Jimmy Carter, 1924-2024.

I always have resonated with the Carters, and a search of the words “Jimmy Carter” at this site will find  many posts.  The most recent is October 1, 2024 (the section about Carter is near the end of the post).  Enter the words “Jimmy Carter” in the search, and it says the words occur in 40 of my posts going back to 2012.  I’m not about to review all of them, except say that if his name was mentioned, I know it was positive.  He lived and he died a “class act”.  We are all for the better because of his life’s work in many arenas.

Today’s Minnesota Star Tribune devoted seven pages to President Carter.  It helps, I’m sure, that Minnesotan Walter Mondale was his vice-president, but President Carter’s record speaks for itself.

I’ll not belabor you with many words.  I’ll link you with two morning posts who comment on Jimmy and Rosalynn’s positive legacy.

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For the first time, this morning, it occurred to me that I have much more in common with Jimmy Carter than I thought.

Jimmy Carter was born October 1, 1924.  He was a farm kid from tiny Archery, Georgia.  What hadn’t occurred to me was that my Uncle Vincent, Mom’s brother, who I knew very well, and was the last of his family to die, was also a farm kid, born just three months after Jimmy Carter.  In a sense they were ‘kin-kids’.

Both Vincent and Jimmy were kids of the Great Depression.  They were from very different parts of the U.S., but there was a community of experience about the Depression, and community, generally, which I vicariously learned through Uncle Vince (who died at 90, ten years ago), and through all of my mentors in life from “the greatest generation”.

Vince would recall 1934 as the worst year of the Depression.  He (and Jimmy) were 9 years old, and old enough to know.  The experience of the difficult decade of the 1930s, and WWII which followed, stuck with Vince, and I think with Jimmy as well,

One time I asked Vincent about a large Cottonwood tree on the home farm, I reduced his recollections to writing, and this seems an appropriate occasion to share again.  You can read it here.

Vincent never went to college, but he had a great abundance of country wisdom.

Following are two of today’s commentaries about President Carter which I resonate with: here and here.

Jimmy Carter was an inspiration.

POSTNOTE: There have been a number of comments to yesterdays Bob Dylan post.  Take a look here.

Have a good New Years eve, with hope for a Happy New Year.

COMMENTS (more at end of post)

from Michael: RIP Jimmy Carter. The US Peace Memorial will feature antiwar statements made by Americans who are easily recognized by virtue of their prominent leadership roles, cultural contributions, and historical importance. This is one quote under consideration at www.USPeaceMemorial.org/Quotes.htm. When we realize that leaders from a variety of backgrounds have articulated strong antiwar statements, our culture can change. More people will feel comfortable speaking out, and the government will be challenged more frequently when it threatens, invades, or occupies other countries.

from Dick: Do visit the US Peace Memorial website.  I have been a founding member for many years.  It is a very worthwhile project.

from Nicole: President Carter was my father’s absolute favorite President.  I lived in Atlanta for a few years, and his positive legacy was everywhere!

from Chuck:  Carter is right behind Lincoln and then Washington regarding doing what is right.  Not always what the people want…

In the 10s of thousands of words I’ve read so far in the media honoring (or criticizing) this late great man and our nation’s most principled US President, there was never a mentioned this profound commission that requisite to the office of President of the United States.

In 1980 Jimmy Carter’s bipartisan Presidential Commission on World Hunger concluded with a specific warning if humanity failed to end the worst aspects of widespread hunger and poverty by the year 2000.  The commission concluded that “The most potentially explosive force in the world today is the frustrated desire of poor people to attain a decent standard of living. The anger, despair, and often hatred that result represent real and persistent threats to international order… Neither the cost to national security of allowing malnutrition to spread nor the gain to be derived by a genuine effort to resolve the problem can be predicted or measured in any precise, mathematical way. Nor can monetary value be placed on avoiding the chaos that will ensue unless the United States and the rest of the world begin to develop a common institutional framework for meeting such other critical global threats  Calculable or not, however, this combination of problems now threatens the national security of all countries just as surely as advancing armies or nuclear arsenals.”

They also stated “that promoting economic development in general, and overcoming hunger in particular, are tasks far more critical to the U.S. national security than most policymakers acknowledge or even believe. Since the advent of nuclear weapons, most Americans have been conditioned to equate national security with the strength of strategic military forces. The Commission considers this prevailing belief to be a simplistic illusion. Armed might represents merely the physical aspect of national security. Military force is ultimately useless in the absence of the global security that only coordinated international progress toward social justice can bring.”

In the last two decades humanity has been experiencing the consequences of ignoring this warning with increases in “diseases”, “international terrorism”, “war”, “environmental problems” and “other human rights problems” (refugees, genocide, human trafficking…).  Combined, these global pressures have fueled the anti-democratic populist movements that continue to thrive in our increasingly political polarized populations, religions, nations, and East vs West strategic blocks.  In the first days of 2025 nine more nations joined the BRICS axis which President-elect Trump is threatening with even more sanctions.

Over the past 40 years dozens of other prestigious, bipartisan studies and academic reports have followed Carter’s 1980 commission report. Each clearly documents the direct and indirect links between world hunger, human rights violations, global instability, violent extremism, displaced refugees, and the growing array of other threats to our freedoms, health, economy, national security, and global political and environmental stability.  The costly consequences of failed states cannot be stopped with walls, sanctions, or more military power.

Fortunately, an affordable and achievable plan exists. Globally approved in 2015, the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are a comprehensive approach essential to addressing the root causes of most of the preventable tragic and bankrupting problems governments are dealing with now.   Yet no organization or institution has yet taken a leadership role in building the ‘Movement of Movements’ needed to bring the tens of thousands of human rights, peace and environmental organizations together into a single global movement.   Time is not on our side. The evolution of pathogens, weapons, war, corruption, environmental distresses, political polarization, government debt, and growing economic disparities are outpacing humanities will to voluntarily change our governing systems. This is literally and globally unsustainable.  Leadership is urgently needed for some organization to take the lead.

On July 4th, 2026 the Declaration of Independence that President Carter said created the idea of America, will celebrate its 250th anniversary of “Truths to be Self-evident” that Abraham Lincoln said was ‘for all people, everywhere, for all time”.  This coming 4th of July many US based organizations have already started organizing for the 250 anniversary with 250 And Beyond: AARP Foundation, American Association for State and Local History, American Institute of Graphic Arts, America’s Service Commissions, California Volunteers, Campus Compact, Interfaith America, Karsh Institute of Democracy, Made By Us, National Council for Social Studies, National Youth Leadership Council, Partnership for Public Service, PBS Books, Peace Corps Foundation, Serve Colorado, The Volcker Alliance, Urban Libraries Council, Washington State Historical Society, WETA.

This unique anniversary needs to be celebrated by local communities globally to bring community members together with the paid staff organizations working in their local community to learn the priorities of that community, and then work together in a comprehensive approach to make measurable progress on each of the 168 specific measurable and achievable goals within the 17 SDGs.  Progress on these goals have been insufficient to meet the 2030 deadline.  Every minute, hour and day between now and July 4th 2026 is an opportunity to inspire a global movement to bring sanity to humanity.

Chuck Woolery, Former Chair
United Nations Association, Council of Organizations
315 Dean Dr., Rockville, MD 20851
Cell:240-997-2209   chuck@igc.org

Blogs:  435 Campaign:  www.435globaljustice.blogspot.com  (May 2017  through today)

Dothefreakinmath http://dothefreakinmath.blogspot.com  (June 2006 to Nov 2016)

The Trilemma  http://trilemma.blogspot.com/  (Oct 2011 to Nov 2013)

“Today the most important thing, in my view, is to study the reasons why humankind does nothing to avert the threats about which it knows so much, and why it allows itself to be carried onward by some kind of perpetual motion.  It cannot suffice to invent new machines, new regulations, new institutions.  It is necessary to change and improve our understanding of the true purpose of what we are and what we do in the world.  Only such an understanding will allow us to develop new models of behavior, new scales of values and goals, and thereby invest the global regulations, treaties, and institutions with a new spirit and meaning.”  President Vaclav Havel, Czech Republic.

Bob Dylan

For Christmas this year I had only a single ask: I wanted to see the just released film on Bob Dylan’s first years in New York, A Complete Unknown.  Didn’t see it Christmas Day or the day after, but Friday we took it in at the local Woodbury Theatre, with a healthy size audience.  I’d give it a very high rating, and surely recommend it.  I’m no reviewer: you can find hundreds on line already.  At least check it out.

As it happened, Christmas eve I checked in and the Dylan documentary, No Direction Home was on the tube.  It’s readily available online and an excellent ‘primer’ before watching Unknown.

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Personal Comments: I’ve wandered around this planet of ours for a lot of years – Bob Dylan is younger than I – and plenty of people know me from the 1960s, some of whom, will see this post.  So, when I say “the sixties passed me by”, any number of people can challenge my veracity.

When I talk about “the sixties” I’m talking about ‘Nam, Civil Rights and all of that sort of thing.  “The sixties”, for me, was much more about basic survival, with none of the ordinary luxuries of being in my 20s.  The Unknown film essentially begins with the Cuban Missile Crisis.  While Dylan was not long in New York, in October, 1962, I watched President Kennedy speak to the nation on television in an Army barracks in Colorado.  In the summer of 1965, Bob Dylan stirred up the purists at the Newport Folk Festival; back home in the Midwest I was burying my wife of two years, and trying to figure out how to take care of a one year old, and teach and work a second job to survive.

What I know about the 60s, I largely learned after the fact.  As the saying goes, Life had other priorities for me.

I did actually live in Hibbing Minnesota from 1983-91, about five blocks west of the house where Bobby Zimmerman grew up, only two blocks from the Hibbing High School.  You can see both his home and high school here.

Dylan was long gone by 1983, and my recollection is that he was not much revered in his home town.  I recall often walking to the Hull-Rust mine view less than a mile north, and the visitor facility showed no evidence of Bob Dylan as a local boy made good.  The display Board emphasized Jeno Paulucci, who made his mint selling canned food products.  I represented Iron Range teachers including Hibbing, and I cannot recall anything negative about Dylan as a student.  Anyone can read the biographies.

I saw Bob Dylan perform in person only one time, and that was in August, 1997, at Midway Stadium in St. Paul.  Opening that show was Ani DiFranco. Miracle of the Internet, I found two sites with information about that particular concert, here and here.  The bandstand that night was in deep center field, and most of us stood on the baseball diamond.  It was a memorable evening; I recall it starting late, which would surprise nobody.

Other than wandering on the same general turf as Bob Dylan, and being about the same age, there were no points where we ever actually met.  But I’ve always liked his music, and there is a certain pride in proximity to greatness.

(At the end of A Complete Unknown, a statement flashed on the screen that Dylan was the first and only musician to win a Nobel Prize in literature (2016).  He declined to appear in person to accept the award.  Here’s an interesting article at the time of his award.)

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POSTNOTE:  As we know, history always has threads to the past, and lessons for the future…but we have to pay attention.

Early in the film Pete Seeger takes Bob Dylan to meet Woody Guthrie in a New Jersey Hospital.  Woody suffered for years from the debilitating Huntington’s Disease, dying in 1967.  At bedside, Bob Dylan played for Woody.  The scene reminded me of a similar scene in Minneapolis 9 years ago, where Larry Long came to play and sing for lion-for-peace Lynn Elling.  Most certainly, Larry that day played Lynn’s favorite peace anthem: “Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream”.  A tribute to Lynn and Dr. Joe Schwartzberg can be viewed here.  The movie at the site incudes John Denver singing the song live.   We all have heroes.  Lynn is one of mine; the day I met him he was 85, giving his best rendition of the song….  He never lost his passion for peace.  He’ll be in my mind constantly as 2025 begins and history continues.

 

With Lynn Elling two weeks before his death February 2016, a few days before his 95th birthday. Ruhel Islam, Larry Long, and Lynn’s daughters Cindy Sheffield and Sandy Curry.  Photo Dick Bernard

COMMENTS (see more at end);

Dick: After publishing this post, I looked to see if I had a home file on Bob Dylan.  Yes, I did, and I’m including here pdf’s of some of the earliest articles about his work. Bob Dylan Seventeen Mag Sep 1962 p 117; Bob Dylan Time May 31 1963; Bob Dylan Newsweek Nov 4 1963.  Not included is a very long profile about him in the Oct 24, 1964 New Yorker: “The crackin’, shakin’, breakin’ sounds”

from Carole: If I have an interest! ! !   Dylan emerged during  my college years. I remember trying to explain the poetic magic to my father (born in 1890!).  It is definitely on my to-watch list.  Thank you,, and very best wishes for 2025.

from Larry: Dick…will read your complete post and comment on Dylan. In this morning’s [Fargo ND] Forum, there was a repeat of an article published a long time ago abou Dylan’s 1959 year in Fargo. I’ll attach a two-page pdf of the piece…interesting life that, fortunately, isn’t over yet…LG. Bob Dylan Forum_12_29_2024

from Larry Long (photo above): Dick I was just thinking of Lynn and you.  So moved by the image of us at his bedside and your reflections. I, too, saw the movie A Complete Unknown.  Equally struck by those moments at Woody’s bedside with our dear friend Pete Seeger.  Sure hope you can come to our American Roots Revue Dakota concert on January 3rd.  We’ll be doing a Woody & Dylan song along with Lift Every Voice & Sing, A Change is Gonna Come and others.  Would love to see you.   Two concerts – 6:30 & 8:30.   Love you my friend.

from SAK:  Dear Mr Bernard, thanks!

I shall try & watch the film. Your article & Dylan brought back lots of memories.

The very first I believe was when our then English teacher brought a couple of Dylan songs for us to read & discuss. I still remember that 2 of them were Blowin’ in the Wind & The Times They Are A’Changin’. Interestingly a student complained to his parents about the songs – their being of a revolutionary nature – & the parents took the matter further & the teacher was asked to stop the “enlightenment”. That student is now a Republican Trump fan.

I still don’t think Dylan was very explicit in his songs, not advocating explicit political opinions that is. Of course he wrote & sang many protest songs – e.g. Talkin’ John Birch Society Blues, Death of Emmett Till, Masters of War, With God on our Side, Señor (Tales of Yankee Power & others). I take it that was because he is primarily a poet & not a totally engaged rebel or politician. His poetic talent was confirmed by the Nobel prize for literature as you mention. Joan Baez was more of a life-long activist & it’s sad how Dylan broke up with her but c’est la vie I suppose & it gave us a song of hers I really enjoy: Diamonds & Rust (mentions the Midwest!).

Great that you lived a few blocks from Dylan & who knows your paths might have crossed! I liked your: “As the saying goes, Life had other priorities for me.” John Lennon similarly sang: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” I have to admit we were closer to The Beatles for obvious reasons! “Beatles ‘64” a film about The Beatles’ tour of the US just came out & suppose it did some good to a country still recuperating from president Kennedy’s assassination although the relationship with parts of the US audience soured later – trailer etc available online.

Well thanks again & all the best for 2025, let’s see what life brings!

from Norm:  I have never been a fan of the songs by the kid from Hibbing except for one or two of them.   I did not care for the sound of his voice, and I wasn’t really into the protest side of his music.

On the other hand, I have heard that it is a good movie about Dylan.

from Dick, responding to Norm: As we know, “to each his or her own”.  People see the same thing (and people) in different ways.  You hail from the same general area as Dylan (Zimmerman), and as I note in the blog, in my years in Hibbing it didn’t seem even the home town held him in high regard for assorted reasons, doubtless.  I notice I have a file on Dylan which includes some articles going back as far as 1963.  I’ll likely pdf one or two or three and add them here, later.  Thanks for comment.

from Michelle: And a very Happy New Year to you too Dick. Thank you for all that you do to keep us informed and motivated.

from Judy: We saw it last night! Fabulous!

from Jane: Back at ya.  My son is off watching that movie right now.  I even met Dylan once, back in 1965 in Greenwich Village.

from Jeff: We enjoyed the movie, I guess I am a Dylan fan.  I wasn’t overwhelmed by the movie, but found the performances really really good, and also the sets and locations and costuming were great….. I know you lived thru the Cuban Missile crisis, I was just 8 years old but I remember it…but the scenes and mainly sounds in NYC evoked as experienced by Dylan in one scene of the movie were a revelation to me. I don’t remember that feeling of panic growing up in the Upper Peninsula, but I was a kid in lower elementary then…   I admit to being a fan of 60s and 70s Dylan with perhaps his Blood on the Tracks album being my favorite…, particularly the song Tangled up in Blue.    The portrayal in the movie is very interesting…a man consumed by creating music and creating himself….an interesting character,

from Valerie: My friends and I just saw A Complete Unknown. Excellent movie!


from Jane: Thanks Dick.  This column  [by Garrison Keillor] is hysterical and also spot on. Leave to Garrison!

I have a memory of a guitar -strumming guy friend who was a Dylan fan when we were in high school in Albert Lea in the early 1960s.  We both worked on a summer day camp for mentally disabled.  He was absolutely sure that Bob (or Zimmerman, as he called him)  would walk down the streets of Albert Lea at any moment!  It made Dylan feel very real to me!!

 

“Away in a Manger”

POSTNOTE, Jan. 11, 2025: Following Christmas came Epiphany on January 5.  Johan van Parys, Directory of Liturgy and Sacred Arts at Basilica; of Fr. Joe Gillespie, of St. Albert the Great, wrote more about the story of Christs birth and what it means.  Both are accessible here: Epiphany Joe Gillespie Johan van Parys.  I looked for words that seem pertinent to discuss in much greater depth.  In no particular order “mystery”, “revelation”. “manifestation”, “Epiphany”, “miracle”, “experience”, “presence”, “belief”, “Story”, “truth”…and likely other words both written in the comments and others.  There is ‘truth’, and there is ‘belief’ and all variations in between.

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My Christmas message includes a few separate items received recently from several friends.  They make a good Christmas message by themselves.   If you read no further, do check out these commentaries on the season: The December 21-22 Minnesota Star Tribune carried this column by Retired Judge Bruce Peterson Dec. 2024.  Separately, Jeff sent me the St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church message: St. Joan of Arc Minneapolis Dec. 2024.

In addition, two book recommendations from friends: Kathy recommended Crisis Contemplation Healing the Wounded Village by Barbara A. Holmes (I have it.  Very worthwhile); Fr. Joe recommended Hope, the Autobiography by Pope Francis (newly published).  And, thanks to Molly, this music by Allison Krause and YoYo Ma.  And a second Kathy sent the quotation by Episcopal Bishop John Selby Spong (below).  These are six Christmas gifts to be shared.

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Personal Thoughts at Christmas 2024.  Personally, we’ll be at 9:30 Mass at Basilica of St. Mary this morning.

I was thinking about doing a Christmas post about the birth of Jesus and the application to today, specifically to migrants.  I found an early-1900s postcard from the Busch farm collection, and a 2023 Christmas card I’d kept, and looked up the Bible reading in Grandma Bernard’s 1911 Bible: Luke Chapter 2 Nativity  I also found a wonderful rendition of Away in a Manger by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

What was notable in both cards – both at the “manger” – was the whiteness of everyone, including the angels. [see postnote]

I looked up the route from Nazareth to Bethlehem (I visited both in person in 1996).  It is a hard to imagine the trip Mary and Joseph would have taken, even boom there, viewing the land from a bus, even in peacetime in Israel in January 1996.  And it is hard to imagine a late-in-pregnancy woman making what amounted to a 90 mile trip, even under ideal circumstances.  But that’s what the Bible has always said about the birth of Jesus, and who am I to challenge?

(Luke’s Gospel, the one noted here, was probably written 80 years or more after the actual event, probably based on oral memories, not even first person. Even today no one can say with certainty who “Luke” was, or where the author lived.)

Some 250 years after Luke was written, Helena, the mother of Roman Emperor Constantine, visited the Holy Land, and she is apparently the one who decreed the official site of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem.

Imagine doing such a story today, about something which happened 80 years ago (1944), with no first person information or source documents as we have via internet, etc.

When I looked up the route from Nazareth to Bethlehem, my map feature had to be coaxed to the route I had experienced 29 years ago. It initially diverted me from Nazareth to another nearby Bethlehem in Galilee, much closer than the traditional Bethlehem near Jerusalem.  (The longer trip was about 90 miles, Bethlehem about six miles from Jerusalem; the closer Bethlehem about 6 miles from Nazareth.  Neither is labelled Bethlehem on the map, but they do exist.

Parts of Luke’s story were the Gospel on Sunday, and will again be part of one of the Masses on Christmas Day.  Do I dismiss the relevance of the story?  No.  Do I take the story literally?  No, as well.  Even this small research was another learning opportunity about a writing I’d never taken a lot of time to think about.  Maybe that’s the benefit of the story for people like myself: an opportunity to reflect

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A few evenings ago, I happened to be watching the Discovery Channel, and there happened to be a program on where Jesus was born.  It was a fascinating program, from several years ago, and I think you’d find it interesting.

Of course, when it comes to religion, nothing is simple.  There are tens of  thousands of “Christian denominations”, hundreds of them in the United States, with varying interpretations of even common articles of faith, and of course power blocs not unlike political parties.

Blessings at Christmas 2024.

 

POSTNOTE:  Those who know me well know who I am in terms of faith.  I personally like the traditional mantra at my own parish, where everyone is welcomed wherever they are on their faith journey.  A friend sent me a forward from a mutual friend, yesterday, which says it better than I can.  Shelby Spong is a deceased Episcopal Bishop.

POSTNOTE: After publishing we went to Christmas Mass.  Positively impressed.  The booklet we all received had the below cover, which seemed to have a Hispanic theme, and brown faces.  I felt it a very positive touch.

COMMENTS (more at end):

from Fred:  I enjoyed your history-oriented Christmas greetings. This morning a NPR reporter stationed herself in Bethlehem and discovered it was pretty-much deserted. Hotel occupancy under 5%. Almost no one walking around. Gotta say 2024 has not been a good year in the Holy Land and all sorts of other places around the world.   Here’s hoping for a happier New Year.

from Patricia: May you feel the peace, quiet pleasure and hopefulness of this season of Christmas and Hanukah.

from SAK:  Thanks Mr Bernard for the Christmas message & for keeping us informed throughout the year. I agree & accept the religious message without believing literally. I cannot understand those who reject history, physics etc & hold on to “fundamentalist” theories. They bring to mind Voltaire’s “Anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”

Pope’s astronomer, brother Guy Consolmagno (M.I.T. educated) gave a lecture at Cambridge, UK, recently reassuring the audience that there is no conflict between science & faith.

He was also a humourist saying at one stage – alert! Physics joke:

“[Stephen] Hawking said gravity started the big bang & therefore you don’t need God.  If you think God is gravity then maybe that’s why Catholics celebrate Mass.”

Mass by the way is the ‘m’ in E = mc².  Merry Christmas & a glorious 2025

from Kathy: The announcer on MPR [public radio] said ” With all the political and religious things this year please remember the Beatles song:”Come  Together”

from Arthur: Thank you! Merry Christmas and joy to the world!

from Donna Jan. 1 2025: This was the front of the mass leaflet this morning and I thought of you taking pictures at the Basilica on Christmas Day.  I think it is such a beautiful picture.  I wish for you and Kathy good health and peace in 2025.

 

 

A House Divided

PRENOTE:  There are some very interesting comments at the Syria post from Dec. 9,  here.  Take a look.

POSTNOTES: Here is the text of President Biden’s Dec. 11 speech at the Brookings Institution on accomplishments of the Biden administration 2021-2024.  Take the time to read it.  Heather Cox Richardson on President Biden’s visit to Angola on December 2, here.   Joyce Vance on Pardons, Commutations etc. here.  After Christmas more politically related posts

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Dec. 11 was the deadline for states to submit Certificates of Ascertainment regarding the election of President of the United States. The 2024 Election Key Dates:  here.  Inauguration January 20, 2025.

I am one of the class of people – those who supported Kamala Harris et al – labeled by association “the enemy from within” by the incoming chief executive of the U.S., who has previously said publicly, to supporters, “I am your retribution” and who has a history of lying about everything, bullying as a tactic and revenge as a remedy.  There is much to say, to be continued.

No one knows how the next four years will go, much less how the first day or 100 days.   “Disrupt and confuse” is a common tactic.  I will be paying close attention as a citizen.

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My candidates, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, lost Nov. 5.

To give the word “lost”  `context: on December 1, the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Arizona Cardinals 23-22 – a one point victory.  The margin of victory (or loss) was essentially identical to the presidents 1.5% margin Nov. 5.  It was disappointing to lose, but it was no blowout.

The December 10 vote total, according to the Associated Press, showed the below number of votes for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.  (All the vote totals are here: Presidential vote as of Dec. 10 2024 )

Votes fo Kamala Harris/Tim Walz Nov. 5, 2024

I am one of the 75 million votes.  I certainly am not alone.

If each one of us reflected in the above number made a quiet commitment to get more involved at the local, state and national level, starting now, we could have an immense positive impact going forward.

What can you do?  (The blank space is to encourage your personal thinking.)

 

 

 

You decide.

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The remainder of this post is information for you, if you wish.

If you’re interested in ongoing information that is credible, here are some sources I rely on, recent link offered as an example: Heather Cox Richardson, Letters from an American, published almost daily on history and context with current events, subscription recommended;

Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse, frequently comments on the Law from the perspective of one who knows from experience.

Doug Mudor, The Weekly Sift, provideswell-informed analysis.  The link provided here, Dec 9, is exceptionally informative for the ordinary citizen like myself.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat‘s Lucid is an always useful emphasis on fascism;

Tim Snyder is another essential resource.

There are other good reliable sources, but the above are the ones which I find most useful.

Here are a few other recent commentaries which might be of interest to you.

November 21,  I decided to ask the internet for names of prominent authoritarians, dictators, or fascists in last century.  I was interested in a ‘second opinion’ from the ones I usually rely on – only to see what someone else might say.  There were almost infinite choices, of course.  I settled on this long article in UC Berkeley News Sep 9, 2024.  It speaks for itself, quoting several knowledgeable sources, and really only commenting on the Big Two: Hitler and Mussolini.  Its title: “Fascism shattered Europe a century ago – and historians hear echoes today in the U.S.

Same day came an analysis by a respected conservative columnist, David French of the New York Times: “The Greatest Cancel Culture Warrior in America.

What Do You Do If a  Red State Moves to You?  This one is a 2017 analysis in Politico of a Wisconsin County that went Red in the 2016 election.  Fred received it from a friend on Nov. 19: “Friend Bill sent me this terrific Politico article that took a deep dive into Trump vs elitist lefties IN 2017.  Interesting“.

NY Review of Books 12 5 24 Second Coming:  Fintan O’Toole of the New York Review of Books wrote this initially November 7, 2024, and this version is “a slightly modified form” of the original.  Jeff sent this along Nov 24.

Fareed Zaharia podcast on the 2024 election received Nov. 22 from Linda who received it from another listener, said “This is one of the most sensible analyses of the election and what is likely to occur that I have read.  It was recommended by a friend in the DFL Senior Caucus.  I encourage you to read it”.

Others passed along by friends

Thinking About… Decapitation Strike by Tim Snyder, Dec 1, 2024

Major General Mark Hertling on our national values: Mark Hertling Nov 28 2024

Steven Beschloss Two Faces of Facism Dec. 2, 2024: https://www.americaamerica.news/p/two-faces-of-fascism

George Orwell and the Founding Fathers, Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance, Dec 2 2024. https://joycevance.substack.com/p/george-orwell-and-the-founding-fathers

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COMMENTS:

from Judy: Thank you for your thoughtful review.  I hope you are healthy and doing well.  Now is clearly the time I lean on the values of my religion….

from Jean: Thanks for sharing this. I am very involved at the local, state level but not as much at the national level because I don’t get out to Washington much. I read the Heather Cox Richardson piece, too. We abhor the violence and destruction of life brought by wars but it avers that military support for democratic countries brings better outcomes.

from Carol: Love those old cards.

from Chuck:

Peace On earth, Goodwill to Men!

While this holiday phrase can be interpreted many ways.   It’s true meaning is profoundly needed urgently, yet ignored.

The phrase “peace on earth, goodwill to men” is a translation from the Bible, specifically from Luke 2:14 in the New Testament.

The original text was written in Greek, and different manuscripts and translations have rendered this passage slightly differently.

Original Greek Text (from Luke 2:14)  reads: “Δόξα ἐν ὑψίστοις Θεῷ, καἐπὶ γῆς εἰρήνη, ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία.”

This can be translated as:  “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, among men of goodwill.”

Meaning of “Peace” in the Original Context: The Greek word for peace here is εἰρήνη (eirēnē). In the cultural and theological context of the time, “peace” did not simply mean the absence of war or conflict. Instead, it carried deeper meanings:

  1. Harmony and Wholeness: Eirēnē aligns closely with the Hebrew concept of shalom in the Old Testament, which signifies wholeness, completeness, and well-being in all aspects of life—spiritual, physical, and communal.
  2. Reconciliation with God: In the religious sense, “peace” implied reconciliation between humanity and God through the arrival of Christ, the Savior.
  3. Cosmic Order and Stability: Peace also reflected a restored balance in the world, where God’s divine rule would bring justice, harmony, and flourishing to humanity.

Variations in Translation

King James Version (1611):  “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”  This rendering suggests that peace and goodwill are extended universally to all humanity.

More Accurate Modern Translations: Many modern translations, such as the NIV or

ESV, reflect the likely original Greek meaning:  “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on

earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”   This suggests peace is extended specifically

to those who are in God’s favor or the faithful.

What Did “Peace” Mean Then?  In the time of Jesus, peace had multiple layers of meaning:

  1. Roman Peace (Pax Romana): The Roman Empire emphasized a political “peace” maintained by military force. It was more about order than justice or harmony.
  2. Jewish Expectation: For the Jews of that era, peace (shalom) was tied to the hope of the coming Messiah who would bring God’s kingdom—restoring justice, harmony, and divine presence.
  3. Spiritual Peace: In Christian theology, the announcement of peace referred to reconciliation with God and the restoration of human and cosmic relationships.

Thus, “peace” in Luke 2:14 was not a passive state but an active and holistic restoration of relationships—with God, each other, and creation. It was far more profound than mere absence of conflict, encompassing spiritual well-being, justice, and wholeness.

In this new era of disruptions I can’t think of any greater goal to achieve ‘restoration of relationships’ globally — than meeting the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Please share this far and wide…

Wishing you all a happy Holidays

from Jeff: Dick,  I have time to muse these days.  We who do think about the state of the country, our republic and the rule of law may need to brush up on their 17th and 18th century  English political philosophy.  The nation was essentially founded on John Locke’s theories of  civil relationships and enlightened popular rule, but the worlds described by Thomas Hobbes seems to beckon ….when the rule of law and institutions are cast aside, the selfish nature of humanity fully takes over leading to  “nasty , brutish, and short” existence.

Anyway, it is all speculation at this point, but we know currying favor or literally giving money to the Don makes the difference. There
is no coordinated plan.

All this about the price of eggs ?

from Dick: A closing thought:

Air Force Academy Colorado Springs Co Fall 1962 photo Dick Bernard

I like sports, but I do not follow sports these days.  Nonetheless in this post I refer to a one point win in an NFL game, and above I include a photo I took as a young GI in 1962 at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs Colorado, probably the first football game in the Academy’s new stadium.

The od photo and the one-point game caused me to think about the relationship between the immensely successful National Football League, and our divided society.

Without going into any detail, the NFL is an enormously successful consortium of rival teams each year competing in an always enormously successful Super Bowl which has been going on for 58 years.

Somehow, competitive professional sports seems to function better than our divided United States of America.  I can think of some reasons why I think this is so, but I’m not going to spend any time developing this theme.  But, I encourage you to think about this at your leisure.

Have a good Christmas season.

Syria and the rest

I most recently used the below map on October 2.   My next planned post will be December 12.  Also, note comments and addition to the post on the film Separated Nov 7.

I am purposely making no comments on the Syria news present and past.  I am not an informed voice on the issues short or long term.  This is for certain another crucial tipping point in regional and world affairs.  Learn.  Signed personal comments are welcome.

Syria from the CIA Factbook as of 25 November 2024.  The Factbook says Syria is about the same size as Pennsylvania.  Another source says Minnesota and Syria are about the same size.  Relative populations as of 2023: Mn <6 million; Pa 13 million; Syria ca 23 million (great variation in estimates of actual current population).

PDF of below map

from Map 96 National Geographic Atlas of the World Seventh Edition. See also pdf of same area.

Syria Natl Geog

Heather Cox Richardson on the situation, Dec.8.

COMMENTS: (more at end of post):

from Emmett, whose ancestry is from Syria-Lebanon:  Assad has had to deal with a real mess for the last dozen or so years that he inherited when his Dad passed away, largely because of all the foreign governments and domestic tribal groups that have occupied Syria.  The guy that led the group that took over Damascus was on the news the other day stating that he had met with Assad and Assad agreed to a peaceful transfer of power, and in return they agreed to assist him and his family to travel to Moscow where they will all be safe for the time being.
My biggest concern lately has been about our close allies, the Israelis, and their attempts to kill my relatives in Southern Lebanon.  Most of my relatives have left the towns that my family came from and have fled to the East where they could shelter in safer places, and thankfully the Israelis have now focused on the Beirut area where it is primarily Christians that they are slaughtering.  The British Belfour Project lunched in 1917 followed by the 1920 British Mandate has certainly created their intended mess in the Middle East.  Sure wish that our national leaders would develop a sense of morality and focus on working towards a better and safer world.  Not much more that I can offer you at this time.

from SAK, Syrian, who left the country when he was a small child:

Thanks Mr Bernard!

The whole Middle East is a patchwork of ethnicities & sects. A small country like Lebanon even when the population was a mere 3 million, in the 1970s say, had 18 sects – aside from a few Mormons, Hindus, Jehovah’s Witnesses etc…

Every country has a majority sect & that might change over time due to emigration, different birthrates, refugees etc. So you can imagine how difficult it is to govern such places. Moreover,  the colonial powers Britain & France cut up the region into states initially to be divided among them – the (in)famous Sykes-Picot agreement. That is why the Kurds for example are divided among at least 4 states & the borders between states are often straight lines in the sand (here).

As Thucydides wrote in his history of the Peloponnesian war: “The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” And suffer they have for more than a hundred years . . . Of course it is partly the inhabitants’ fault, they could have, once independence was achieved, organised themselves into exemplary secular democracies but given the chaos, the diversity, the history & the lack of preparation such an outcome  would have been nothing short of miraculous. No matter they are where they are – partly because they were where they were. In fact the US artist Dawoud Bey says something similar to explain the “trauma of the African-American presence that sits just beneath the surface” & links it to slavery, he says: “we got here, from there”. Faulkner also captures the same idea: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

Why can’t everybody just calm down, sit around the same large table & plan a peaceful equitable future!? Well if the developed world can’t quite manage it one can only imagine how difficult it would be for the rest. The new leader of Syria, al-Jolani, was an extremist & now speaks more moderately but what guarantees that he won’t turn extremist again, that a more extreme faction will dispute power, or that someone would assassinate him!? Exhibits A, B, C &D: Gaza, Libya, Yemen & Sudan to name just the currently ongoing violent conflicts & disaster areas in that neighbourhood . . . Al-Jolani by the way spent time in a US jail in Iraq where he was radicalised it is said – only connect!

An article from the Financial Times about al-Jolani:

Raya Jalabi, 7 Dec 2024

Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the Syrian rebel leader who overthrew the Assad regime

The offensive by his Islamist group has marked a turning point in the country’s bloody 13-year civil war

Days before his forces toppled Syria’s Assad regime, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani triumphantly walked up the steps of Aleppo’s medieval citadel, dressed head to toe in khaki and flanked by unarmed guards.

On that appearance in Syria’s second city, captured as part of rebel groups’ lightning offensive across the country, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was swarmed by supporters.

Jolani waved at Aleppo’s stunned residents before getting into his white jeep and driving back to the frontline. He barely cracked a smile. It was a politically astute move typical of the ambitious 42-year-old Islamist who has spent the past few years in the throes of a political transformation.

“Jolani very smartly knows how to pick his moments, and capitalise on them,” says Aaron Zelin, an expert on jihadism, Jolani and HTS. “He picked a symbolic place, there were no guns around — it was designed to make him look like a serious, political leader.”

The scenes in Aleppo were a prelude to Sunday’s historic fall of Damascus, which ejected President Bashar al-Assad from power and ended half a century of his family’s rule.

Before HTS’s recent advances, the frontline in the bloody 13-year civil war had been frozen in an uneasy stalemate.

But days after seizing Aleppo, rebels captured another major city, Hama, and then took Homs to its south. Damascus — the capital that Jolani had long had in his sights — fell hours later.

The success of the offensive revealed the fragility of the hold that Assad had exercised over his shattered country. His armed forces — despite being propped up by Russia, Iran and Tehran’s network of proxies — appeared to melt away as the rebels advanced.

It was also the product of years of careful preparation by Jolani, who helped his group rebound from near-collapse five years ago. He has moderated its Islamist doctrine, built out its military capabilities and established a civilian-led government.

That transformation was on display during the offensive. Jolani capitalised on the recent outreach he’d conducted with tribes, former opponents and minority groups, brokering surrenders and ordering the protection of minorities. He even directed a statement to Russia, which has helped Assad for years, suggesting HTS and Moscow could find common ground in rebuilding Syria.

Born Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa in 1982, Jolani spent his first seven years in Saudi Arabia, where his father was working as an oil engineer. He then moved to Damascus — the city his grandfather arrived in following Israel’s occupation of Syria’s Golan Heights.

Jolani has said he was radicalised by the second intifada in 2000. “I was 17 or 18 years old at the time, and I started thinking about how I could fulfil my duties, defending a people who are oppressed by occupiers and invaders,” he told PBS Frontline in 2021, in one of his only interviews with western media to date.

Drawn to resist the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, he landed in Baghdad after a long bus ride from Damascus just a few weeks before US forces did. He spent the next few years rising through the ranks of the insurgency before being captured and thrown into Camp Bucca prison, now notorious for incubating a generation of jihadi leaders.

Released just as the Syrian uprising began in 2011, Jolani crossed the border with bags full of cash and a mission to expand al-Qaeda. Many in Iraq were happy to see him go. He was at odds with al-Qaeda’s leaders there, a rivalry that continued to grow. Jolani distanced himself from their transnational jihadi ideology and grew his rebel faction under the auspices of a nationalist struggle for Syria. Eventually he broke away and openly fought against al-Qaeda and Isis.

He has also purged the more radical elements of HTS and helped to craft a technocratic administration. “Jolani’s destiny is being written right now. Just how he manages the next phase, if HTS manages to remain inclusive, that will determine what his legacy will be,” says Jerome Drevon, a jihad expert at the Crisis Group think-tank.

Jolani stands out among his peers. He is well-educated, urbane and softly-spoken. His middle-class background “helped shape his approach to Islam”, says Drevon. “He often says that the real world has to guide your Islam, that you cannot force your Islam on to the real world.”

But jihadism expert Zelin cautions that this doesn’t make Jolani a liberal democrat, describing him as “the charismatic leader of an authoritarian regime”.

This has been key to his success. So have his coterie of young advisers. “They are very well-educated people who understand the outside world. They don’t have a bunker mentality,” says Dareen Khalifa, Drevon’s colleague at Crisis Group, who has met Jolani repeatedly since 2019.

The question is how far can the transformation go? The US has designated HTS a terrorist organisation and placed a $10mn bounty on Jolani’s head — which could complicate his aspirations to build relationships with the west and lead Syria.

This week, Jolani told Khalifa that his group would consider dissolving itself, that Aleppo would be managed by a transitional body and the city’s social fabric and diversity would be respected. Now that Damascus has also fallen, whether the group can reconcile such plans with its jihadi roots remains to be seen.

Separated

POSTNOTE  3 a.m. Dec. 7, 2024: Excellent commentary on Pearl Harbor.  Link at end of post.

POSTNOTE noon Dec 8, 2024: We watched the entirety of the Separated film last night on MSNBC.  It is very well done and informative.  Of course, being on TV, there were lots of interruptions for commercials but no problem.  I don’t know when it will be available as a streaming or in theatre, but it will be worth your time if at all interested in the immigration issue.

Comment from Donna, who is a long time advocate for immigrants:  Good Morning Dick,

I watched with sadness the film on Separation.  What I didn’t know is that the separations occurred months before the public was aware.  I don’t know if people care anymore.  

We also attended the session on “Hope” given by [our Catholic pastor].  A few of us had questions. I asked him what hope our Catholic community is going to give to innocent immigrants that are forced to leave this country.  He seems to always defer to Catholic Social teaching.  Unfortunately immigration is always well down on the list with respect for life (abortion) always being number one.  Another question someone asked was when are we going to hear it full throated from the clergy that this is wrong.
Rich and I also attended the 5 PM mass [another Priest].  He is such a compassionate man.
In Peace,

*

Saturday night, Dec 7, MSNBC airs the new film, Separated, about the dark side of border policy of the United States.  The MSNBC link is here.  Here is the text: Errol Morris confronts one of the most divisive chapters in recent American history: family separations. Based on NBC Political and National Correspondent Jacob Soboroff’s book, Morris merges explosive interviews with whistleblowing officials and artful narrative vignettes tracing one migrant family’s plight. Together, they reveal that the cruelty at the heart of this policy was its very purpose. Against this backdrop— with hundreds of families still separated years later— audiences can begin to grasp the US government’s role in this unthinkable horror and be warned that we are on the verge of allowing it to happen again. “Separated” airs December 7th at 9 p.m. ET on MSNBC.  I believe there is a pre-program hour before the film.

Any time, I invite you to register to Jose Feliciano’s classic, Felize Navidad and here’s another really precious rendition.

*

I asked Donna, who with husband Rich, is a twin cities advocate for immigrants, if she knew of any resources.  Off the top, here’s her response: As far as what is happening at the border [here and here] are two websites from the border.

Locally, all of the groups that I am part of don’t really know what will happen.  People are very worried.
I am including [here] a youtube video that you should look at.   Fr. Korogi from Ascension gave this amazing sermon after the election.  Fast forward to the time 21:45 for the homily [in Spanish and English].  What a scary time for us all.  [I’ve known Fr. Korogi for 27 years, and he is a class act.]

*

Here are some additional references which you may find of interest.  NAFTA was replaced by USMCA in 2020.  In my scrolling around, I found that Mexico has the largest Spanish-language speaking  population in the world.  Of course, in 1898, came Puerto Rico and Cuba and Philippines et al – all Spanish colonies.  And we have contributed substantially over the years to the instability in Central America.  And all efforts to rewrite the statutes that govern migration have been stymied.  Our national hands are not clean.

This is a good opportunity to learn.  We are, after all, a nation of immigrants.

U.S. Land Borders defined.

U.S. Coasts and Shorelines defined.

United States – Mexico border

United States – Canada border

Current United States-Canada- Mexico Agreement (USMCA)

Previous to 2020, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

POSTNOTE: Overnight from Heather Cox Richardson on Dec 7 1941 and today, here.  Anyone who knows me, knows that my Dad’s brother, Uncle Frank, went down with the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941.  By a quirk of fate, I actually me him in person as a one year old at Long Beach CA in early July, 1941.  I have actually written most every year something about Frank and the Arizona.  Simply search ‘frank bernard’ for the references, if interested.

Henry, Josephine, Josie, Frank, Richard, Henry Jr and Esther Bernard at Long Beach CA early July 1941.

COMMENTS (more at end):

From Larry: We were stunned by the election—never saw it coming!  Thanks for all your information.

 

 

Francois Collet

POSTNOTE:  See addition at end added Jan. 24, 2025

First, this past weekend was the reopening of the famed Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.  There is lots of media about this event.  Here’s two snapshots of Notre Dame by my brother-in-law Mike in 1972 (RIP 2006).

photo by Mike Lund, 1972, one of several photos.

Mike Lund snapshot Notre Dame 1972

COLLET

My father was 100% French-Canadian.  His mother was Josephine Collette, born 1881, Dakota Territory, her parents Clotilde and Octave Collette.

As family history researchers know, success in reconstructing family history is a game of inches, false starts, wrong turns, dead-ends…but also, patience and persistence is often rewarded.

My cousin Remi Roy recently connected a few more dots about our first Collet in Quebec, Francois, “the very last of our forebears to settle in Canada” in 1757 (that is, 19 years before upstarts declared independence for the in progress United States of America).  Our first French-Canadian ancestor came to what is now Quebec in 1618.

What follows is Remi’s most recent amendment to his history of our family.  Our Collet came from Brest, the westernmost part of France.   He arrived at St. Vallier QC, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence across from Ile de Orleans, and over the next 100 plus years his descendants lived in the area immediately to the south of Quebec City, thence to migrating to St. Paul-St. Anthony beginning 1857; thence Dayton MN, thence ND, and Manitoba and all over beginning 1878.

Every family has their story.  Thanks Remi, for some insights on ours.

You can read much more about the Collette family here.  Scroll down to Bernard-Collette by Dick Bernard, and further, Roy-Collette by Remi Roy.  (Page 134-38 of the Roy-Collette book includes the original of the below, the amended text.)

COLLET François (1741-1805)

François Collet, born around 1741, remains one of the more enigmatic ancestors. He arrived in from Brittany in 1757 at just sixteen years old, the very last of our forebears to settle in Canada. His arrival coincided with France’s military reinforcement during the Seven Years’ War. From 1755 to 1758, warships from Brest transported thousands of soldiers to North America. Too young to enlist, François likely secured passage as a ship’s boy or drummer, as there were no immigrant ships during that period. When his vessel anchored near Île d’Orléans and the south shore of the St. Lawrence River that summer, François may have jumped ship and made his way to St-Vallier.

On July 26, 1762, in St-Vallier, François Collet married Marguerite Tanguay, who had been baptized there on September 22, 1744. Marguerite was the daughter of André Tanguay and Marie Josephte Roy who was a great-granddaughter of Roy family ancestors Nicolas Leroy and Jeanne Lelièvre. Therefore, all descendants of François Collet are also descendants of these early Roy ancestors. In the marriage record, François stated that he was from the parish of St-Louis in Brest, one of the city’s four parishes, and identified his parents as Alexis Alain Collet and Marie Mau. L’Abbé Cyprien Tanguay, in Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Canadiennes, describes François as a menuisier(woodworker) from the diocese of Lyon, also referred to as the diocese of St. Pol de Léon, where the parish of St-Louis was located.

The surname “Collet” is both French and Breton in origin. While François may have been ethnically Breton, his upbringing in Brest—a cosmopolitan port city where French was the dominant language—makes it likely that French was his first language. This linguistic and cultural background likely distinguished François from the Tanguay family, whose Breton heritage was probably more pronounced. Marguerite’s grandfather, Jean Tanguay, originated from Ploudiry, a town in the same diocese about 20 miles from Brest. He immigrated to Canada in 1691 and was among the last of our ancestors to settle in New France, though this occurred 66 years before François Collet’s arrival. At the time, French was predominantly spoken in Brest, while the surrounding areas primarily used the Breton language. This linguistic divide persisted until the French Revolution, which significantly accelerated the spread of French across Brittany.

Brest records reveal several interconnected Collet families descended from Estienne Collet, born around 1650, who worked as blacksmiths and woodworkers in the shipyards. François was a skilled woodworker, reputed for carving the pulpit for the church in St-Vallier. In 1759, he also contributed to constructing a house in St-Jean-Port-Joli that still stands today.

Before marrying, François testified that he had spent five years in St-Vallier, living with Pierre Corriveau and François Brideau. Later, Pierre married Marguerite’s sister. Pierre’s cousin was the infamous Marie-Josephte Corriveau, better known as La Corriveau, a notorious figure in Canadian folklore. Convicted by a British military court for murdering her husband, she was hanged, and her body was displayed in an iron cage at Pointe-Lévis as a public warning. Given their familial connection, François undoubtedly knew of her, adding an air of intrigue to his own story.

François lived to the age of 82, passing away in 1805 in St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud. Marguerite followed in 1809, dying in St-Henri-de-Lévis, where some of their descendants lived for generations. Together, François and Marguerite had 17 children, of whom eight married—their descendants now number in the thousands across North America. Among them, their son Denis married Louise Leclerc. Their grandson Denis II married Marguerite Clément, and their great-grandson Denis III married Mathilde Vermette, continuing the lineage to Philippe Collette and his daughter Mae Collette.

POSTNOTE: Remi passed along a vignette relating to the American Revolution and Francois Collet.  As noted earlier, Collet arrived in Canada just a few years before the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Collet Bad Parishes  

ADDED January 24, 2025:

Last month, my cousin Remi Roy, sent a most interesting short commentary about French-Canadians taking sides in the Revolutionary War, which began less than 20 years after the French were defeated by the English at Quebec in 1759.  The article is brief, with a map, and is very interesting.  Snip: Francois probably was on the “wrong: side: Collet Bad Parishes.