Entries by dickbernard

Israel/Palestine

The emphasis of this post is the upcoming talk by Nurit Peled-Elhanan (see below).  To be clear, what the speaker will talk about is common in national histories.  For instance, Native Americans did not factor favorably into American History, and still don’t….  I encourage you to join this webcast.  I will be enrolling myself.  I’ll […]

Haiti

The major headline in today’s Minneapolis StarTribune: “U.S. ups embassy security in Haiti.  Military flies to capital with gangs largely in control“. This is not the kind of publicity one likes to see.  The details are readily available on-line, so I won’t go into the current event.  Rather, I want to afford an opportunity to […]

The State of the Union

March 9, 2024: A reader asked for my graphic about the Presidents since FDR first published Feb 1.  Here it is: Presidents since FDR DRAFT Feb 1 2024. This morning (March 7), at coffee, I was musing about the conference table at my left.  It is a table quite often occupied in whole or in […]

Presidential Primary Election Day – Super Tuesday March 5, 2024

POSTNOTE March 6 6 a.m.: Minnesota returns here.  For context, there were 3,542,947 persons who. could have voted; typically, Minnesota has very high voter turnout.  About 11% of eligible voters split their vote between the two most popular candidates.  (Voters had to choose one ballot: Republican, Democrat, or Legal Marijuana Now.)  My “favorite” candidate: Vermin […]

Election 2024

POSTNOTE March 1, 2024: A news headline tonight: 249 days to the Election.  Where do you fit in this picture? The formal political process varies state-by-state, and party-by-party in the United States with infinite local variations.  So, as I write on Feb. 29, 2024, the 2020 process has just begun in Minnesota (not counting the […]

The Voter*

A week from today is the Minnesota Precinct Caucus; a week beyond is “Super Tuesday” in many U.S. States. While details from state to state vary, each state has a process by which citizens input on candidates and issues that their elected representatives will encounter during their term of office.  For Minnesota and my community, […]

Fani Willis

Yesterday I watched an hour or so of Fani Willis’ testimony in Atlanta, and of course saw and heard much replay afterwards, which will continue through as many news cycles as it is interesting. I have an opinion, before turning on the TV this morning.  I write 1100 miles from Atlanta, so I don’t plan […]

Junior High

Like many in my age cohort, life becomes a daily exercise in divestment:   Who would want this? Why am I keeping that? In a cabinet in the garage, was the 1966-67 yearbook of the 1300 student Roosevelt Junior High School in Blaine MN.  I was in my fourth year of teaching, second year there. […]

Israel-Palestine

This is my 7th commentary on the general issue of Gaza and Israel.  All of these are linked at the beginning of the first post from October 8, 2023, here. Since October 7. about 125 days ago, there has been one atrocity after another in the area around the tiny region called Gaza.  I don’t […]