Related commentaries begin with #387 and #389, thence continuing through this post. This series will likely continue, almost daily, through August 2, 2011. Down deep, most of us really want to believe that “they” (the politicians or parties we habitually vote for, or the religious or other powerful leaders we truly respect or resonate with) […]
My 1979 Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (p. 374) says this about the word “Compromise …compromised…compromising: 1) to adjust and settle (a difference) by mutual agreement, with concessions on both sides. 2. to agree: to accord [Obs]. 3. to lay open to danger, suspicion, or disrepute: to endanger the interests of. 4. to surrender or […]
July 4 UPDATE at end Directly related: June 27, here. The hate mail about President Obama is starting to come more frequently into my e-mail in box. Predictably (and falsely) Governor Dayton is already being blamed for the Minnesota budget stalemate. It is reported that some Republican legislators jeered him when he announced the shutdown […]
We’re in day three on the picket lines; most of us just don’t realize it. (Previous posts at June 30 and July 2, 2011. Recent related posts here and here.) The “just say ‘no’ ” bunch leading the Republican party may come to learn a lesson that they’ve probably not had to encounter before. When […]
I expect to regularly comment on the Minnesota Shutdown at this space. Check in once in awhile. Related post for June 30 here. In the evening of Day One of the Shutdown, we took our Grandson Ryan to a Minnesota Twins vs Milwaukee Brewers game at Target Field. It started very nastily, with a two […]
Years ago I heard a ‘rule of thumb’ that has seemed to be reasonably well borne out in reality. It was said that for every one person who actually physically shows up at some demonstration or other, that person represents 1,000 others who feel likewise, but can’t attend for reasons like work, too far away, […]
As I write, 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 29, 2011, my spouse, Cathy, is down in the ‘grand canyons’ of downtown Minneapolis, representing our homeowners association at a last ditch mediation to attempt to resolve a matter involving several hundred thousand dollars. Actually, it’s high-priced lawyers who are representing all sides in this now nearly […]
On frequent occasions, something in a news source catches my eye, as did this one, on Saturday. Most of us won’t all get to see these attack ads. They’re carefully targeted to certain places in the country where they are likely to do the most good (translated “bad”) against Democrats and the President of the […]
Early last evening I was watching my usual news program and a guest was talking about how New York Legislature was about to pass a law authorizing same sex marriage in the state of New York. I’ve been around political decision making for long enough, and closely enough, to question the judgment of a premature […]
Last night I watched President Obama’s thirteen minute address to the nation on Afghanistan. I felt it was a thoughtful speech, and it takes no long leap to state that every word, every inflection, everything, was very, very carefully put together for presentation to a diverse and immense world-wide audience including friends and enemies alike. […]