A few days ago, at a political fundraiser in St. Paul, a 3-term Congressman told us that “Congress” as an entity has a 12% approval rating. That is about as close to zero as it is possible to get. I knew this number from earlier reports, and I’ve always observed that we Americans, who select […]
Late yesterday we went to a small gathering of people in St. Paul. It goes by the generic label: “political fundraiser”. As such things go, this was a small event. The candidate was there: a three term Congressman from southern Minnesota; a Democrat in a district that is probably shaded Red (Republican) historically, and reaches […]
UPDATE: If you have not yet read Naomi Klein’s “The Shock Doctrine The Rise of Disaster Capitalism”, do it…. Tuesday I noted this item on Yahoo news. It includes a remarkable video, worth watching, which at most recent count had been viewed well over 600,000 times on YouTube. You can access the video within the […]
This morning, as usual, we went downstairs at our church for the usual coffee and donuts. (Our place is the Basilica of St. Mary’s at the near edge of downtown Minneapolis – it is a downtown parish – a place of diverse sorts of people.) I got my coffee and donut and saw a lady […]
When I posted #441 on September 21, I was unsure whether or not the International Day of Peace would be of consequence or even noted. Looking back a few days, there was a great plenty of notice about the Day of Peace, some very positive, some very negative, all very public. The Thursday Minneapolis Star […]
UPDATE Sep 21: President Obama addressed the United Nations this morning on the issue of Peace. You can watch the entire address here. Today, September 21, 2011, is the International Day of Peace, and odds are it won’t get a lot of attention in the main stream media. That’s a shame. We are a country, […]
Sometime in 1987, well into President Ronald Reagan’s second term, I was in San Benito TX visiting my father. One evening, he and I went out to dinner with his good friends, also retirees in San Benito. It was just a night out. I knew them both from previous visits. He was a retired locksmith, […]
Today is the funeral Mass for my second cousin Walt McFadden. Walt died Sept 13 in an accident on his farm on the edge of Dubuque IA. Our condolences to Mary Lou, daughters Dena, Angela, Marla, their families, and Walter’s siblings Phil, Marianne, Paul, Jerry, Carolyn, Hugh, Kathy and Richard. The last time I talked […]
I’m a regular usher at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. It is an enjoyable task, and on occasion I see something unusual, as was the case this morning. I was walking down the outside aisle on the downtown side of the Basilica, and saw a display case with a piece of sculpture (click […]
Soon after 9-11-11 I received a “real” (with postage stamp) letter from a great and long-time friend: “Enough 9/11 already. [My son] contends that if we put the same energy into remembering victims of battering and child abuse, it would be well served. I am not unsympathetic, but where is the energy for other injustices? […]