Capital Gains?

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NOTE:  I’ll be offline through Nov. 1.  Our thoughts particularly with the people of Jamaica in the wake of the monstrous hurricane.

Heather Cox Richardson has a very excellent summary of the 1920s in her Letters fr0m an American for October 28, 2025.  It is well worth your time to read and reflect.

The Great Depression which followed the Roaring Twenties, was disastrous, but not for all.  “Catastrophe” can spell “Opportunity” for those positioned to survive.  “Buy low, sell high” comes to mind.  The Oligarchs of the time had the cushion, the connections, the savvy, that the rest of the population did not have.  There were the haves and the have nots….  Of course, the entire story is extremely complicated.  But I think this is a good time for sober reflection.

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Every family has its story, if there were ancestors around during the Dirty Thirties.

I’ve done family history for years, so I have a few off-the-cuff insights, from what I learned from Mom and Dad’s family experiences.  Fill in the blanks with your own.  I will only summarize my own, the blanks filled in by actual demonstrable facts.

Mom’s parents were farmers who came to ND in 1905.  Grandpa clearly had ambition to be a ‘cut above’ the average.  He was an activist in the local scene.  He had smarts.  (I only talk about the men, here, because then only the men were generally the legal entities.)

The 1920s dawned fairly well for this farm family.  WWI and the WWI Flu were in the rear view mirror.  Grandpa was an inventive sort, and patented something called a Fuel Economizer in about 1924 which was good enough to be purchased by somebody for  few hundred dollars.

Grandma and Grandpa purchased a neighboring parcel of land on contract for deed, enlarging their farm.

In my hands, here as I type, are two stock certificates issued to Grandpa, one issued June 15, 1927, the second April 20, 1929.  They were farm related, and I found them in the farm junk when I was closing out the farm now ten years ago.

Also in the farm junk was a series of letters from a lawyer where the Busch’s lost their additional land for non-payment on the contract they had signed.  The back story is they did not have the money, and it was in the 1930s.

Grandpa was in the founding group of the North Dakota Farmer’s Union about 1928, and judging from some letters published in the County weekly paper he was an enthusiastic union organizer.  His local had a bank account; he apparently was Secretary-Treasurer.  The last of the few checks written is below, dated October 12, 1929.  The dream was ending.  In the 1930s, the family story goes, the oldest daughter, my Aunt Lucina, saved the farm literally by paying the taxes and living at home while teaching school.

The Bernard’s family story is similar, but simpler.

Dad graduated from high school in May, 1927, and his plan was to matriculate at the University of North Dakota in the Fall.

The family would probably be considered middle class at the time.  Grandpa for years had been Chief Engineer at the local flour mill, and his brother was chief miller.  It was a small operation, but seems to have had perhaps 15 employees, and important to the town.

In May of 1927, the bank holding the family savings went under – I think fraud was the suspicion.  In the same month, the flour mill closed, and Grandpa’s job went with it.  All plans changed for everyone.

I didn’t show up on the scene till 1940s, but I remember my grandparents Bernard living in a tiny house in Grafton; and my grandparents Busch plugging along as small farmers in North Dakota.

WWII brought employment and some sense of prosperity, along with the tragedy of the War, and that is yet another story.  Their son, George, was a Naval officer and his ship docked at Tokyo September 10, 1945.  He had been on the ship since January of 1943, one of a great many family and community stories of WWII crossing many borders.

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None of us know for sure what’s ahead for all of us as 2025 ends.

Are we in the early 1920s, or the early 1930s.  Be alert.

POSTNOTES:   Grandpa Bernard was 57 years old when his job disappeared in 1927; he turned 65 in 1937, about coincident with the enactment of Social Security (1935, first social security checks 1940).  Grandma was homemaker, so probably not covered at the time.

Medicare and Medicaid was signed into Law on July 30, 1965, a day after my first wife’s funeral.

In checking references, I happened across the SocialSecurity.gov site which goes into great detail about income security history.  The thrust seems to be less about federal social security than individual responsibility (as in privatizing).  I have not checked this further at this point.  Check for yourself.  There is a long history of getting rid of social security as a government responsibility,  This is what raises my antennae about the longer narrative.

COMMENTS (also see end of post):

from Joyce: My parents did okay during the depression; my Dad was employed as an English teacher and soccer coach in the New York City public schools, and he was never unemployed. My parents married in 1935, and were even able to tour Europe in 1938.

from SAK:  Since we corresponded about Lincoln & the recent book Team of Rivalsby Goodwin and since you mentioned the great depression of the 1930s as well as Heather Cox Richardson, you might also be interested in her “letter” of the 11th of February, 2025:

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-11-2025

It’s about both Lincoln & the depression. What she wrote reminded me of acquaintances who have drifted, sadly as she describes, into followers of those who manipulate them in order to further their own interests, not the country’s. As the wise British labour leader Aneurin Bevan said: “The whole art of Conservative [Tory party] politics in the 20th century, is being deployed to enable wealth to persuade poverty to use its political freedom to keep wealth in power.”

Here’s how Heather Cox Richardson ends her letter:

‘But those who objected to the liberal consensus rejected the idea that the government had any role to play in the economy or in social welfare and made no distinction between the liberal consensus and international communism. They insisted that the country was made up of “liberals,” who were pushing the nation toward socialism, and “conservatives” like themselves, who were standing alone against the Democrats and Republicans who made up a majority of the country and liked the new business regulations, safety net, infrastructure, and protection of civil rights.   [Here she means during the decades pre-Reagan]

That reactionary mindset came to dominate the Republican Party after Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980. Republicans began to insist that anyone who embraced the liberal consensus of the past several decades was un-American and had no right to govern, no matter how many Americans supported that ideology. And now, forty-five years later, we are watching as a group of reactionaries dismantle the government that serves the needs of ordinary Americans and work, once again, to concentrate wealth and power in the hands of an elite.

The idea of a small government that serves the needs of a few wealthy people, Lincoln warned in his era, is “the same old serpent that says you work and I eat, you toil and I will enjoy the fruits of it. Turn in whatever way you will—whether it come from the mouth of a King, an excuse for enslaving the people of his country, or from the mouth of men of one race as a reason for enslaving the men of another race, it is all the same old serpent.’

 

Our Town

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Last evening I attended a most interesting gathering where the topic was Affordable Housing in our community.  Speaker was Woodbury’s Mayor, Ann Burt.  Two Council members, Steve Morris and Donna Stafford, also attended.  There were about 20 of us in attendance – in my experience, a group of 20 is nearly ideal for such gatherings – large enough for some differences of opinion; small enough so that participants can feel free to participate.  Here’s a photo I took:

October 27, 2025, Woodbury MN.

“Affordable Housing” is a complicated phrase these days.  It has many moving parts.  I am not going to pretend to address any of the issues raised even at this small gathering of 1 1/2 hours.  As a resident here for 25 years, who tries to stay well informed, I’m not naive about the issues.  On the other hand, I don’t attend city council meetings because of a consistent sense that our city basically functions very well, which in turn suggests generally good governance, which further does not indicate that everyone agrees about everything all the time!

For more information about Woodbury,  here is the community website.  There is plenty of accessible information about most anything one might have an interest in.

For the casual visitor, my town is a suburban St. Paul MN community, between St. Paul city and the Wisconsin border a few miles to the east.  It’s essentially an old rural township 6 miles on a side, which has become a city over roughy the past 60 years.  We currently have a population of 83,000, and a projected maximum capacity of perhaps 100,000.  I think we would be considered a fairly prosperous place.

The words “affordable housing” have definitions, but as one can imagine, there are differing interpretations of what those words mean.  The general direction of the meeting was around these words and what they mean in contemporary practice.

It is easy to retreat into one’s own definition of things like “affordable housing”, or any other generalization, say “community”.

It is a bit more complicated when the definition includes neighbors, neighborhoods, entire towns, counties, regions, states, countries….

We literally cannot survive as individual survivalists (though we’d like to think we can), and into the breach over the centuries has come ‘government’, which last night was represented by Mayor Burt and Council members Stafford and Morris.  They are the ones who have to make sense of why we have those irritating traffic cones, and on and on.

Without a government, of people of differing views working together, comes chaos.

In my own situation, really quickly, it is good to have good neighbors, next door and across the driveway.  It is useful to have a good functioning Home Owners Association, which has rules, most of which are codified state law, to minimize disagreements.  There are building codes, zoning, regional agencies like the Metropolitan Council, League of Minnesota Cities, state and federal agencies, on and on and on.  We like to complain about this or that, but they are all essential to someone.   A handout at the meeting defined some aspects of this – the illustration is only part of the entire handout: Woodbury 2025.  I’m certain the entire handout or other information would be accessible to citizens at city hall.

 

Jerry

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My colleague and friend, Jerry Foley, died on October 22.  He was 93, and he chose to close out his time on earth without extra means  to deal with cancer.  His obit is here.

Jerry Foley July 12, 2011

Our friendship was relatively brief.  Back in 2011 I had gone to the Stevens House in Minneapolis Minnehaha Park to listen to Story Teller and friend Larry Johnson.  It happened that at the same venue a man was giving a talk on plants familiar to the indigenous peoples of the area.  He knew his subject.  I introduced myself and we quickly zeroed in on something in common: our French-Canadian ancestry.

So, Jerry and I knew each other for 14 years.  We didn’t make contact all that often.  We lived in different communities.

Nonetheless, we had a lot in common, particularly when it came to our ethnic heritage.

Jerry’s name, Foley, sounded Irish to me.  It wasn’t long into our friendship that I learned the original paternal name was Fallau, which somewhere down the line ended up as Foley.  This wasn’t uncommon in immigrant families, of course.  The immigrant may be illiterate and spoke a different language and it was up to a clerk, who may not even have meticulous penmanship, to interpret what the name was.  There are infinite variations.  Your family names?!  Of course, many survived the many miles and countries and languages, but a great many didn’t.

For Jerry, finding a local affiliation with French-Canadians was pretty important.

In 2013, a group of us founded an organization, the French-American Heritage Foundation, and Jerry and myself were among the founding group, which in turn had succeeded an earlier La Societe Canadienne Francais du Minnesota.

Early on FAHF did workshops.  Jerry was one of the presenters.

When FAHF decided to start a Foundation, called 100 Associates, Jerry was first in line with his contribution.  Presently the Foundation has over $50,000 in its permanent endowment.

Jerry made a difference in his life – there is more in his obituary.

He is at peace.  Bon Voyage

 

No Kings: A Week.

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One week ago was the national demo.  My post about the day was October 19.  In all there were 17 comments, take a look.  A particularly interesting comment is 3 pages forwarded by Lois from Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) with brief summaries of three months in the Fall of 1775.  Take a look.

On October 23, I added a post with information pertinent to the White House project.

The big decision each of us have to make is how to make a difference, day by day.  There are so many possibilities for each person wherever you are, whatever your personal circumstances.  Personally, I especially like the column by Peter Leschak that I sent along a week or so ago.  In his gentle way, he identifies how each of us has an immense amount of power…if we exercise it.  You can read it here: Peter Leschak STrib Aug 17 2025.

October 18 cannot be an end in itself.  It must be a continuing of individual effort.

Consider enrolling on Indivisible.  It is very easy.  You aren’t forced to do anything; but if you’re looking for ideas and motivation, you’ll find it there.  (Of interest to me: the two founders of Indivisible graduated from Carleton College in Northfield MN in 2007 and 2008.  Neither grew up here, but we can still claim them.  Two young people with a positive vision.)

Yesterday, going through some personal political history stories I’ve chosen to keep, I came across a brief article in the March 7, 2023, New York Times.  The headline of the article by Maggie Haberman and Shane Goldmacher: “Trump, Vowing ‘Retribution,” Foretells a Second Term of Spite”.  [ NYT Mar 7 2023] This was 2 1/2 years ago.  I remember seeing the actual comment on television.  “I am your retribution”, he said to the Conservative Political Action Conference at National Harbor Md.

Two and a half years ago….

His second term is not yet a year old.

COMMENTS (more below):

from SAK:

Strange times indeed. Their strangeness is all the more obvious when compared with some other times & administrations.

Now here’s an extract from Team of Rivals, The Political Genius of ABRAHAM LINCOLN by Doris Kearns Goodwin (Pulitzer prize):

“When viewed against the failed efforts of his rivals, it is clear that Lincoln won the nomination because he was shrewdest and canniest of them all. More accustomed to relying upon himself to shape events, he took the greatest control of the process leading up to the nomination, displaying a fierce ambition, an exceptional political acumen, and a wide range of emotional strengths, forged in the crucible of personal hardship, that took his unsuspecting rivals by surprise.

That Lincoln, after winning the presidency, made the unprecedented decision to incorporate his eminent rivals into his political family, the cabinet, was evidence of a profound self-confidence and a first indication of what would prove to others a most unexpected greatness.  . . .  Every member of this administration was better known, better educated, and more experienced in public life than Lincoln. Their presence in the cabinet might have threatened to eclipse the obscure prairie lawyer from Springfield.

It soon became clear, however, that Abraham Lincoln would emerge the undisputed captain of this most unusual cabinet, truly a team of rivals. The powerful competitors who had originally disdained Lincoln became colleagues who helped him steer the country through its darkest days. Seward was the first to appreciate remarkable talents, quickly realizing the futility of his plan to relegate the president to a figurehead role. In the months that followed, Seward would become Lincoln’s closest friend and advisor in the administration. Though Bates initially viewed Lincoln as a well-meaning but incompetent administrator, he eventually concluded that the president was an unmatched leader, “very near being a perfect man.” Edwin Stanton, who had treated Lincoln with contempt at their initial acquaintance, developed a great respect for the commander in chief and was unable to control his tears for weeks after the president’s death. …

This, then, is a story of Lincoln’s political genius revealed through his extraordinary array of personal qualities that enabled him to form friendships with men who had previously opposed him; to repair injured feelings that, left untended, might have escalated into permanent hostility; to assume responsibility for the failures of subordinates; to share credit with ease; and to learn from mistakes.He possessed an acute understanding of the sources of power inherent in the presidency, an unparalleled ability to keep his governing coalition intact, a tough-minded appreciation of the need to protect his presidential prerogatives, and a masterful sense of timing. His success in dealing with the strong egos of the men in his cabinet suggests that in the hands of a truly great politician the qualities we generally associate with decency and morality—kindness, sensitivity, compassion, honesty, and empathy—can also be impressive political resources.”

& now something from the USA Today:

Trump posts AI video of him dumping poop on us. I can’t believe I wrote that.

President Poop, we’ll call him. Some have suggested Diarrhea Don, but that first word is tricky to spell. I say we keep it simple.

Rex Huppke   USA TODAY

In the wake of massive, peaceful No Kings” protests against him and his polices, President Donald Trump responded like a mad king, disgracing the office he holds by posting an AI video showing him dumping poop on protesters.

That’s an unimaginable sentence to write, but it’s as true as Trump is crazy. The president of the United States of America went on social media and posted an artificial intelligence video that shows him, adorned with a crown, flying a fighter jet and dumping diarrhea on Americans exercising their First Amendment right to peacefully protest.

Lincoln was a Republican as well, how low has that party sunk. I read that President Trump will restore many names of army bases that honoured confederate military figures, figures that Lincoln waged war against.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-restoring-confederate-names-army-bases

White House

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A preview of the below here.  See the two illustrations.  Paul Krugman on the issue October 24, 2025.  A brief history of the East Wing of the White House can be read here.

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You’ve likely heard that there is a little remodeling project underway at the White House.  Here’s a PDF reference map of the area: White House Google Map 10 23025.    This view is as of 8 a.m. CST October 23, 2025.

The current (at the time of your visit) google map of the same area can be viewed any time you visit, is here.  Note the status of the east wing below.  Today’s photo shows an intact east wing.  Yesterday the east wing was demolished and presumably this will show in subsequent updates of the satellite map.

Here are two closer up views of the White House itself, from the same Oct 23 google map.

note especially the East Wing (to the viewers right).

I’ve been to the White House twice, in January, 1980, and the end of October, 2000, days before the 2000 election.  I’ve been by the White House quite a number of times.  The National Education Association, a few blocks up 16th Street NW, was the organization I worked for, and a few times I was at NEA  for some meeting or other.  I’d always walk down the street to the White House area.

The White House Tour book we have is easily available as a used book: “The White House An Historic Guide”. Our edition was 1999, 159 pages.  It is a worthwhile inexpensive purchase if you are interested.  The East Wing gets sparse reference at page 10: “Most visitors to the White House enter through the East Wing lobby…Construction of the East Wing began under Theodore Roosevelt…Completed in 1902, the building changed little until the Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration when it was enlarged to provide office space.”

These few words possibly give me some context about the reason for this demolition.  Seems to me that the East Wing, beginning with FDR, seems to have become office space for, among others,  the First Ladies.  Best I can recall these were: Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Truman, Mamie Eisenhower, Jacqueline Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama, Jill Biden, Melania….  Eleanor Roosevelt, most especially, was a power in her own right.  In effect, in my opinion, she essentially had the same status as FDR.  An unelected President and World Leader in her own. right.

Melania?  I can’t get inside the mind of the current president, nor can most anyone else, but I think the specific psychological target of his demolition of the East Wing was women, generally, and I don’t think minding the White House legacy was Melania’s priority.

1999 edition of the White House Historic Guide

I’ve been pretty uniquely privileged to visit “The People”s House”, the White House.  The estimate is that a half million visitors take the tour each year.  Against the U.S. population of 340,000,000, and allowing for visitors from other countries, and repeat visitors, a half million is a very minute fraction of the U.S. population.  Of course, tours won’t happen while the current project is under way.  The huge ballroom will not be a People’s Ballroom, that is a certainty.

Renovation work at the White House is not unusual.  But nothing with the current President is usual, and this is the rub with the current massive ballroom project.  This is not a routine matter, and a very bright light deserves to be focused on the project.

POSTNOTE: I am trying to be dispassionate about this.  But I am watching it very carefully.  At the same time, the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis is engaged in a major renovation of my church, the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, designated co-Cathedral of the Diocese.  The church is over 100 years old and needs expensive preservation work, and thus is in an incessant fundraising mode.  The church survives because of parishioners who contribute time and money, but for something like renovation, the fundraising doubtless focuses on what I’ve heard described as “high net worth” individuals – rich people.  This is understandable: it is easier to catch someone with a spare million lying around, than to collect a dollar each from a million donors….  I’ll leave it at that for the moment, except to say that from the beginning, 2015, it has been known and obvious that the President of the United States is loyal only to himself.  We knew that and we elected him anyway.

 

The Day After “No Kings” October 18

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POSTNOTE: here is how the event organizers report on October 18.

We were at the Stillwater MN Demo yesterday.  It didn’t look like much compared with the mega rallies, but I’m quite positive there were well over 1,000 persons near the St. Croix River Bridge.

Here’s a photo I took of the group on the bridge itself, not all of the participant, but a substantial part.  Imagine a “T” I’m taking the photo at the top of it.  Both sides were equally packed.  Vehicles were restricted to one lane in the middle of the street, and were infrequent and moved very slowly.

October 18, 2025, Stilllwater-Oak Park Heights MN.

You could not imagine a more orderly crowd.  The volunteer at front was one of the traffic managers, and there were cars, not many, which freely and safely went through.  I don’t recall any hostile exchanges.  There was one police presence, that for a medical situation for one of the demonstrators.  There were loads of flags and signs.  No speeches.

We had to walk about a half mile in, and of course, out, and we got there early.  We were tired when we returned home in mid-afternoon.

I’d say the benefit of gatherings like this around the country is a chance to connect with others among the many millions of us who are deeply concerned.  The visibility doesn’t hurt either.  The fake news merchants would have to lie through their teeth to come up with a story of violence within our group, and my guess is that would be a repetitive story everywhere.  We didn’t need to have a flier to make nice or make trouble.  We were simply citizens concerned about the future for all of us..

Over the years, especially in the Iraq War era, I was in lots of demos and marches, all non-violent.  This was no change.

The demonstrations aren’t ends in themselves, rather than a beginning for daily efforts in the great assortment of ways each and every citizen can contribute towards a better future for us all in this country.  This was the second demo at the this site.  The earlier one (which I did not attend) was much smaller, I heard.  People are paying attention.

We citizens, all of us, ARE the politics we like to criticize.  Keep on keeping on.

October 17 post is here.

COMMENTS:

from Carol: I’m not clear if the protest yesterday was on the bridge over 36 or on the interstate bridge.  When I went, it was on the 36 overpass bridge.  Not a terribly long walk from that parking lot – but long enough that I really didn’t look forward to it again.  So I thought I would go to the one they had advertised at an overpass on Hwy. 52 in W. St. Paul.  They said an easy walk, etc.  I’m glad I checked that out the day before as it was also quite a long hike, uphill.  But then [husband] got sick and I decided to just skip this one.

I see the Hwy. 52 overpass one made the national news.  I have no idea why they didn’t organize something around the Capitol this time.  Most everything seemed to be on the Minneapolis side.  Last time I went to a park in Hudson, which was perfect (and very well attended!)  But they didn’t have one there again.  I think part of it is cowardice, frankly.

Response from Dick: Re the walks, both directions were a bit of a hike and there was no easy way to avoid them.  Best I can tell, this initiative, everywhere, is completely volunteer driven.  I suppose there could be many possible legitimate reasons for not organizing any demo.  They’re a huge amount of hard work and responsibility.  Had some folks not rolled up their sleeves, none of these events would have happened.  Nobody asked for any donations.

from Jean: [First] pic is from the Women in Walkers rally in front of Carondelet Village on Fairview in St. Paul. I’ve been to 4 actions with them and it’s always been about 50 to 60 people. There were over 3000 people there. Had a great time and all the honking by every vehicle driving through. These are board members of Twin Cities Nonviolent and friends. We followed the request to wear yellow and have positive messages. These are messages from the skit Vote Climate did at the state fair EcoExperience August 23.

October 18 St. Paul


from Dick

October 18 Stillwater

from John in Davis CA:  Looked like a beautiful day in Stillwater.

Crowd estimates are always tricky, but I would say that probably around 5000 people marched in Davis – since I don’t do selfies, I just took pictures of the other participants.

Those photos are here.  The album also includes other photos from an earlier rally in June.

Again, a very orderly crowd, which actually picked up more trash on the parade route than was deposited – streets were cleaner after they left!

from Sue: Golden Valley was filled with positive energy, great signs, and supportive horns.

from Brian: Thanks Dick! For this report and stepping up!

from Lois (see also comment below): Please find [following] pages of “Passport Through Time” for 250 Years: Passport Through Time 250.  These are for October, November and December of what was happening 250 years ago during the American Revolution.  This was received from my chapter DAR Regent.  Interesting that it was sent out to us at the time of the “No King” marches.

No Kings

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POSTNOTE after the event: we joined the group in Stillwater MN.  It was very well organized and much effort was expended to keep it as a constructive, positive and safe experience.  There was only a single police presence during our time there, and it appeared to relate to a person who had fainted.  My one recommendation is to everyone: it is great to have these public events, but their effectiveness is totally governed by what each of us do in the days afterward.  It is not enough to just show up one time.  Thanks to everyone.

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Here is the latest about Saturday October 18.

Tonight (Oct 17) 8 pm Central on MSNBC: film on Andrew Young: The Dirty Work

pdf: No Kings graphic

We plan to participate in one of the demos.  At our age. I am reluctant to speak in certainty about this because of matters like parking, walking distance and the like.  But we will be there, and I will report at the end of this post perhaps later in the afternoon on Saturday.   Simply check back at this space, and scroll down.  Your own comments after the event are welcome, of course.

I am a veteran of demos, particularly between 2002 and 2008 – the first, an immense peace march after the death of Paul and Sheila Wellstone in October, 2002; the latter at the time of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul in summer 2008.  Three years of that time period, 2005-07, I was president of a coalition of peace groups, Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers,  and the demos were mostly related to the Iraq War.

“Antifa” is the hate word to describe the 2025 demonstrations.  I do not recall, ever, even mention of anything resembling “Antifa”, certainly not within the movement, and only rarely some external source would complain about the “radical left”, which in my experience was in no way similar to the most aggressive demonstrations in the hottest times of the Vietnam conflict.

Most likely what I’ll experience tomorrow will be similar to any other experience.  Just some peaceful people deeply concerned about the present and the future of this country.  I expect some photo op situation somewhere in this area where ICE or similar will have something to play on TV clips later.  No idea whether/if/when, but there is a possibility.

To me the importance of the ‘boots on the ground’ national event tomorrow is to demonstrate solidarity of concern.  The real work starts afterwards and daily down the road from October 18.  As a country we have entered extremely dangerous territory regarding our future as a democracy.  We stand at the edge of losing 250 years of a very proud history to some version of authoritarian rule – ironically which we, the assembled voters one year ago, voluntarily elected either by actual vote, or not voting at all.

Actions do have consequences.  So does inaction, or uninformed response.

Whether or not you can be at a demo tomorrow,  be on the court, not in the stands.  It’s our future at stake.

 

 

Screenshot from gramee

COMMENTS (more at end):  

from Joyce: Eric will be at one of the demonstrations. I can’t be there because I’m scheduled to give a talk at the Orchid Society, and I can’t reschedule. I’m hoping for many millions of demonstrators in the US, and I’m thrilled that 18 countries (at last count) will hold demonstrations with us.

from Brian: Thanks for sharing.   I’m going to our No Kings march in NYC tomorrow.  I’m looking forward to it.

from Mary:  We have a neighborhood group going to protest, NO KINGS. Luv your stuff old buddy,

from Frank:

from Maria: Hello DiCK,  I am going at the   ‘No Kings’  in Time Square NY.

from SAK:

Thanks Mr Bernard,

I read on your site:

“As a country we have entered extremely dangerous territory regarding our future as a democracy.  We stand at the edge of losing 250 years of a very proud history to some version of authoritarian rule . . .”

An article by Charlotte Higgins which appeared in a British paper opens with:

‘A few days ago I asked an American acquaintance – as one does these days – where he sees “it”, by which I meant the political situation, heading.’

It seems from the reply she got that she might have been asking you!

Here’s the article.

Good luck with the marches.

London, UK, will be having a demonstration too.
One paper reads:

‘Saturday 18 Oct

No Kings Day

Forming part of a global movement against Donald Trump, a “no tyrants” rally will be taking place outside the US Embassy this Saturday afternoon.

Scheduled to take place between 1pm and 3pm on Nine Elms Lane, the event aims to express opposition to Trump’s “authoritarian power grab.” ‘

To show the diversity & in no way to belittle the importance of the No Kings protests, I see also:

‘Sunday 19 Oct

Free the Gentoo Penguins

At 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, activists will gather outside the Sea Life London Aquarium to call for the release of 15 penguins, reportedly living in harsh conditions underground at the aquarium.’

from Carol:

October 18, 2025, Carol in her best ICE disguise.

I voted

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I cast my ballot today in the special election Nov. 4 for 4 school board members of South Washington County SD #833, and new Senator for SD47.  I voted at the new Washington County Center which is essentially behind Kohls Department store, just off Woodlane Drive.

I have lived the same address for the last 25 years, and my entire life has either been in or very close to public education, including 27 years representing public school teachers.

My ballot today was for three school board incumbents, and one new representative.   Those who got my vote are incumbents Louise Hinz, Katie Schwartz and Sharon Van Leer, and candidate for newly open position, Elizabeth Bockman Eckberg.  The four are recommended by the local teachers union.

Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger is my choice for Senator in SD47.  She has been my state representative and I have been very pleased with her approach to the job of representing not only ourselves, but all citizens.  She is endorsed by a large group of organizations.

The campaign fliers for all are here, for the School Board candidates, and for Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger: 1). School Board ISD 833 Nov 4 2025; 2). School Board ISD 833 Bockman Eckberg Nov 4 2025;  3)  Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger SD47 Nov 4 2025

Here are a few personal comments: 1. I strongly support Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger for Senate for SD47.  She is my local state Representative (47A) and she has been an outstanding representative.  There are endless issues for any legislator, and I have a sense that she has the ability to listen to and represent differing points of view, crucial in a government official, particularly now.

2. I endorse the slate of school board candidates supported by the District 833 teachers union.  Three of the candidates are incumbents; the fourth is a new candidate.  My entire life has been in public education in one way or another.  I do not actively engage in the affairs of the local school district, and my assessment is, just from local news over the years.  In a large and diverse system (nearing 19,000 students), there are infinite possibilities for conflict about this or that.  The school district is well governed even in these difficult times.  The three incumbents are positive leaders.

I had the opportunity to hear the 4th candidate present her points of view in person last week.  She is a strong candidate.  Check out her website.

“Tolerance” is an very important word in my assessment of effective government officials.  Ours is a very  large school district with infinite points of view and tolerance is an essential.

POSTNOTE: I do note that all of the candidates I’m supporting are women.  I recall that earlier in my career, the 1970s and earlier, women were conspicuously absent from elective positions.  The present day change is welcome.  And men, too, run and are elected in all areas, and probably still outnumber women.

October 13, 2025: Columbus Day? Indigenous People’s Day?

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Yesterday at Mass, Fr. Taste hit another homer in his homily based on Luke 17:11-19, the one where the Samaritan Leper is among 1hose who are healed, but is the only one who goes back to say Thank You….  Father T is in my neighborhood age wise, and he started his sermon with a quotation from one of Garrison Keillor’s books – where a couple had a little party on their 50th anniversary, and it wasn’t until afterwards that the Mr. got around to telling the Mrs. he loved her.    I interpreted the message he had for all of us: be grateful to ourselves and to others.  There are infinite ways, the best, small.  In these days, gratitude is something to practice.

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For the last several weeks I have been watching the fascinating Nova series, “Human”, on PBS.  The final local showing (Episode 5) is on TPT Channel 2 on Wednesday October 15, 8 p.m. Central Time.  For the entire series, check in with Nova.  If you can watch at home, the entire series is well worth your time.  Narrator and host Ella Al-Shamahi brings the story of homo sapiens to life.  This weeks episode, the final one, apparently explores the most recent historical period of humankind – most likely the pre- and post-Christopher Columbus periods.  Check out the series: it’s okay to see the last episode first!

Heather Cox Richardson discusses the history of Columbus Day in her October 12 column here.

In my state, Minnesota, today is recognized as Indigenous People’s Day, in concert with the annual United Nations event.  Minnesota is one of 17 U.S. states recognizing and celebrating the day.

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Yesterdays Basilica of St. Mary newsletter commentary by Janice Andersen was very relevant to the current days, I felt.  Here it is: Janice Andersen Oct 12 20250001  

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The big news on Sunday, and of course today, the pending peace in Israel/Gaza.  I am not inclined to go overboard on optimism.  Today is a single day in a very long and troubled history in the region and is are no magic long term solutions.  Stay tuned.  Last news I saw or heard – on purpose – was yesterday afternoon.

COMMENTS (more below)

from Jeff: [Columbus Day] is a “Democrat” holiday…hahaha…trump must not have known…

It’s silly to make Columbus the poster boy for the ills of all colonialism, but he was a despicable human actually per historical fact
I see the old line Italian americans always defending Columbus….for gods sake they should dump him and elevate Frances Cabrini…

from Joann: Thank you, Dick.  Your messages are insightful and helpful.

from Brian:  I work a lot with Native Americans.  I’m on the board of one of their credit unions, in Montana, that I helped them start.   Thanks so much for your great post!

from Norm: I want to offer the following comments regarding the agreement in Gaza:

Like you, I am very cautious about making too much out of the agreement given the history of that area of generations of conflict and tribal that raise serious questions of whether the Palestinians will ever be able to rule themselves should that ever be allowed.
I remember that Arafat when he was the leader of the PLO was so loved by his fellow Palestinians that it was claimed that he never slept in the same bed and location on more than one night having to change every night to stay alive.
Now granted, Trump being the insecure, arrogant and narcissistic fellow that he is, is making a big deal out of how he had brought peace to the Middle East something that no other US president has ever done and, of course, as always, claiming that he is the smartest and most accomplished  and successful US president ever…
And publicly claiming that he should be and/or have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize or the Noble PP as he calls.
Such an insecure man who continually has to tell himself let alone tell world how great he is also makes him a very dangerous man-child to be the leader of a major national power.

“Influencers”

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Please note “ADDITIONS” at the end of this post.  If it’s been your inclination to sit this one out, get off the couch.  Our future as a democracy is at stake, and we’re the only solution.

INFLUENCING

Every now and then a new word crops up and has its day in the headlines.  A current one is “Influencer“.  If you search the internet you will find numerous definitions.  Here’s one I selected, from the Oxford English Dictionary.

Today, it seems, you have to go viral to consider something successful.  Or have a very large boatload of “followers”. whatever that means.

I want to propose a new definition of “influencer”: first each person has to convince him or herself that he or she can make a difference as an active individual wherever he or she lives….

Since November 2024, when my ‘side’ ‘lost’ the election, I have said that 75,000,000 of us agreed on an alternative outcome, but we were a tiny bit short of a plurality.  There was no “landslide” “victory” or “loss” last November.  Every one of us were “influencers”.

Of course this also means that 77 million influencers voted for the opposing candidate, as were the 90 million or so who didn’t vote at all, or the free who voted for minor party candidates with no chance of being elected.

In short, every single one of us who were qualified to vote, whether voting or not, is the only ‘influencer’ who makes any difference.

If each person takes on the task of helping one other person make up their mind, change can happen pretty dramatically…there is no ‘yah but’.

As we’re all learning the hard way, elections are no spectator sport.  All of us are the “team”, period.

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Re the Team, I’m really no different than anyone else.  First, I have to talk myself into taking some unfamiliar action – in other words, to change customary behaviors.

The viral bunch is always an annoying noise in the background, like those fine-tuned ads for the perfect pet food for the perfect dog or cat.

For all of us, perfection is a dream, and we clomp along trying to do our best.

My challenge, become an influencer, just by doing a little bit more every day, getting a little out of your comfort zone.

You read this this far.  You are an exceptional person.  Keep on keeping on.

POSTNOTE: As I was drafting this I thought back to a workshop I’d attended in Grand Rapids MN in the late 1980’s.  The speaker, Don Keck, was an organizer for the National Education Association, and his talk was about Power,  In my memory, his talk had five bullet points about Power and who has it.  The first four were obvious: Knowledge, Position, Money, Information.  There were other sources of power, but these were primary examples.

It was the final power that caught my attention, and that he spent the most time with: Referent Power, the power of relationships, which he called “Referent Power”..

In my blog archives, there are nine that include the word “Referent” in one way or another, At the end of my post for February 10, 2011, I expanded a bit on the word, as follows:

Message to the Proles March 10 2010: ** – Power defined. I once heard an excellent talk about some of the many kinds of “Power” in plays in all of our lives. As I remember them: there is the power that comes with authority (“I can fire you”, or variations usually involving money); there is the power that comes with the capability of defining the rules of society (“I can make laws”). Power comes with family connections – a family marries into a family with power. The list goes on.
But there was one power I paid most attention to, and the speaker called it “referent power” or “the likeability factor”. For people immersed in the other kinds of power, this is the scary one: this is the problem of relationships, and builds outside, and independent of, the others.

ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS: 

Some things you can do:

Facilitate helping with registering to vote: Joyce Vance October 7, 2025

Check out and participate in No Kings Day on October 18 (we’re signed up).  In the lower left corner of the home page is a box.  Enter your zip code and find the nearest group in your area.  Additionally, take time to watch this 10 minute Tim Snyder video Who was who in Weimar Germany; and a three minute one, No Kings – Freedom

Check out “No data day” here.  This is very interesting.

Lori Sturdevant, long time highly respected commentator on politics in this area, had a must read column in the October 8 Minnesota Star Tribune: Lori Sturdevant STrib 10 8 25

I have added several references after “Do something” in the Darkness or Light post.

POSTNOTE:  I think back to my most recent visit to Niagara Falls three years ago, this time of year.  I visualize the people in a barrel, an occasional stupidity there, where someone thinks they can capitalize on surviving a trip over the falls.  It is one thing to read about it; it is another thing entirely to stand there, at the lip of the falls, and imagine what it would be like.

At the moment, America – all of us – are in a barrel, about to go over the edge.  If you’re excited about that, be very careful what you pray for.  Odds are against victory.

Dad at Niagara Falls 1972