those I remember today.

*

End Note: Max Soelch was Annelee Woodstrom’s Dad.  Annelee, our dear friend, published a book called War Child: Growing Up in Adolf Hitler’s Germany in 2003 (she was born 1926, and left Germany in 1947).  Her parents would not join the Nazi party, an action with consequences.  Her Dad, Max, a road engineer, was conscripted near the end of the war, and was probably about 40 when he died.  To this day the family has not absolutely confirmed any of the circumstances of his death.  Max is a permanently missing person.

As I write, Annelee has just completed a translation of War Child  into German, and it will be reprinted in Germany in the near future, and introduced at a major book fair in Germany this year.

from War Child: Annelee (upper left) and Papa Max (lower right) 1943

 

Nancy Pelosi

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Nancy Pelosi, may 24, 2019, Minneapolis MN. Photo Dick Bernard

A month or two ago Cathy said she’d like to hear Nancy Pelosi, slated to be guest speaker at the Minnesota DFL’s 75th anniversary dinner May 24.  I wanted to see her as well – my opinion: she was an outstanding choice for Speaker – so last night, along with over 2000 others, we were at the Minneapolis Convention Center to hear Speaker Pelosi and many others (details: DFL 75th anniv 5-24-2019001).

The event, while long, far exceeded both of our expectations.  By my count, there were five male, ten female speakers in the approximate three hours.

Increasingly our DFL party represents the diversity of the people at large.  This complicates most everything, since differences of opinion are to be expected and need to be dealt with.  Will Rogers famously said, long ago, “I am not a member of any organized political party.  I am a Democrat“.   One speaker last night said: “diversity is strength, unity is power“.  Those six words requires lots of hard work.

It wasn’t part of the plan, of course, to have the theatrics at the White House a couple of days earlier.  Rep. Pelosi didn’t take the bait Friday: her talk was about the substance of what U.S. Government should be about.  She and Sen. Schumer had come to the White House to talk about the increasingly desperate need to deal with the national infrastructure – things like roads and bridges – which are aging and the cost increases every year to repair them, as do the risks.

Before the meal was served, I asked one of the wait staff how many they had prepared for.  His list showed a guarantee of 2045 meals at 210 tables of 10 each.  Six people among the attendees were people I knew.  I mention these facts simply to illustrate the business of the importance of networks.  We were among the fortunate who could actually attend the gathering and comment on the proceedings.  Several million were vote in the next election in Minnesota in 2020.  Network, network, network.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, one of the many candidates for the 2020 Presidential nomination, gave the concluding speech – a gifted presentation of her story.  She has always been impressive since she first came out politically in 2005.  She’s in a tough competitive field, and there’s a long slog to the finish line next year, but don’t count her out.

Don’t forget, in the end, it is the individual – each of us – who make the difference.

Amy Klobuchar May 24, 2019 photo by Dick Bernard

COMMENTS solicited especially from those in attendance at the dinner.

from Kathy McKay: I thought it was an impressive evening as well.  The issue of women in leadership In MN politics no longer feels like a reluctant politically correct gesture. Nancy Pelosi, Amy and Tina all were inspiring…focused on their work, the work of the people- making lives better for all.  Several of the awards went to women within the DFL.
One obvious exception was Patricia Torres Ray plaintive statement “I am lonely” being one of only two women of color FOR 30 YEARS in the MN state legislature.  She pleaded for party members to nurture and mentor young women of color to run for office.

Another disturbing reality was the very limited visibility of my representative Ilhan Omar. She was shown in early video of all reps in MN. Near end of event when party chair took the microphone to rally support for all upcoming elections he called out for support for Amy, Tina, and all MN Democratic MC’s except Rep. Omar. Intentional? Oversight?  Whatever the reason it was not corrected and I, as a CD5 member, am offended. She needs and deserves the support of the MN DFL machine.

Overall a very upbeat night.  Feel free to use my name, Dick.

from Dick, in response: I didn’t note any slight of Rep. Omar, and specifically I noted affirmation of Keith Ellison.

I have noted over the years that politicians including those who speak for the party are extremely careful about what they say because, as we know, words and distorted inflections by selective snips of photographs can easily be manipulated, and are.  Note the recent sickening distortion video of Nancy Pelosi’s speech in the last couple of days.  This is just one example.

from Jim:  I attended as did Jules , Georgiana , and Mel. Because of the security checks, we were more of less forced to get to our respective tables early. So time to mix was a bit short.

Nancy Pelosi focused on the needs of the country and the legislation that the House had passed since January, legislation that Mitch McConnell will never allow to see the light of day. She must have listed a dozen bills of significance. Her key line was (something like)
“We in the House can legislate and investigate at the same time”.
My greatest concern was the small number of young in the audience. Yes, there were a number of young Amy supporters passing out buttons, but there were few others. At my table, there were a young couple, but they were there because their grandfather (or granduncle?) had bought the tickets but was unable to attend (health?). So getting the young
to care still seems our greatest difficulty.
Response from Dick: The event last night was very good, and very long.  [T]here were two young women at our table, and they left even before they had their meal.  I don’t know why they left.  They didn’t seem annoyed or anything like that.  I sort of simply see it this way: last night was a very significant birthday party for the DFL and attracted over 2,000 people, most of whom are senior people who have money to support the party efforts.  The youth don’t like long meetings or speeches, I think, and are more spur of the moment.  They know this is important, I’d guess, but don’t expect them to be at long events like this.  That’s all I can offer.  The speakers, all of them, were super, we felt.  And the event was very well organized.  We didn’t get home till near 10 p.m.
from JoAnn: Thank you for this, Dick.  Joe and I were unable to attend.  Sounds like a spectacular evening.  I would add only that the young can’t easily spend the money for the event, and in many cases add a babysitter.
from Dick:  I agree, JoAnn.  I say as such above: “senior people who have money”.  I don’t see a simple solution to this huge problem.  There is a constant drumbeat to get money out of politics, but how to enact such an idealisti view into law is always the question, as you know.  Close one loophole, and another one is found, or enabled.  As you know, my drumbeat of sorts is that the young people and the women in particular just have to take over, and get in it for the long haul.  They will make mistakes, and they have, but is how all of us learn.  We are in a truly crucial time.
from Jules: One unusual thing affected attendance. The special session kept away a number of young legislators and their even younger aides.

from Karla:  Of course it is partly because of cost. Young people want to see dems take on issues not spin wheels on personalities. That will take care of itself. 

Why do older people always wonder where young people are?  Get out amongst them and find out.

“Clearly”

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Even small fry like myself sometimes have “experts” in my circle.  Alan sent this yesterday: “Fans of obscure nineteenth century British aphorisms tend to like William Shenstone, who once said that the world may be divided into people that read, people that write, people that think, and fox-hunters*.”  Indeed.

47 years ago – it was March of 1972 – I began my career representing people as a teachers union field representative.  I didn’t seek the job; like most of my colleagues, I learned by doing during the first year that all Minnesota public school teachers had the legal right to negotiate collective bargaining agreements in Minnesota.  The process, as you might expect, was imperfect.  The old rules were changed for all “sides” and mistakes were made.  But we worked through it, not always easily.  Most every year for the last 20 years, I’ve gone out to the old school district, Anoka-Hennepin, for the teachers union annual dinner, where a dwindling few of us can share ever older stories.  This year, the program said, there were 20 of us retirees in attendance; another was unable to attend; seven were “kids” – people who I didn’t know during my ten years there, now long ago.

There were many lessons to learn in those first ten years.  Most of the first were in what we used to call “teacher rights and responsibilities”, many of which were statutory, to be interpreted by lawyers and if the issues couldn’t be resolved by arbitrators or judges.

Perhaps the earliest lawyer word I learned was “clearly”.  Lawyers are almost always, unfortunately, advocates for a “side”, and when they encounter a case a favorite word is often “clearly” – they can make a strong case for their client.  The simple analysis is almost never true, of course.  Hundreds of years of laws and their interpretation, mostly written by lawyers, make the “law” much like swiss cheese.  Everything is open to interpretation and most everything to appeal.  There was a reason why I asked a lawyer in 2017, “WWDTD.  What would Donald Trump do?”  Trump had just taken the oath of office to be President of the United States.

*

It isn’t quite so easy to win in court as it appears.

Which brings me to the present day, in Washington D.C.  where the essence of the many cases can, in my opinion, be boiled down to this conflict:

1.  Words taped to the front of the Presidents lectern in the Rose Garden at the White House yesterday: among which were: “NO Collusion”.

2.  And a book which I bought recently, and I think everyone should have as a ready reference in coming months:

My copy of The Mueller Report is 729 pages, and not meant for digesting in a single marathon sitting, but time well spent by picking out even random bits and pieces.  It is for people who read, think and write….(You might remember it being summarized by Attorney General Barr by extraction of a few words from its text and a misleading summary; the actual report is very explicit.)

But the “NO Collusion” group (#1 above) really could care less about the reality of the report.

We – all of us – are the ones who have created this mess in which we find ourselves by our own very sloppy decision making.  We vote, or we don’t, with knowledge of the consequences, or not.  Here we are.

“Clearly”, we are the ones to blame, by our own sloppiness and laziness.

Chew on that for awhile.

  • – Fox hunters, as defined in the article referenced in the first paragraph: “That’s a British thing. Those brutal and cruel, or sporting and aristocratic, fox hunts have been an issue for ages. On this side of the pond we don’t concern ourselves with such things. For ritual blood sport NASCAR and the NFL will do just fine. But of course the Shenstone quip can make Americans smile. The world can be divided into those who do a lot of reading, to try to understand what is going on, which is endless research, and those who try to explain things to themselves, and to others, by writing things down in this order or that, which is careful analysis and re-analysis, and then those who don’t get around to either but do think long and hard about issues, and then those who just go out and do mindless things, because one ought to do something.“

Abortion

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This is the 1,453rd post since I initiated this blog in March, 2009.  It is also the first time where I’ve used a previously used title for a blog.  The first use of the word ‘abortion’ as a blog title was here, October 12, 2009, where I told my personal story.  I invite you to take a look at that post, which was written in the first year of the Obama presidency, and about the debate about abortion funding in the not yet enacted Affordable Care Act.

A few months earlier, May 17, 2009, almost exactly ten years ago, President Obama spoke at Notre Dame University.  The concern was he’d touch the topic of abortion.  I wrote about that here.  (NOTE:  links included in both posts are no longer current or accessible).

(Word search indicates that I have used the word “abortion” in 23 posts over the years, should anyone be interested.  Personal opinion: this issue has never been about “life”.  It is totally about power and control.)

*

Now, ten years later, May, 2019, the alarm bells have sounded, and these alarm bells are a call to action – particularly for those of us who have concern about the rights of women.

Within the last two weeks, ten states have passed obviously coordinated laws to challenge Roe v Wade, hoping that the new configuration of the Trump Supreme Court will reverse a Supreme Court interpretation which has stood since 1973.   A Move-on alert  May 20 said “abortion bans have been introduced in at least 28 states , and the Senate is holding hearings on a nationwide, 20-week ban.”  Groups like Planned Parenthood and ACLU will be crucial sources of support and action and information.

While the specific laws have differences in language, there is absolutely no question that their introduction and enactment were orchestrated and very intentional.  The thought is that this new Supreme Court will, after 46 years, get rid of Roe v Wade.  No one can predict this for certain; on the other hand, the odds are much more in favor of success than they were before.

The so-called “pro-life” constituency is energized.  The evil “baby-killers” (people like myself who believe in the woman’s rights over her own body) will now be powerless, legally.  The current president is forgiven for all his “exaggerations” (lies, as described by a Trump supporter) as he promotes “sanctity of life”, as defined by the most conservative moralists.  There is no lack of outrageous hypocrisy.  Trumps foot-soldiers are the evangelical Christians, marching to war.  The old phrase, “the ends justify the means” seems to fit, perfectly.

There is a word of caution here to the moralists, one of many messages: this won’t work, even if it appears to be succeeding.

Ours is, of course, a bitterly (and deliberately) divided country at this point in our history.   Nonetheless when embarking on a ‘civil war’, as this (and other) issues certainly have become over the last quarter century), zealots best exercise considerable caution.  The deadliest war in American history was the Civil War, which in effect was the war to save slavery.  We all know the results of that war.  The cost of division was enormous.  Those who think they can now control the minority by controlling the law-making and ultimately the judicial decision making, will ultimately find themselves on the losing side.  And everyone will lose.

*   

I have followed this “life” situation very carefully for many years, starting with the 1976 political convention I attended in Anoka County Minnesota.  It was the DFL Convention, typical to a usual convention except for one particular conflict I remember.  Resolutions were proposed, as usual.  They required, as I recall, 60% to pass the convention.  A resolution was proposed to oppose Roe versus Wade; it failed.  A contravening motion also failed to meet the 60% threshold.  After the Convention, the supposed “pro-life” bunch deserted the DFL, and the past is history.

When I wrote those blogs ten years ago, we were in relatively benign times.  The choice now is ours: to be engaged actively, or to be defeated, albeit temporarily.

I choose to be engaged.

COMMENTS:

from Bob: The best line I have heard about the abortion issue was this bit of advice to each of us – and particularly to politicians: “Mind your own business!”

from Eileen: Agree. It’s about power and control.

from Greg: How can the catholic church call itself pro life when it really is pro birth?  It is free to march in protest to planned parenthood. But, to really be pro life requires effort and spending time and money. This holds true for parents and grandparents alike. Not all are able to provide for their children so that is where and when society must step up to help parents.   But isn’t interesting that abortion opponents invariably support politicians who oppose funding social programs that would benefit many young lives? So, who said they have to be consistent? Keep up the fight.  I agree with your characterization of what is behind the church opposition to abortion (note comment in below section of on-line comments].

from Jermitt: Thanks for your posting, Dick.  It is a powerful warning.  Everyone should take action to avoid what seems to be evitable.

 

Declaring War

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POSTNOTE: What follows, unedited, between the # signs, was saved yesterday morning, May 14,  at 9:20 a.m.  Ordinary  “Life” interfered so I didn’t get back to this until now, 4:33 a.m., May 15.  By habit , I get up early, and my first stop is the frequent Just Above Sunset, which I had read early yesterday, and again when I got the new edition early this morning.  Today’s post “Back to War Again”, is another several thousand words to motivate you.

“Back to War Again”, and “Expect Disastrous Results” (linked above and below) ought to raise citizen concerns, and stimulate action.  One can only hope.  My own warning, in my own amateur way, was being written yesterday, and I think I will publish it exactly where I had left it less than 24 hours ago.  I will probably add more to it later.  Executive Summary: Trump lusts for War, any kind of war, economic or military or [politics] makes no difference.   [Combat is his MO.  He’s also a coward, so never expect truth from him].

Unfortunately, as a  society, we are extremely comfortable with War under any name for any reason, however deadly the results, as the Chris Hedge’s 2002 book title so aptly says, “War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning“. We seem to love war.

For now, read on, and check back later, if you wish [edits to original  in brackets].  I will probably add more later – there were some other pieces of evidence I had seen, yesterday, which were additional concerns, and reminders.

#

If you’re interested in what the “big” people are saying about yesterday’s action re China, and continuing threats towards Iran by the man we elected in 2016, here’s several thousand words “Expect Disastrous Results”.

If you live in my general area, and want to hear in-person a very well informed person talk in person on May 20, check this out (scroll down to “The Changing Challenges of the Middle East in the Trump Era”).  When Dr. Beeman agreed to speak to our group, he suggested a generic title because the [Middle East] situation changes almost by the minute.  He is very well informed; I have heard him speak several times; his is a very informed opinion.

Likely we will have his remarks videotaped for later viewing.  Check back here once in awhile, perhaps in June.

*

A PERSONAL OPINION:

In my tiny corner of the world – this blog – I have been easy on Donald Trump.  The first time I mentioned his name was here, in January, 2017.  I follow politics closely, and Trump is hard not to notice, so from the time he came down the escalator at Trump Tower to announce his candidacy in early 2016 I knew he was running, but other than noting he had absolutely no governing experience, I didn’t pile on, and haven’t.  The people spoke, albeit weakly – he lost the popular vote – but his administration has become a disaster, including the future of his core supporters.  But they’ll have to learn that for themselves, and they’ll probably then blame Hillary, like that forlorn guy I saw coming out of a tax man’s office in ND in March of 2014.  At that time I was helping my Uncle and I was visiting his tax man.  A guy had just come out of the office, and said to the world, that Hillary Clinton should be in jail.  Yes, I know, it didn’t make sense.  At the time she had been Secretary of State for several years, and had not been a U.S. Senator for a long while, and her role in Tax policy would have been a single vote now and then…but piling on Hillary had already started.

*

War always sells.   It is, also, always a disaster.  [Surely, there is time for a ‘victory lap’.  Even Hitler got that, start to finish for him, in his 1,000 year Reich, was perhaps 10 years.  Winners who covet their win at others expense ultimately lose, often big-time.]

The traditional way of doing War is going somewhere and killing someone and risking getting killed yourself.  Think World War I and II.  A succession of Presidents, beginning with Truman, knew that Vietnam would not work, but took the leap anyway due to elections they felt they would lose if they were soft on War in Vietnam.  [In differing ways, they all bowed to political expediency.]  The very public they pandered to, was the one ultimately hurt.

There are people around who will still argue that we “won” Vietnam; of course, there are still people who think Hitler was on the right track as well.

[Our] Twitter King is also the King of Threats.  But he’s never been to actual War where you have to send actual boys and girls, like my Marine grandson presently, to do the actual dirty work of War.

So we have, now, the War on China, through Tariffs, which supposedly are the magic elixir to make “America Great Again” though the People Who Know Something are not so optimistic.  To use the farmyard term, all Trump knows is bullshit, and he has a very, very long track record.

But the moment he made his surprised (to him) ascent to the presidency in 2017, he was way out of his league, and at some level he’s known that since the beginning, but lying has worked well for him…so far.  [Don’t expect his base to renounce him, even though they will all be among the victims of his reign.]

He, and we, are like the plane that has overshot the runway.  He’s the pilot (there would be no other way) who didn’t do the pre-flight preparations, [indeed, doesn’t even know how to fly,] and in one way or another, he [overshoots] the runway, and while we’re racing down to an uncertain end, he’s telling us to buck up and take our medicine.  All will be better (if we survive).

Trump is a fake.  What surprises is why it’s taken so long to figure that out.

A few days ago, I finally bought an actual paper copy of the New York Times, strictly for one article:  “Trump Tax Figures…”

I could have read it on-line – we’re subscribers – but I wanted to see the visual presentation.  In any and all ways, Trump is and has always been a con-man.  For such an actor to succeed there need to be plenty of rubes, and we apparently are a ripe crop.

#

More later today.

9:23 p.m. May 15.  There is so much to add to the previous, but at this point I say “what’s the point”.   Suffice to say that there are consequences at the end of this path, and we will all pay the price.

Personally, I think the act with the greatest potential for negative consequences for the people like ourselves is the famous tax bill of 2016.  It was structured to suck us in; when the bill comes due, which it will in a few years, we’ll know how thoroughly we were taken for a ride.  I think I’ll save it for a separate post.  Best we all open our eyes, while we have the opportunity.

COMMENTS (Additional comments at end of post)

from Jeff:  I don’t expect war, but I do expect some skirmishes like a few years ago.  Either way, not good at all.  And now it gives the appearance (reality) of “wag the dog”.

 

On Mother’s Day 2019

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At the time of my heart surgery last December, a gift came my way in the form of a 16-month Wall Calendar for 2019, titled simply “brave at heart”.   Here are the monthly illustrations, which speak for themselves:

Here is the link to the publisher of the calendar.  Calendars come and go.  This one is a keeper for me.

Of course, Happy Mother’s Day!  This year, my thoughts diverge.

Every single one of us has a Mother…and a Dad…and bound up in the two of them, regardless of their personal characteristics, we connect back thousands of generations.  Families abound, beyond the human species, which is only one of millions.  We are born, live, die, our time here temporary.

Beyond the single commonality of becoming a being, everyone’s individual circumstances differ, from childhood forward.  We each have our story.  My “favorite” for some odd reason is the song about an angry kid and his far less than perfect Dad.  It’s the tune Johnny Cash made famous, “A Boy Named Sue”….  Johnny’s boy carried his baggage along…well, I just listened again to the song by Johnny on YouTube.  Go for it.  Best I recall, the first rendition I found on YouTube – the most famous – was performed by Cash at Folsom Prison, in front of an appreciative audience of inmates.  What “boy named Sue” stories they could tell….

Friday, we went over to get the now-traditional flower gifts for Mother’s Day at the local lock-up a few miles from here.  A program there is growing things, and from this flows the annual flower sale.  The folks assisting are all inmates, and the program is run by a group called VIC (Volunteers in Corrections).  It is a given that the folks assisting us in picking and moving the plants, and the ones who nurtured those plants in the first place, are there for a good reason.   They are inmates.

Likely the volunteers and the customers  as well, have their own stories from their own history, or from their own family, however large or small.  Life happens and can be very messy sometimes – bumps in life’s road – and the best one can hope for is that one’s misdeeds or misfortunes can lead towards a better future.  There is no assurance of ‘happily ever after’.

At the workhouse, the many stories quietly intersect among the pretty flowers.

We could go the traditional route with store-bought flowers, perhaps for a similar, perhaps even at a lower cost, but there is something that brings us back each year to this place once called the “workhouse”.

Which leads me back to this business called “family”.

Families are far more than just the most basic unit.  We all know that.

Families are cousins, they are neighborhoods, towns, counties, states, nations…we are all part of many families, various communities.  Most work reasonably well; some don’t….

Right now, we’re in a very dysfunctional country at the top. Too many trying to pretend that one tribe is better than another, and doesn’t deserve equal consideration: a few win, most lose.

Combat of any kind doesn’t work in the most ordinary of two person families.  It certainly won’t work long term if our country is to have any chance of remaining a home to be proud of.

Happy Mother’s Day.

From Ramsey Co Correctional Facility Maplewood MN May 10, 2019.  This one was particularly attractive, but needed a bath before delivery.

A New Year.

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Today is the first day of my 80th year.  I could go with the conventional – “79” – but for some reason telling it like it is is more appropriate, at least to me.  Today is also the 5 month anniversary of my heart surgery Dec. 4.  Life is good – not 100% yet, but getting closer.

Today was generally a quiet day.  We spent some time at the marvelous Festival of Nations in St. Paul.  Tomorrow is the final day, and I highly recommend attending if you have time on your hands.  Here is most of the program booklet: Festival of Nations 2019016

Today is also grandson Parkers 17th birthday.  He and I share a birthday.  Below is the first “birthday party” for he and I, when he was just weeks old in 2002.

Dick and Parker, May 18, 2002. Parker’s birthdate May 4, 2002

Yes, I’m 17 years older now, and so is Parker, a strapping Junior in high school.  Lots of life lived in between then and now.  Life is good, even with the bumps in the road.

I close with some thoughts picked up at an exhibit table about Gandhi today.  This two page pamphlet is inspiring and informative: Gandhi 150th015.

Best wishes for a good life.

 

Law Day 2019

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The Jim Nelson program described below was video-taped and at some early point will be available here.

Jim Nelson speaks on the history of the Minnesota United Nations Movement on World Law Day, May 1, 2019. (see additional photos at end of this post)

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May 1  is Law Day in the United States.  Most likely you’ve never heard of it, but it’s officially been around since 1958 when it was proclaimed by President Eisenhower.  It was an idea of folks in the American Bar Association.  Like most ideas, it was probably hatched out of an earnest conversation, maybe over lunch, and a few people took the idea and ran with it.  And here it is, 61 years later.

If you’re interested, here’s two bits of history about Law Day, from Wikipedia, and  from the American Bar Association , about the 2019 observance.

I really didn’t know there was such a thing as Law Day till I crossed paths with Lynn Elling back in 2007.  Lynn died on the doorstep of 95 in 2016, and left a passionate legacy of advocacy for a World  which operated under the rule of Law, as opposed to the law of Force.  He was a businessman, a Naval officer in WWII, and he’d been to Hiroshima a couple of times, the first in 1954.  He knew more than a little bit about the downside of war.

In 1964, he and a few colleagues established something they called a World Law Day dinner, always on May 1.  It attached to the idea of Law Day, and it went on for 25 years until, as often happens in life, it went into hibernation.  25 years later, in 2013, nearing the end of his life, Lynn asked that the dinner be resurrected, and the task fell to me.

Later this afternoon at Gandhi Mahal restaurant in Minneapolis about 25 of us will gather to have a meal and hear speaker Jim Nelson reconstruct a history of over 70 years in the Twin Cities on the topic: “The Future of the Past”, a look back at the United Nations Movement in Minnesota – a very rich history of citizen involvement towards a better world.  Here is today’s program, beginning with dinner at 5:30: World Law Day 2019003 and a World Law 2019 Dick006

This is the 7th year in the second round of World Law Day dinners.  It promises to be a rich evening.  If you want more information, just let me know: dick_bernardATmsnDOTcom.  If plans work out, the event will be video-taped and later shown on the website of Citizens for Global Solutions Minnesota.

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In the process of preparing for this evening, I had occasion to review the voluminous file I’ve kept for years of another departed friend, Gov. Elmer L. Andersen.  Elmer was outstanding citizen of the world – a wealthy businessman, yes, and a prominent Republican politician for many years.  In his later life he published  suburban and rural newspapers, and in the file I found many of his publishers notes – his column – published in his newspapers.  They were always thought provoking.

One column which seems especially pertinent to today is this one, from 1993: World Law 2019 007 (enlargeable pdf).   Here is a photo of the same:

This column represented the tenor of all of the many I saved.  His instincts were progressive.

How, I wonder, would Mr. Andersen, a lifelong Republican, view the political scene in which I write 26 years later….

Have a great World Law Day.

COMMENT from a great friend in Europe:

Thanks for that Mr Bernard!

I like St Paul’s “The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” & by letter it is generally agreed he meant the law.

Metropolitan Anthony used to say if you have the choice between breaking the law & breaking a person, break the law.

“There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice” Montesquieu.

Of course all this is not to say there is no place for laws but just to put things in perspective & establish some sort of priorities. It is also a warning against carrying the law too far into the land of legalism (& the million lawyers). In the field of foreign affairs & relations, applying the laws & treaties is important & reassuring especially to the weaker states. President Trump obviously has no time for such niceties & he is busily tearing up trade deals, negotiated treaties, climate protocols etc etc

When the president of the dominant super power decides that such behavior is not only acceptable but desirable, then respect for laws in general weakens & the only law that remains is the law of the jungle – sometimes referred to as lawlessness. There is little new under the sun & the ancient Greek historian Thucydides said it well about 2500 years ago: “since you know as well as we do that right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must”. Sadly expenditure on arms indicates that this view is increasingly prevalent. I like John Gray’s assertions that continuous progress is a bit of a myth & that humans are not that special – they might not destroy the earth but they are capable of destroying the environment that sustains them etc. Pessimism? Witnessing current developments it feels more like realism.

Have a wonderful day,

POSTNOTE:  Today’s banner headline in the Minneapolis paper said “Guilty of Murder” – the conclusion of the trial of policeman Mohamed Noor in the shooting death of Justine Rusczyk Damond in a south Minneapolis alley.  The newspaper coverage (online) is here.  (The actual newpaper headline is “Guilty of Murder” with subheads “Jury also convicts Noor of Manslaughter, “Victim’s family follows verdict with blistering assessment of police, BCA”)

I just sent the following letter to the editor of the paper: “It is ironic that today’s banner headline, “Guilty of Murder” appears on Law Day, first proclaimed by President Eisenhower in 1958, and codified by Congress in 1961, always noted on May 1.

Once again, some celebrate a winner, and revile a loser, but in reality, we all lose.  And the adversary system, which is the Law, is put in the spotlight, and not only in Minnesota.

What happened two years ago in a quiet neighborhood is a tragedy for everyone involved, and best that the ‘victory lap’ be short and very muted.  There is hopefully an opportunity to learn, by all of us.
Dick Bernard ”

What I wrote to family and friends, along with the text of the above letter, was this: “What I have watched the past two years was the aftermath of a tragic incident, which did not merit a death for one person, or prison for the other.  There were, in my view, two victims that tragic night in a dark alley in Minneapolis.  But that is how ‘law’ too often works….”

Additional Photos from World Law Day May 1, 2019: