UPDATE see end of this post Thanks to a column in today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune I was reminded of long ago memories of Saul Alinsky. No, I didn’t know him, but I certainly knew of him, and he had considerable influence on my early work as a teacher union organizer. Yesterday was Saul Alinsky’s 100th […]
At this moment, it is uncertain how many proposed amendments to the State Constitution will be on the ballot in November. If you have an interest in the 150 year history of these amendments, all the information can be accessed here. Click on the link to the Minnesota 2011-12 Legislative Manual (Blue Book) at the […]
This morning, in Las Vegas NV, there will be a celebration of the life of my cousin Patricia (Pat), who passed away, cancer, on January 25 at age 61. Far too young, but this is how life goes…one of the two certainties we all share: we enter, we leave…. It was not my privilege to […]
This is posted BEFORE the actual State of the Union is presented by President Obama. This [Tuesday] afternoon I sent my own mailing list a reminder of President Obama’s State of the Union (SOTU) address this evening. The subject line read: “What would you ask President Obama?” A friend, who I think would answer to […]
This morning, as usual on Sunday, I went to 9:30 Mass at Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. Not as usual, I entered through the door directly beneath the west bell tower. I noticed a new marble step there. That door has been blocked off by yellow police tape for a long time – most […]
Thursday night I was part of a near overflow crowd as Prof. David Schultz of Hamline University spoke on the topic “Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and the Twilight of American Capitalism“. Those who are old hands at the Thursday night sessions of the program of Citizens for Global Solutions could remember only one other program […]
UPDATE 4 A.M. JANUARY 19: If you despair about individuals being unable to make a difference read today’s Just Above Sunset. All you need to do is be willing to join forces on a cause and work together. “Work together” is the key. And keep working…. Thank you. UPDATE Jan. 18: Here is a significant […]
Sunday morning at Basilica of St. Mary, Fr. Greg Miller chose to close his homily with an extended quote from Martin Luther King’s talk to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference 16 August 1967. Entitled “Where do we go from here?”, the text of the speech is here. It is worth the time to read in […]
I began this blog with #1 on March 25, 2009. That is slightly over 1000 days ago, which means I post on an average of every other day. But averages are deceiving. Sometimes I post daily, sometimes a week or more will go by. I’ve been satisfied with the initial design, and with my initial […]
This mornings e-mail brought a most interesting post from Just Above Sunset (JAS), one of my favorite bloggers. Today’s post, Longing for Vigilante’s, concerns Politics and the Communications Profession. It is quite long, but worth the read, and accessible here*. I filed an off-the-cuff comment (later in this post, certainly a “rant”), and the entire […]