#612 – Dick Bernard: Election 2012 #38. Joe Biden, Pat Kessler and Niall Ferguson

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Today, I decided to attend the Vice President Joe Biden event at the Depot in Minneapolis.
I’ve attended these kinds of events before, so I knew exactly what to expect. It took an hour out of yesterday to pick up the ticket, then four hours today to drive over, stand in line, stand inside waiting for the Vice Presidents half hour speech, then drive home afterwards. I was there for the entire event.
It was a good day. I’m tired.
(click on photos to enlarge them)

V. P. Joe Biden, August 21, 2012, The Depot, Minneapolis MN


There was nothing unexpected in the vice-president’s remarks. I heard Pat Kessler of WCCO-TV report live back to the Noon News on ‘CCO that Biden was in the Cities to “fire up the troops”, or words to that effect.
Of course, motivating supporters is a totally appropriate use of time for a candidate. Kessler, who is my favorite local TV reporter on political matters, was stating the obvious.
(Like all the camera people and reporters, Kessler was “penned in” the press area, certainly not roaming the crowd. I watched Pat as he did his work, writing his notes, walking around in the ‘pen’, contemplating his thoughts.)

Pat Kessler reporting at noon, August 21.


I wondered how much time Kessler’s piece would get on the WCCO-TV evening news. Back home I watched, and he got about three minutes, only perhaps a minute of which was about the event in which I had invested five hours of my time. This is not a criticism. He was doing his job. And he does it well. He always seems fair, and cares about getting his information right, and conveying it in as objective manner as possible.
But if TV news is where people get a lot of their political news, they certainly get no depth of coverage at all. Maybe 20 minutes of that half hour news program is advertising; the rest divided into the traditional “news, weather, sports” with perhaps some special features thrown in (the State Fair is coming up and ‘CCO will do the news from there….)
Back home, I picked up the mail which included, this day, Newsweek’s August 27 edition, with President Obama on the cover, and the cover article, “Hit the road, Barack. Why We Need a new President” by Niall Ferguson.
I’d gotten a preview of this article the previous day through two commentaries challenging Ferguson’s methodology and his interpretation of facts. You can read them here and here. UPDATE Aug 22: Another one, from Business Insider, came today and is here. And another, here.
Because Ferguson is a writer of some prominence, and because Newsweek remains a magazine of some credibility, Ferguson’s printed words get credibility that apparently they don’t deserve. Likely very few of the Newsweek readers get the benefit of a critique of Ferguson’s objectivity. The choice is to accept his opinion or not.
Back to the Depot and V.P. Biden, I think most of us felt it was time well spent. But it was tiring.
Well before the invocation opening the gathering, I struck up a conversation with a lady who was sitting on the floor near the media platform.
She was surprised that there were no chairs (it is the usual for these kinds of events).
At the same time, so far as I know she stayed till the end, and she was a supporter. It was just too tiring.
I ran into one fellow I knew and we had a good conversation about things political; and it is always interesting to just people watch at events like this. I become aware of how diverse the scrum is that goes by the name “Democrat” at such gatherings. (And you also notice people who are quite obviously not Democrat, but they are at such meetings for reasons of their own.)
In the long line before entering the old Depot, I got to thinking about the time in 1960-61 when I first came to Minneapolis, via the Soo Line, for a student union conference at the UofM Farm Campus in St. Paul. I was a college senior at the time, and I’d never been on a jaunt like this before. The bustle of the twin cities was new to me.
Where Joe Biden was speaking was where I and my fellow students had debarked from the train from Valley City ND over 50 years ago, sometime during the transition period from President Eisenhower to President Kennedy. A memory from that era is here: Politics 1960 vs 1996001
Things have really changed….

The line into the refurbished Milwaukee Road Depot August 21, 2012


There’s about two months till the election.
Get engaged.

Message t-shirt seen at the Joe Biden event


Portion of Milwaukee Road Route Map 1954, seen at the Hotel which now occupies the former Depot.


The old smokestacks from the days that the Depot welcomed coal-burning steam engines.

#611 – Dick Bernard: A couple of Union Reunions

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Friday evening, enroute home from a trip to my home state of North Dakota, I stopped at a freeway restaurant for a cup of coffee with a retired teacher friend from Anoka-Hennepin Education Association days.
Kathy gave me the below photo, and asked if I would scan it for her. It wasn’t labeled (a usual malady for photos – hint!) but we basically came to consensus that it was probably taken at the 1989 NEA Convention (New Orleans) in an expression of solidarity for the students who had occupied Tienanmen Square in Beijing in 1989.
(click on photos to enlarge)

AHEA Delegates to NEA Convention, probably 1989 in New Orleans


It was common for these kinds of actions at union gatherings. Most of we union members and staff had a keen and sincere sense of justice. Indeed, that is why I became active as a union leader in the late 1960s, then staff member of the Minnesota teachers union (MEA/Education Minnesota) for the rest of my career.
Sunday night came another event: a retirement celebration for Lee J., a union staff colleague for many years, who said he’d been in the profession either as teacher or staff for 40 years.
It was a great celebration, with a great number of family, current and retired colleagues and friends.
Lee likely went home pleased and proud last night.
I’ve never been much of a ‘dress for success’ kind of guy, but last night I decided I needed to choose an accessory for my evening ‘ensemble’. It is below:

I don’t recall where I got the button, but occasionally it adorns me like a piece of jewelry. It is something to be proud of. (People who know me would chuckle at the ‘thug’* part. No matter. I care about Unions.)
There were the usual memories last night, spoken and unspoken. We were regaled with the never-ending “grapefruit tree” grievance which, at one point, snared me for a time though I was nowhere near the teachers district.
After the event, I recalled to Lee the time, I’m guessing it was 1984 or 1985, when he was still a teacher and local leader, that he and his family borrowed my meager apartment in Hibbing for free accommodations for a summer vacation. My place was nothing fancy, that’s for sure, but for Lee and Becky and their two young kids it worked just fine.
Today is not the best of times for Unions generally, public employee unions in particular.
It seems that working for economic and social justice is viewed as a threat.
Newt Gingrich’s infamous 100 words from 1996 includes among the 64 repulsive words, “Taxes” and “Unionized”.
(Actually, Newt’s list emphasizes 64 “optimistic and positive governing words”, and 64 “contrasting words”. He didn’t invent the language, but to this day if one looks carefully at this list of words, one can identify the theme of most every campaign for or against…. These days, these words are called ‘dog whistle’ words – you are either supposed to have reverence for, or be repulsed by certain words. Much like a Pavlov’s dog reaction. It is not healthy for us as a society.)
Those who buy the nonsense of Newt’s words, especially from within the dwindling middle class, will rue the day they chose to buy the propaganda that certain words represented good, and others, evil.
It’s been 40 years since I started my union staff career, and a dozen since that career ended with my own retirement.
To Kathy and Lee and to all who have toiled in the often thankless task of seeking justice for working people, thank you.
And to the younger folks who need to take on the duties going forward, be mindful of the fact that what you now take for granted came at great cost in time and energy by people just like yourselves, too busy, but committed to justice.
What was gained, can be lost.
* – I can’t say that I know a true “union thug”. Doubtless they exist somewhere, but they’re rare. Closest call I had was once talking to a management representative who negotiated with Jimmy Hoffa of the Teamsters on occasion. He said Hoffa was a really decent guy, but he knew what he needed for his members, and that was that.

#609 – Dick Bernard: French HORNswoggled

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This is about a wonderful French Horn concert I attended on August 6 in St. Paul.
(click on photos to enlarge)

Bob Olsen and conductor Derik Rehurek share some thoughts before the program began


To my knowledge, “hornswoggle” (syn: bamboozled, etc) has absolutely nothing to do with French horns , but I just couldn’t get the word out of my mind as I remembered a delightful evening. I’ve heard the French Horn can be a beast to play, and it has its share of jokes. Here are some.
Maybe one has to have a sense of humor to survive playing the French Horn. At one point in a piece last Monday, I watched cousin Mary Kay, an avid French Horn player, strain to get enough wind to tootle the phrase. She looked almost in pain. Later she told me (if I recall correctly) that the lower register can be a bear if you don’t have a lot of wind.
There were 17 horn-sters at the Horns of Summer concert at the Dove Hill house (next door to the James J. Hill mansion on Summit Avenue, St. Paul). Perhaps there were about as many of us in the audience.
This was a free private concert specifically for people who love to play French horn. MC Bob Olsen, one of the hornsters himself, said there were something over 90 French Horn players on his e-mail list. They play for assorted community orchestras, and occasionally have an opportunity, like this particular evening, to do a program of exclusively French horn Music, as much for their own enjoyment as anything.
They played with gusto!
They tootled away, these hornsters, often playing pretty powerfully in a space specifically designed for concerts and such when Louis and Maud Hill expanded their mansion about 1912. The current owners call their home Dove Hill. Theirs is an elegant space.
Here is the program for the evening: Horns of Summer 2012001
Not sure what French Horns sound like? YouTube has lots of examples.

Tootling away. Cousin Mary is second from right in back row.


Between pieces, the players swapped chairs, and it was sometimes a bit difficult to hear the conductor introduce the next piece. It was not a distraction, however. This was what I would call joyful noise. These were friends, banded together by their love of music and the French Horn, and they only saw each other on occasion. No time to miss an opportunity to catch up!
Short program over, we departed.
I noted two paintings on the wall which were, it turned out, murals about the settlement of this area. The photos are at the end.
Back on Summit, heading to my car and home, for some reason, there was a bit of extra spring in my step!
Many thanks to the Nicholsons for hosting the evening.

Mural, mural on the wall...


#607 – Dick Bernard: Election 2012 #36. Personal Responsibility

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Thank you for stopping by.
Evidence is that an important Election is coming soon. The first lawn signs are sprouting along our streets. Important parts of local parades are political units supporting candidates. Etc.

July 11, 2012 Ramsey County Fair parade


The Minnesota Primary Election is next Tuesday, August 14. (Is there one in your town? Here’s where to start.)
Three months from now, Wednesday, November 7, 2012, we’ll wake up to the results of the 2012 election. We’ll learn our collective decision, as we do every two years. We’ll vote, informed or not, or we won’t vote at all, which is its own form of voting. (The word “decision” is not a passive one. Decide, suicide, homicide…there is a sense of finality with a decision.)
Political conversation is very difficult in our society. August 4, at a 50th wedding anniversary luncheon, I heard the following snip of conversation: “he won’t talk about politics or religion, but he’ll talk about anything else….”
I didn’t know them, or “he”, but I would completely disagree.
We live, at our peril, largely isolated from other points of view, even from next door neighbors. In many ways we’re involved in a deadly Civil War where for one to win, another must lose…and we’re all in the same country. We all lose.
Civil conversation and a sense of mutual responsibility and cooperation is essential for our society to thrive.
In the end, we’re individually accountable for the results whether we voted, informed or not, or didn’t vote at all Nov. 6. There is no “they” to blame. “They” is each and every one of us.
It is important work to really understand the candidates and the issues on which you’ll vote November 6.
Every individual needs to know the offices, the candidates and their positions on the issues; what they’ve ‘pledged’ to whomever; where their beliefs might get in the way of representing all of us…. This will take effort. Candidates cannot have personal conversations with everyone. Even in a single legislative district there are over 20,000 potential homes to visit. It cannot be done. But each of us have ways of reaching them…and noting if they respond, and how.
There are Forums; there are position papers. If the candidates are already in office, there are records.
We’re a very diverse society. No candidate can or should be expected to subscribe to each of our own views on everything. It is impossible. But we can discover if they are essentially owned by a particular constituency or bias. This does not work.
In my opinion, political advertising, ubiquitous and often obnoxious, is of zero value as far as “informing” is concerned. This will be especially bad the next three months. It is legal and it will not go away this fall. Mostly it will be targeted against, which isn’t productive. It is possible that as much as 2 1/2 billion dollars will be spent on election advertising this year alone. And that’s only for President of the United States. UPDATE Aug. 10: here’s a longer discussion of this issue of dishonesty in politics.
Each of us has within his or her power the ability to manage the impact of big and essentially anonymous money, much of it from hugely wealthy donors: refuse to fall for the lies.
As for the two constitutional amendments on the ballot in November: get to know what they mean, really. At minimum, think of the long-term implications of them for you and your family. Once passed, they’ll be almost impossible to reverse, which is a main reason for their being proposed.
Consider that both were passed with all votes from members of one party, and no affirmative votes from members of the other party in the state legislature. They by-passed the Governor. These are not innocuous “common sense” proposals. They have a very dark side, including for those who think they’d favor them.
Three months is not a long time.
You and I are the chief shareholders of this place called the United States of America, and we are the ones who will decide its direction three months from now.

Part of the Parade Community, Cottage Grove, June, 2012


NOTE TO READERS: I write frequently about political issues. Simply stop back once in awhile, and type Election 2012 in the search box, enter, and the list will come up, most recent first.
Directly related: here

Betty McCollum unit, New Brighton Stockyards Day Parade August 9 2012

#605 – Dick Bernard: Election 2012 #34 Hubert H. Humphrey: Working for compassion is not a task for the meek….

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This morning a friend sent me a quote of John F. Kennedy, which seems apropos today: “If by a “Liberal” they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a “Liberal,” then I’m proud to say I’m a “Liberal.”
The friend didn’t know that a few hours later I was planning to take a look at the newly dedicated statue honoring former U.S, Vice-President and United States Senator Hubert H. Humphrey.
There were a few of us at the statue about 4:30 p.m. including George and Edna from Brooklyn Center (below photo, click all photos to enlarge).

George and Edna with Hubert Humphrey, August 5, 2012


Both reminisced fondly about Hubert as an important figure in their lives. George recalled the large numbers of African-Americans who paid respects to Mr. Humphrey when he died. Hubert was a lion for civil rights, before it was popular.
Humphrey and Kennedy, liberals, were colleagues in the U.S. Senate 1953-1960. Kennedy had served in the Senate 1953-60, till he took office as President of the United States 1961-63. Humphrey was a U.S. Senator from 1949-64, and again from 1970-78, and Vice-President of the U.S. 1965-69. Before his national recognition, he had been Mayor of the City of Minneapolis 1945-48.
Humphrey was only 68 when he died; 34 when he became mayor of Minneapolis. I remarked that politics is for younger people. It requires much energy.



The basic biography of Hubert Humphrey is here, at the website of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of the University of Minnesota. Many of his memorable quotations can be found at this site as well.
In 2004 I happened across a book which mentioned a meeting with then-Senator Humphrey. It became the basis of my 2004 Christmas letter which remains on the internet here.
Here is a portion of the letter:
Early in October [2004], while reading the excellent book, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life (Henri J.M.Nouwen, Donald P. McNeill, Douglas A. Morrison. Image Books/Doubleday c 1966, 1983 pages 5&6), I came across a passage which grabbed my attention: “…compassion can at most be a small and subservient part of our competitive existence. This sobering idea was forcefully brought home to us during the early stages of this book. One day, the three of us visited the late Senator Hubert Humphrey to ask him about compassion in politics. We had come because we felt he was one of the most caring human beings in the political arena. The Senator, who had just finished talking with the ambassador of Bangladesh, and obviously expected a complaint, a demand, or a compliment, was visibly caught off guard when asked how he felt about compassion in politics. Instinctively, he left his large mahogany desk, over which hung the emblem reminding visitors that they were speaking with the former Vice-President of the United States, and joined us around a small coffee table. But then, after having adapted himself to the somewhat unusual situation, Senator Humphrey walked back to his desk, picked up a long pencil with a small eraser at its end, and said in his famous high-pitched voice, “Gentlemen, look at this pencil. Just as the eraser is only a very small part of this pencil and is used only when you make a mistake, so compassion is only called upon when things get out of hand. The main part of life is competition, only the eraser is compassion. It is sad to say, gentlemen, but in politics compassion is just part of the competition….”
I had two thoughts after reading this passage:
1) Here was a public person, well known for his compassion in public policy, relegating compassion in politics to the subordinate status of eraser.
2) I also was aware that an eraser, unused, soon hardens and becomes useless. Is this the same with unused human compassion?
Ours has become a brutally competitive society: winner take all, Losers are…losers. Compassion is, more than ever, only the eraser; its use determined by the Winner.
We have experienced, once again, the brutal polarity of U.S. elections. Once again the electoral “Super Bowl” has identified winners and losers. Once again, the U.S. population is described as split. I wonder: who qualifies for compassion? What does a ‘winner’ – and society at large – lose, in a winner-take-all society as ours has become?
What is the cost of this polarity to the United States? To the world at large?
Does a person deserve compassion as a right? Or does he or she have to qualify for it, or earn it? Do we each set up a ‘compassion boundary’, which we restrict to only certain people: family, certain friends, neighborhood, town, state, nation? Or does everyone in the world – an Iraqi? an Afghani? Someone in Darfur or Haiti? – equally merit compassion whether we know them or not? These are questions, I think, worthy of serious reflection and action.

#604 – Dick Bernard: Lois Swenson

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Yesterday afternoon I went to a farewell gathering for Lois Swenson, a lady I hardly knew, but who I knew well through numerous intersecting ‘circles’ of relationships with others. Lois was unknown to me, but well known through others….
That hundreds of people would pack a suburban church on a pleasant Sunday afternoon was a testimonial to Lois’ place in the hearts of those who knew her.
(click on photos to enlarge them)

At the celebration of Lois Swenson's life July 29, 2012


There is no need to describe Lois and how it was we happened to gather yesterday. All of the information can be found here. The program booklet is here: Lois Swenson001
She was by all accounts a remarkable lady: one who made a difference by being engaged in the world in which she lived.
I thought of an e-mail I had received from a friend in one of my own circles the day previous to the service. It is here, and I think Lois and her friends would enjoy the five minutes of people dancing around the world.
I was most struck by one comment by the Minister towards the end of the service. He noted that a cameraman from WCCO-TV was there, with camera, and it wasn’t until the cameraman was there that he connected the dots: that one of his elementary school teachers had been Ms. Swenson. It was an emotional moment for him, the minister said. I noted later that the short segment on WCCO’s evening news had a piece of film showing those of us in the pews.
There are lots of ‘dots’ in all of our lives, and sometimes it is times like yesterday which help connect those dots.
The service opened with a song, “Simple Gifts“, that seemed to completely describe Lois’ life.
Not in the program, but mentioned by one of the speakers, was the Peter, Paul and Mary anthem, “If I had a hammer“.
We all have a certain amount of time in which to make a certain amount of difference.
Lois well used her time, it certainly appears, and in so doing gave us all our own marching orders.
We need to expand and open our circles, outward, beyond our own selves and comfort zones.
UPDATES:
from Melvin: Thank you. I was out of town yesterday and wasn’t able to attend. I knew Lois from the gardening-community. She was a beautiful woman with a big heart for all people. I considered Lois a Peaceful Love Warrior who respected and honored Wellstone’s everyday little guy and woman. She was an simple, yet outstanding advocate for Justice. Every time I saw her, she always greeted me with a warm smile and a hug. She was a joyful ally. Her spirit will be missed, however, her positive energy will be remember by those she touch directly and indirectly. Thanks again.
MPPOE![May Peace Prevail on Earth]
from Barb (comment is also at end of this post): Thanks for writing about my dear friend, Lois Swenson, and for reinforcing the notion of our interconnectedness. Yesterday it struck me that any friend of Lois’s was a friend of mine. Given her broad love for all humanity, I’m challenged today to be a better friend to the earth and all of it’s inhabitants.
Thanks again.
from Jim (comment is also at end of this post): The cups we used were purposely chosen for their capacity to break down in compost. I will be adding them to the compost bin in the community garden Lois and I have worked in with many people.
Please enjoy the words to a song that well expresses the spirit of the day: Somos el Barco [here’s Pete Seeger’s version]
Chorus: Somos el barco, somos el mar, Yo navego en ti, tu navegas en mi
We are the boat, we are the sea, I sail in you, you sail in me
The stream sings it to the river, the river sings it to the sea The sea sings it to the boat that carries you and me
Chorus
The boat we are sailing in was built by many hands And the sea we are sailing on, it touches every land
Chorus
So with our hopes we set the sails And face the winds once more And with our hearts we chart the waters never sailed before
Jim Lovestar

#603 – Dick Bernard: End of a week after the Aurora massacre during Dark Knight Rises. Part Three

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When I awoke last Friday morning, and saw the first news of the carnage at the movie theatre in Aurora CO, the first thing that came to mind was the horror at Columbine High School in 1999. It became the basis for my post one week ago today.
As I write media is beginning to go silent on the tragedy at Aurora. Over at the Eagan Patch non-scientific online poll, the number favoring no gun control still dominates, but the percentage has hardly changed since the beginning. The thread of comments seems to be ending, but the emphasis has seldom been the tragedy inside the theater, rather the unfettered right to have guns*.
So we live.
Monday, mostly out of curiosity, I went to Dark Knight Rises at the Woodbury Theatre. The film isn’t my normal fare, but I felt it was well done, deserving its four stars (highest rating).

Woodbury Theatre July 22, 2012


The film kept attentive a fairly full Woodbury theatre audience of teens and adults, and it had strong take-away messages for anyone caring to ponder such things as good and evil.
There were no armed guards at the theatre, or unusual precautions I could notice. Staff were polite as always. Going to the Woodbury Theatre is always a pleasant experience.
In the theatre, I would guess that most of us were thinking about what happened a few days earlier in Colorado.
I certainly noticed my own feelings at the approximate half-hour mark, the point in the movie when the carnage took place in Aurora.
It was heart-warming to notice a couple of days later that Batman himself, Christian Bale, had showed up at the hospital in Aurora. It is hardly worth being shot to meet a movie star, and President Obama came to Aurora as well, but the in-person presence was a nice touch nonetheless.
Of course, death is something we all live with. Aurora was only a spike.
Out of curiosity I looked up death statistics.
On a normal day in the United States, nearly 7,000 people die. About 100 of these die in automobiles; perhaps 25 or so die in shootings; twice as many die through gun accidents or suicide with a gun; (far more are injured and terrorized in these shootings.)
World-wide, that Friday in July, 2012, about 156,000 people died from all causes.
So, should we even care about a few wasted lives in that movie theater in suburban Denver?
Yes, we should.
They are unnecessary deaths, due strictly to allowing someone “freedom” and “liberty” – “the right” – to purchase and then use deadly weapons to take away others freedom and liberty.
The thread of the community newspaper poll went on. The most recent comment count I have is nearing 300.
Monday, at 11:16 a.m. I entered my second and last personal response to the thread:
“I’ve followed this thread since almost the beginning – my computer says 163 posts so far. I wonder how many have experienced the reality of guns person-against-person. It makes a big difference. When I filled in the questionnaire which brought me here, I marked ‘sometimes’. In my comment, I said I qualified as expert marksman in the Army, but I have never owned a firearm and don’t intend to.
I was in the Army 1962-63. Volunteered for the Draft (ever fewer know what that is). Turned out I was assigned to an Infantry Company in a newly reactivated Infantry Division preparing for duty in a place that was abstract to most of us – Vietnam. We played a lot of war in my two years, up close and personal, with real primitive M-1 rifles (blank ammo), bayonet training, and the like. We crawled under barbed wire under a fusillade of machine gun fire. We experienced tear gas. We did maneuvers in several states.
Even playing war was dead serious. You found out it wasn’t a video game or a theory. You could get killed more easily than you could kill. Having a gun, and doing target practice isn’t the real deal, rest assured. In the chaos of that theater on Friday night, the worst thing to happen would have been a gunslingers duel. My opinion: authorize everyone to have a machete, and banish guns, period. Yes, a fantasy. But makes more sense than assault weapons on every corner. And check out “On Killing” by David Grossman on Amazon. Somebody earlier referred to him.”
There were no responses on-line, but the conversation continued on other topics.
Maybe it’s a good time to review Columbine and that movie the gun-folks love to hate: Bowling for Columbine. It’s free for viewing on-line, here. And here’s Michael Moore on the issue. He’s paid his dues.
If my math is correct, since Columbine there have been over 100,000 violent person-against-person gun deaths in the United States.
If you think policy makers need to pay attention to our being awash in deadly weapons, don’t go silent, as the news media leaves Aurora for the next deal. Stay with it. The Brady Campaign is a good ongoing resource.
Gandhi had it right: “we must be the change we wish to see in the world”.
* – Here’s the last comment on the Patch poll, at least by 11:15 p.m. Thursday, July 26.
Carol Turnbull: “This is from An Arms Race We Can’t Win, one of the links posted above, for those who didn’t bother to check it out: “The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has compiled a 62-page list of mass shootings since 2005. What’s striking is that there isn’t a single example of a concerned bystander with a concealed-carry permit who stopped a mass shooting… “We’re also excessively pessimistic about our ability to control firearms in the United States. Since 9/11, federal officials have done an excellent job of restricting the fertilizers and chemicals required to produce homemade explosives.””

#602 – Dick Bernard: Election 2012 #33. An invitation to dialogue

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The below commentary, by myself, appears in today’s Woodbury Bulletin. It is in response to a front page article and editorial in last weeks Bulletin: here and here.
I know nothing about the person who is calling the meeting, nor anything about what her motivation might be, nor who will come on July 31st (I hope to be in attendance myself). Regardless of the ‘facts’, it is important to recognize such gatherings and to contribute to the extent possible to greater mutual understanding.
There’s Value in Dialogue over Monologue
by Dick Bernard
I applaud Kelly DeBrine’s seeking “open, honest chat on taxes”. I hope her event on July 31 is the first of many such meetings.
But she will need a lot of patience and persistence.
There are many words in the front page article and accompanying editors commentary.
I was looking to find application of a single specific concept.
I saw: “Talk”; “chat”; “conversation”; “lawn signs”; “[decision] without allowing the public to weigh in”; “debates”; “saying the [tax] word out loud”; “rhetoric”; “discussion”; “arguments”; “exploration”; “civility…with grace”.
Some words I thought I’d see were missing, such as false or misleading media ads anonymously funded; dishonest robocalls; and those hateful and lie-filled “forwards” that are passed computer to computer and pass for political discourse these days….
The concept I was looking for was dialogue (yes, some words above are synonyms).
Dialogue.
I have long been taken with a quotation I saw in Joseph Jaworskys book, “Synchronitiy, the Inner Path of Leadership” (1996). Preceding the chapter on Dialogue: The Power of Collective Thinking, Jaworsky included the following quote from David Bohms “On Dialogue”. It speaks to this business of talking with, rather than talking to, over, or at others:
“From time to time, (the) tribe (gathered) in a circle.
They just talked and talked and talked, apparently to no purpose. They made no decisions. There was no leader. And everybody could participate.
There may have been wise men or wise women who were listened to a bit more, the older ones, but everybody could talk.
The meeting went on, until it finally seemed to stop for no reason at all and the group dispersed.
Yet after that, everybody seemed to know what to do, because they understood each other so well. Then they could get together in smaller groups and do something or decide things.”
Of course, even such a concept as dialogue is susceptible to misuse: over four years ago my pastor tried to defuse what he called “inflammatory language” on an issue that still divides members in our large church. It was very obvious he was being pressured by and agreed with, one particular belief ‘side’. To all of us he wrote this in his Sunday Bulletin column: “We need to invite people into dialogue so that they can see the wisdom of our words and understand the moral rightness of our position”.
So, one was right, the other wrong…I didn’t feel that was “dialogue”, and I told him so.
Yes, we are having huge problems in working out our differences in our society, and Ms DeBrine is to be congratulated on taking on the issue of usage of a word.
But the dominant view, now, is to try to bludgeon the opposition into irrelevance by any and all means necessary. I’ve seen it happen, including at meetings in our town.
I’ve been at a public meeting in this community (April 9, 2009) that was so tightly controlled that police were in attendance and certain questions were not welcome. Our role was to sit and listen, apparently.
I’ve been at another, fairly recently (Jan. 31, 2012), where an attempt to have an open conversation was dominated by a big loudmouth who stood in the back of the room and did his best to disrupt any attempt at civil discourse. Some others were like teenagers disrupting class.
I’ve also been part of groups in Woodbury which attempted to do exactly what Kelly is trying to do. In fact, a few of us continue to stay in contact in civil conversation, though not in person.
I part company with Ms DeBrine in one important respect. She says “we’re all responsible for our democracy, it’s not just the politicians.”
In my view, every single one of us ARE the “politicians”, if we disconnect we’ll get exactly what we deserve.
It is demeaning to those hard-working citizens of our town who are seeking public office this fall, to now call them just “politicians”.
We are all “running for office” in November. We best act accordingly.
UPDATES:
from Joyce: Of course it was Aristotle who said, “man is a political animal”; it is too bad too many people cede the political role to the politicians.
From Sue: Dick, beautifully written. I especially like your response to her comment about the politicians. You’re right; we’re all the politicians because we care about our community, our nation, our world, and we are striving to make the world a better place. Being a politician can and should be a noble endeavor, and it’s up to each of us to make sure that those we elect are deserving and responsive!
from Tom: Dick, Nice work! I enjoyed reading your article over breakfast this morning, and your quote from “On Dialog” brought a smile to my face. All the best.
from Kelly: (see comments section below)
I responded to her as follows: Thank you for your comment on my blog post. Most likely I’ll be at the meeting, since I have a real interest in dialogue.
There is an unfortunate tendency to separate out from the rest anyone who runs for office, whatever you choose to call them, elected officials, politicians, whatever.
Just briefly, whether I agree with them or not, anyone who files for any office, and puts up with the hard work and often abuse that goes with the task, deserves to be included as one of us; and we are one of them, however uninvolved we happen to be.
It is a good topic. [While] I don’t know you, I wish you success.

Franco-Fete in Villes Jumelles (the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul) September 28-30, 2012

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UPDATE Sep 12, 2012: Here’s an interesting hour with samples of Le Vent du Nord music and discussion of Franco-Fete on Bonjour Minnesota radio program Sep 11, 2012.
CONTACT INFORMATION: Check in occasionally. Scroll to end of this post.
Francophone, Francophile, French-Canadian ancestry…or know someone who is, or is interested? Consider passing this post along, about a very special event in Minneapolis September 28-30, 2012. That’s only two weeks away. Home website is here.

(click on all photos to enlarge them)

Statue of Pioneers corner of Marshall and Main Street NE, Minneapolis, less than a mile from the conference venue.


reverse side of Pioneer Statue


In 1980, the United States Census asked, for the last time, a question about the ethnic background of Americans.
That year, 7.9% of Minnesotans- 321,087 persons, one of every 12 citizens – declared themselves to be a least partially of French (France and/or French-Canadian) ancestry. Neighboring Wisconsin counted 7.3% Wiconsinites of such ancestry and many other states had very significant numbers of persons in this category. Fr-Can in U.S. 1980001
It is this base, and any of those with an interest in the French language and cultural influence, who will want to set aside the end of September, 2012, for the first-ever Franco-Fete in Minneapolis.
All details, including registration information, are on the web here.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE: The agenda continues to evolve. Even if you’ve checked before, check back again to get a more complete picture of the entire conference. The music and meal programs especially should be reserved now as we anticipate very significant interest both Friday and Saturday evening.
Franco-Fete will include all the elements of a fine program: family, food, fun…along with academics, history, music…
This will be the first such Fete in Minneapolis-St. Paul, but is not a first ever venture.
Leader Dr. Virgil Benoit, French-Canadian (Franco-American), professor of French at the University of North Dakota and a lifelong part of the Red Lake Falls MN community, has been putting together similar festivals for over 35 years in various places in Minnesota and North Dakota. Dr. Benoit is a professor of diverse talents and great skill, as well as having great passion for the culture and language of his birth.
This years conference will be the largest and most ambitious thus far. Most likely it will be continued in subsequent years.

Virgil Benoit ca 2008 compliments of Anne Dunn


There are two major venues for this years Conference:
Our Lady of Lourdes Church, since 1877 the spiritual home of Minneapolis French-Canadians, will be the venue for Friday night Sep 28. The below photo, taken ca 1968, shows Lourdes as it was before the development of Riverplace around it in the early 1980s.)
DeLaSalle High School, a few short blocks from Lourdes on Nicollet Island in the Mississippi River, and within a short walk of downtown Minneapolis, will be the venue for all of Saturday Sep 29 programs.
On Sunday, September 30, at noon, the French-speaking congregation at St. Boniface Catholic Church in nearby northeast Minneapolis, will host those who wish to experience the Catholic Mass in French. This community, largely immigrants from African countries with French colonial overlays, is a vibrant French-speaking community in the midst of the Twin Cities. While not a formal part of the conference, we urge participants to take part in this ending celebration.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Minneapolis, 1968


Our Lady of Lourdes, August 7, 2012


DeLaSalle High School, Nicollet Island, Minneapolis MN


Fr. Jules Omalanga, pastor St. Boniface Catholic Church, Minneapolis, after Mass March 25, 2012


After a sit-down supper at Our Lady of Lourdes on Friday Sep 28, and tour of the church, noted musician Dan Chouinard and friends will give a concert in the sanctuary of the Church.
On Saturday evening Sep 29 the noted Quebec band Le Vent du Nord will do music workshops and a music program at DeLaSalle. They are internationally noted, and one of Canada’s most popular ensembles. (The web page can also be accessed in French.) UPDATE: More on the Le Vent du Nord event here.. Tickets can also be purchased on-line here. The evening program begins at 5:30 p.m.
The St. Boniface Francophone Choir of Minneapolis, Dan Chouinard and others will also be part of this evening extravaganza.
And Sunday Sep 30 at noon, the community at St. Boniface will host all for Catholic Mass in French.
Again, Franco-Fete is only two weeks away!
Now is the time to enroll.
NOTE: You can find many related commentaries using search word Quebec or French-Canadian. Or enter any of the following numbers in the search box and click enter: (Each has a basis in French-Canadian or Quebec) #15 Grandpa; 28 Weller; 43 Fathers Day; 280; 306; 313; 388; 449; 450; 459; 481; 486; 510; 550; 573; 582; UPDATE Sep 5: 585; 610; Aug. 17, 2012; Sep. 1, 2012;
You are invited to submit your own commentaries, either as a distinct blog post, or as a comment to be added here. Dick_BernardATmsn.com
CONTACT INFO:
General, local contact:
Dick Bernard
dick_bernardATmsn.com
cell 651-334-5744 (leave message, with return phone #).
Specific, including interview requests:
Dr. Virgil Benoit
University of ND at Grand Forks
virgil.benoitATund.edu
toll-free: 855-864-2634

Clotilde Blondeau and Octave Collette about July 12, 1869


Clotilde Blondeau and Octave Collette married at St. Anthony of Padua in then-St. Anthony, now-Minneapolis MN July 12, 1869. In 1871 the City Directory showed them, and the rest of Collette family, living at what is now the corner of SE 2nd Street and SE 6th Avenue at what is now a block or two from Father Hennepin Park and Minneapolis’ Stone Arch Bridge, and perhaps three blocks from I-35E bridge. More here.
Additional information for those with a continuing interest in matters French-Canadian are invited to visit here. This space will be updated and may well become a continuing presence for those with an interest.

#601 – Dick Bernard: Dark Knight Rises: In the wake of the Aurora tragedy. Part Two.

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UPDATE July 23, 5:15 p.m.: I went to Dark Night Rises this afternoon at the Woodbury Theatre, where it is showing on three screens, thirteen times today. I admit that had the tragedy not occurred, I probably would not have gone to the film. But it did, and I did. Of course, everybody is entitled to their own opinion. In mine, the film deserves the four stars (out of four) it received. It is well worth the nearly 2 1/2 hours. You decide.
Friday I remembered Columbine, as experienced 13 years ago by a grandparent nearly a thousand miles away.
I also noted the reality of any tragedy: there is a short and definable life to any crisis, and then people move on. It is a survival strategy. We react, then retreat.
Only if a Crisis is kept in mind to carry on year after year, will it be much remembered after a few months.
For now we are all in Aurora in one sense or another. We have things to learn from Aurora, but it will take stamina to keep it from disappearing from view, as have all the others.
A local friend in law enforcement noted this morning that his sons good friend was in the Aurora theatre, was shot, and for a time was in critical condition (he’s doing okay). He tweeted “the first half hour of the movie was great”, or words to that effect…. Another friends daughter lives in LA, and one of her friends was in the Aurora complex the night of the killings.
In this global age, “six degrees of separation” is very much alive and well. We can’t build walls to keep people out. There are no borders. We’re on one earth.
Now comes the matter of the future after the news media depart Aurora. What will happen to the necessary conversation among ourselves, about violence in word and deed*, about deadly weapons and such? It is an essential conversation that deserves to live on.
I noted in the local Patch on-line newspaper yesterday a survey about Gun Control. Normally, I don’t take the bait for these, but yesterday I did, filing the following comment.
Posted 7:40 a.m. July 21, 2012, on Eagan Patch
Dick Bernard: “I follow and support the Brady Campaign. At upper right on the home page of their website is an ongoing tally of people shot in America each day. About 1 a.m. today, for today, the tally was 8; at 7:30 a.m. it was 84. Tally for the year thus far over 54,000…. In your poll I voted “Sometimes”, though I don’t hunt, have never owned a gun, and qualified as expert as a marksman in the Army. There is no need or excuse for weapons of mass destruction in circulation in a civilized society. Last I heard we don’t need machine guns to hunt deer; and the self-defense argument can easily be reduced to absurdity. But this won’t be dealt with in the next four months before the election. People need to have the stamina of the NRA to change course on this insane business of guns in this country.”
Right before commenting, I’d chosen the “sometimes” response about “Should gun ownership be tightened?” in this “non-scientific” poll. (“Sometimes: Some guns—those primarily used for hunting or personal protection—are fine. But weapons primarily designed for violence shouldn’t be available.”) (The other options were Yes, No and Unsure.)
At last reading, 55%s of the respondents want no gun control, so the comments are quite predictable. 26% say “yes”, 17% “Sometimes” and 1% unsure.
I found the observations interesting, and rather than try to summarize them, here** is the entire thread, which is now up to 147 comments.
Where do you stand on this. This deserves deep face-to-face conversation neighbor to neighbor.
Final post on this thread here.
UPDATE:
From Greg: Here’s the problem: we have allowed the NRA to be taken hostage by people who demand absolute right to bear arms, all types, all amounts, all time and all places.
The solution is so obvious: right thinking people need to pay their dues, become members and take back the NRA from the radical fringe for the benefit of us all! Imagine what the next NRA convention would look like: the exhibitor’s hall full of vendors selling the latest in new orchids, quilts, hiking tour organizers, etc. It can happen, if we make it happen.
The Twin Cities as with most other large cities has a problem with certain night clubs attracting violent people who consume ample amounts of liquor and then begin stabbing and shooting people. Each of these establishments has an occupancy limit. If hoards of 7-Up drinking people fill these problem-causing establishments early in the evening, order rounds of 7-Up and engage in quiet conversation the violent people would never be able to enter.
Why, we could call these events Rosa Parks Parties in honor of that great lady from Montgomery Alabama.
Remember, all that is needed for evil people to succeed is for good people to stay glued to their computers.
From Bruce: “Gun Insane” by Darcy Burner, listed numerous shootings over the last 23yrs [see it here: An Adult Conversation about Guns. I most certainly agree that it is a horrible shame these happened, and that we need to have an adult gun control conversation in this country. I hope its raised in the 2012 election cycle, but I’m not sure either candidate want to go up against the mind set in this country that sees these senseless killings as the price we pay to protect our freedom with guns. For the NRA and the patriots on the right, a little loss of life is an acceptable price, and the answer is more guns with conceal and carry hand gun laws to protect us from these crazy killers. Its insane, and this is where we live.