Entries by dickbernard

Thoughts on the Day of Alabama

PRE-NOTE: My comments on Alabama are “below the fold”, following the “headlines”, as well as several comments from others which were added before the polls closed Tuesday evening…. This post is about Politics. For those who do not like talk about politics, any time you see the Eagle, below, you’ll know what follows. Those who […]

“Evil Triumphs When Good People Do Nothing”

POSTNOTE, Dec. 8: A thought provoking commentary of the last days, here. * These thoughts seem random, even to myself. Hopefully, you’ll find some “hook” for thought and conversation. (click to enlarge, from June, 2000) Middle of the night I awoke with a few words in my head: “evil triumphs when good people do nothing.” […]

On Eagle’s Wing

Yesterday was the first day of Advent. It is variously observed in Christian churches; it seems especially emphasized in the Roman Catholic, my particular tradition. So, now we’re in Advent, Christmas is little more than four Sundays away. I planned a reminiscence about a simpler time for yesterday. It is premature. Too gentle. Perhaps next […]

A new 9-11: “Tax Reform” Under Cover of Night….

Last night the U.S. Senate facilitated, on a strict party-line vote, a forseeably disastrous end game: to steal from the poor and middle class as a giveaway to the already super-rich. The implications are, for ordinary Americans, worse by far than 9-11-01. The public has a very short time to weigh in on this initiative […]

Nuclear War

To be clear, this post is not about North Korea (though it well could be). One cannot imagine what “dotard” and “rocket man” (Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un) will do. This is a very dangerous time, led by very dangerous men. Rather, this post is, once again, about the weaponization of Sex in America. […]

Learn from History

My friend, Madeline, sent this to her Facebook group yesterday. It had originally circulated a year ago, right after the 2016 election. My opinion, this is a particularly useful reflective reading, given our continuing political experience beginning with the electoral campaign in 2016. It is a personal opinion. There is much food for thought. We […]

Making a List? Two Ideas.

Two suggestions for gifts which I highly recommend: 1. AND SO IT WAS, by Annelee Woodstrom (2017) It was my great good fortune, in May, 2003, to read a column in the Fargo (ND) Forum about Annelee’s first book “War Child. Growing Up In Adolf Hitler’s Germany“, in May, 2003. She was, then, my present […]

“How Will Future Reckon With Cousin Kenneth”

Prenote: In a sense, consider the below a trilogy of Thanksgiving thoughts, with the primary part, the second, on civility, the most important. In addition, from a long-time colleague and friend, here is a collection of 10 short poems pertinent to Thanksgiving 2017: 2017 Thanksgiving. * “Cousin Kenneth” is a thought provoking column I saw […]

“Sex, Religion and Politics”

POSTNOTE Nov 26: In the Sunday Minneapolis Star Tribune Op Ex section, letters editor David Banks had a good column about this issue. You can read it here. My submission (to date, not accepted for a letter) is at the end of this post. I ask that you read on, and open the links and […]

Tax “Cuts”

(click to enlarge) Personal opinion: like an eagle, or any bird, or any human, or animal for that matter, any system needs to be in equilibrium to function well. A bird with only a dominant right wing – or left, for that matter – does not function well. A smart bird with only a head […]