Three items on a snow day in Minnesota 1. Robert Reich, on March 15, 2026, shared a remarkable column by Twin Cities native Tom Friedman about the example demonstrated by the citizens of Minneapolis particularly in recent troubled times. I hope the column is accessible to all. It is long and very worth reading, […]
POSTNOTE March 15: Relevant additional post today. Today is 112 days before the 250th birthday of the United States of America. Commit yourself to extra effort to save our democracy between now and then, especially. Today, March 14, 2026, begins the third week of “Epic Fury”. I have near 86 years of experience as a […]
There is so much happening at this moment especially in the Iran area that I want to add some items to the essential conversation. We all need to be directly involved. Here’s a rough map I adapted from an old Atlas I have which helps define the area. This is from 1982, so the map […]
PRENOTE March 1, 2026: Coincident with the convention described below came news that the U.S. had begun to bomb Iran. A few days ago, I started a post about Iran which you may wish to look at and comment on. It is here. Note: at the time I published this post, I had no idea […]
I am not sure I’ll waste any time tonight watching the 2026 State of the Union. For sure, today, I’ll revisit the President March 4, 2025, State of the Union address, which you can read here. Remember, this is the speech one year ago. I recommend, also, two posts I did in the last two […]
Tuesday night, it is probably a good guess that the topic of Iran will come up in the State of the Union. It is a good time to once again reprint the map of Iran and its close neighbors in the Middle East. Iran Lebanon Israel area (pdf – includes Israel) Iran is almost exactly […]
Each Sunday at Basilica of St. Mary each person receives a newsletter/worship aid for the specific weekend service. The first two pages generally are a column written by one of the staff members of the Parish. Todays was entitled “The Gift of Tears” by Janice Andersen, for many years Director of Christian Life at the […]
As I begin this post, the President is railing on against the Supreme Courts decision on Tariffs. There is such an avalanche of issues, one wonders where to start. More later in this post. There are a few thought starters I’d like to suggest today. THE RIGHT TO VOTE There is a continuing effort to […]
This morning I made my first visit to the sites where Renee Good and Alex Pretti were murdered in January. Mine was only a short visit about 9 a.m. Alex’s death was on the west side of Nicollet Avenue, between 25th and 26th Street. Renee died on the east side of Portland Avenue at about […]
This morning came a 4-minute YouTube I ask you to NOT watch until you read the rest, below, first. Today is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Heather Cox Richardson offers a marvelous summary, here. The column got me to thinking back to my own history, which includes lots of tourist stops over many years. Among these stops […]