NOTE: The video of the entire speech by President Obama in Minneapolis on October 23 is accessible at the end of this post. Sometimes I hear talk of Democrats and Republicans being the same: “they’re both alike“; “they’re all liars”; “Democrats are only the lesser of two evils“. This kind of rhetoric comes from both […]
Earlier this morning I was at my daily hangout, the Caribou Coffee in Woodbury MN. It’s been my daily day-opener for ten years now. I like the place and the people – regulars and staff. I guess it could be considered part of my daily ritual. One of the staff came by this morning, noting […]
Today came an unexpected video featuring Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. (There may be an annoying ad for a few seconds prior to the 2 1/2 minute clip. Just let it play through.) The video speaks profoundly for itself. It reminded me of a copy of a letter which came into my possession some […]
This post is about American politics. I have made it a practice to be well informed politically, and this has been a practice for many years. This post – in two segments – is considerably longer than most items I write (several typewritten pages). Please don’t let that deter you. Some things cannot be summarized […]
Previous post on the rescue of the Chilean miners here. Saturday’s Minneapolis-Star Tribune carried a column by Daniel Henninger of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) entitled “Capitalism saved the day in Chile”. The column is here, though WSJ rules say it is available for only seven days from the October 14, 2010, publication date. The […]
Today was another stunningly beautiful Minnesota Fall day, a perfect day for – as the invitation stated – “a peace pole planting & dedication ceremony” at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Sunfish Lake MN. I took the drive over to the picturesque church. It is a place I have passed by often, but until today […]
This letter of mine appeared in the October 13, 2010, issue of the Woodbury Bulletin, our local newspaper. Our suburb of about 60,000 population would be considered as prosperous, with a great number of school age children and a correspondingly great number of younger parents who have very good jobs and live in nice houses. […]
The rescue of the 33 Chilean miners after 69 days underground grabbed and held on to me today. I got up about two a.m. to see the 4th miner reach the surface, and I watched intermittently today, and for an extended period tonight as the final miner reached the surface. For me, personally, the entirety […]
The call came on Friday. It was unexpected only because I didn’t think I’d be in the communications loop. Sister Victorine Long CSJ had passed away at Bethany Convent in St. Paul. She was 90. Her niece said she had a folder of assorted photos and letters for me – items which Sister Victorine had […]
Last Sunday on the way into Minneapolis’ Basilica of St. Mary for Mass I stopped by a small group of people collecting a DVD Archbishop Marriage001 earlier sent to all Archdiocese Catholics. The DVD lobbies against the supposed threat of Gay Marriage, and promotes a Minnesota Constitutional amendment mandating that marriage be restricted to one […]