Next Tuesday is the first Presidential Primary, at the Iowa caucuses. They will be as they will be, as they were in 2012, and 2008, and so on. Then will be New Hampshire, and South Carolina, and Super Tuesday…. If one turns on the telescreen, it is impossible to not know about these elections, even […]
Whatever your particular opinion about the issue of Climate Change, I’d urge you to take the 2 minutes and 20 seconds necessary to watch this video, prepared by the Fellows in the 2015-2016 Hubert M. Humphrey Fellowship Program (The International Fulbright Program of the U.S. Department of State). This video is brand new, and it […]
Previous posts at January 6 and January 11. Other posts will follow. New Years Eve we were seasoned veterans of the Big Island. It was our 12th day at the Kaawihae Village house…and there was a New Years Eve party, with real Hawaiians there! It was a relief to find that real Hawaiians were just […]
Today is Martin Luther King Day (his birthday January 15, 1929, death April 4, 1968.) The Minneapolis Star Tribune headlines, at page two, “MLK Day to feature conflict and celebration”. We Americans love conflict, winners, celebration…. It would be interesting to hear Dr. King himself report on this day, in 2016. He’s no longer with […]
A few days ago a few folks in California, Tennessee and Florida won the largest lottery in history. Judging from the news, there was, even knowing the chances of winning were near zero, the thrill of the dream of riches with almost no effort! The day after the drawing, I had my date with the […]
Today it is below zero here at home in Minnesota. One week ago today we left “on a jet plane” from Kailua-Kona airport on Hawaii, largest island of our nation’s 50th state. It had been in the 80s all day…. My first post about our trip is here. Dec 20 – Jan 4 2016 we […]
Bottom Line: I support President Obama’s continued attempts to reasonably manage the “gun issue” in this country. This is not a new position for me. I think I’m part of a huge majority in this country (which is, unfortunately, silent to their elected representatives). If those of us in favor of gun sanity speak out, […]
See also Jan 11 and Jan 20, 2016 My Christmas message here, Dec. 17, 2015. Aloha. We just returned from nineteen days in Hawaii, most of which time was a wonderful visit with my cousin, Georgine, and her circle, as well as the use of her home on the Big Island of Hawaii. Mahalo! Only […]
This space goes dark for the next 2 1/2 weeks as we take a long awaited vacation trip. An early wish for a great Christmas season, and Happy 2016. My most uplifting find recently has been “Let there be Peace on Earth”, sung Sep 5, 2015, for Pope Francis and many other religious leaders at […]
My summary: We demand leadership from the top (someone else); and thoughtful leaders who value consensus building amidst differences are crucial. But we really need to expect leadership from ourselves. As Margaret Mead famously said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed it is the only thing […]