Tuesday I was privileged to attend a preview of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize Forum at Augsburg College, Minneapolis MN. All I can say is “be there”. And if you plan to be there, enroll now. I will be surprised if there is room for walk-ins the days of the Conference, March 1-3. All details […]
A day or so ago I answered the phone and a little-person voice announced herself as “Susie”. Susie? I thought it was a misdial. Then her mother came on, and I learned that I was talking to granddaughter Lucy, all irrepressible five years of her. Her sisters, Girl Scouts, had convinced her to call us […]
Each time I express an irritation with the Catholic Church, a few friends will write, in assorted ways, “why not just leave?” I always answer in assorted versions of “you can’t change an organization from the outside. You have to slog away within the system.” Plus, except for the hierarchy, whose clear obsession is temporal […]
Today at Mass at Basilica came the expected Declaration of War (my interpretation) by the Catholic Hierarchy against the majority of us in the pews and not, who do not buy the promulgated line. If you are not Catholic, or one of the two-thirds of Catholics who do not normally go to church, the declaration, […]
A little medley for the day of the Grammy’s. The news just in that Whitney Houston is dead at 48. She had a great talent and a tragic life. I picked a few personal favorites from different artists off of YouTube…. Whitney is at peace. Any favorite songs you’d like to add to this list? […]
We’ll be at our Precinct Caucus tonight, at a Middle School in rural Lake Elmo ‘a hop and a skip’ from where Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann lives alongside a golf course. Many precincts will convene at this school, same as always. Four years ago, Feb. 5, 2008…well, here’s what I said, then: “I’ve attended precinct caucuses […]
Is there change in the air? Sometimes you just have to take the time to look…and then you need to double down, and go back to work, hard, hard work. Yes, I said “go to work”. Human nature seems to minimize accomplishments, and denies how much work is necessary to make changes, and to sustain […]
NOTE: This post originated in November, 2007, titled LYNN ELLING: A MILLION COPIES MADE: Visioning a New Declaration of World Citizenship, by Dick Bernard. Originally published Nov. 5, 2007 at Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers, of which Dick Bernard was then President, slightly revised February 3, 2011, and December 3, 2012, and has been updated by addition […]
Today is a pea-soup fog day in my town, and the temperature is about 32 degrees, so any of the resident Woodbury groundhogs have no worries about sunburn, or freezing to death. They will not see their shadow, at least not from sunlight. But the place for groundhogs today is Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Punxsutawney Phil has […]
See Feb. 6 Update at end of this post. Last night we attended a very interesting session sponsored by the group River Valley Action. The topic was Myth Busters. (DebunkingCommonMyths_Jan31_final) There were three excellent and knowledgeable presenters: J. Drake Hamilton of the organization Fresh Energy; Professor David Schultz; and Kathy Tomsich of League of Women […]