Politics – Page 11 – Thoughts Towards a Better World

#1141 – Dick Bernard: The Fourth of July

July 4, 2016/0 Comments/in Community, Politics /by dickbernard

POSTNOTE: An excellent commentary on July 4 and the Declaration of Independence, here.
On Saturday, when I was doing some political leafletting in my town, I came across a Dad and two young boys putting small American flags on the edge of their lawn. I rolled down the car window and said “great job!”, and one of the little kids said “thank you”.
It was no time or place to take a photograph. Sunday I drove back to the address and took the below photo. Just add in a Dad and his two little kids, and you can complete the picture.
(click to enlarge)

Woodbury MN July 3, 2016

Back home, on a nice July 3, I went for my walk, and a couple met me and the guy said “thank you for your service”. For a moment I was taken aback, but then I remembered what I was wearing: my “Veterans for Kerry” t-shirt from the 2004 Presidential Election. Kerry was defeated that year; “Swiftboating” comes to mind; some will remember how successful it was to turn a positive into a negative: the demonizing of a hero. We were less than two years into the Iraq War, then.
Mr. Kerry is, now, our U.S. Secretary of State, and a very good one….
I thought of the recent political parade I was part of, for a local legislative candidate: a young Mom joined us for a short time, with her children and their friends, all carrying American flags, and they walked with us for awhile – they were, after all, little kids. Here is their photo.

June 23, 2016, Oakdale MN

Oh yes, Mom was wearing her Hijab.
But my most vivid memory this 4th will be the one without a photo, from Thursday June 30, at Gandhi Mahal Restaurant in Minneapolis, where a roomful of people celebrated Iftar, breaking of fast during Ramadan. We overflowed the room, which must have meant there were over 100 in attendance.
We arrived at 8:45 p.m. and when we arrived, a young man was speaking to the assembled, most of whom were Moslem, about how difficult it is to be Gay and Moslem…. It was for him an act of courage, and all listened most respectfully, and gave him heartfelt applause at the end, and he mingled with the rest of us: a powerful coming out.
Whatever else we might do today – perhaps a parade in a neighboring town – these are the images I will carry with me on this July 4, 2016.
There will be lots of other images too. I notice that this mornings Just Above Sunset, “Our Fireworks”, is its usual interesting and thought-provoking self.
Have a great day, wherever you are.
AT THE PARADE IN AFTON:

At Afton MN Parade, July 4, 2016

COMMENTS:
From Norm: (Norm, Julianne and I are long-time active members of a group called the DFL Senior Caucus): Thanks for a great review of what the 4th of July means to so many people including all of us!
Julianne and I were invited to attend a brunch a beautiful home along the St. Croix ten-miles or so north of Stillwater this morning hosted by one of the prominent “old guard” of the DFL. We were invited largely due to our work with several of the “old guard” if you will, who are working on developing a follow-on organization to replace the Hemenway Forum that ran for over 30-years under the guidance of former state party chair, George Farr.
In addition to its absolutely beautiful location on the banks of the St. Croix River, the home and yard were all decorated with 4th of July red, white and blue paraphernalia including many, many American flags hanging on the magnificent White Pines that surrounded the house and bordered the river!
It was a great way to spend part of the 4th of July visiting, socializing and “brunching” with so many DFLers of long-standing. Julianne and I were able to make several contacts as well for both the new DFL Forum as well as the Senior Caucus newsletter, including lining up a very prominent state senator to write the Capitol Corner update for the October issue.
In any event, just like you noted in your blog, we also noticed several homes along the way with flags planted along the edges of their lawns just like the one you took a photo of. In fact, there were dozens on them between Roseville and the town where our hosts lived.
In addition, when leaving the home of our hosts, we found cars parked on both sides of the highway for at least a mile south of the small town where they lived. The small town was filled with people getting ready to enjoy the annual parade that was to begin at noon!
So wonderfully Americana and the 4th of July!
From Bruce: Pretty rosy picture you paint, Dick. The fear of Trump fuels the tyranny that allows for decriminalization of criminals and legitimization of corruption as the grease that makes government run. Fear of Trump clouds these new normals & forces us to vote for lessor evilism. We, as a people, should have organized strong third parties years ago in order to have real and positive choice instead of of what we have now. We only have ourselves to blame. My self interest lies in not voting for either of the majors’ candidates. I think, as it stands now, the voter turnout will be low. Who that benefits is hard to tell. I’m petitioning to get Jill Stein of the Green Party ballot access in MN . Anecdotally, I’ve found the Democrats are the most likely to be against ballot access for Dr Stein because they think it works against Clinton. At the very basic level of our country’s voting system, they are practicing voter suppression. It gives them a sense of power. I’m sure if the accusations of voter suppression by the Clinton campaign in the primaries are true, these democrats wouldn’t care. It’s all in the name of the fear of Trump and everything else that is wrong with the world takes a back seat on the two party system bus.
Response from Dick: Thanks. I’ll add your comment, and mine, at the post. I am trying to give a realistic assessment, which is far from the idealism of something like the Green Party. We are not a Green Party country. I think many of our attitudes are turning in that direction, but not through organized parties. The parties are the ones which make the national policy, and regardless of your criticism of the Democrats, they are a far better alternative than today’s version of the Republicans, and the other parties are fringe, and that’s it. In fact, in my opinion, they mitigate against the very change which they seek, as they take votes away from the moderate middle. My favorite example is Ross Perot, who certainly was no Bill Clinton fan, but weakened George H.W. Bush…. Of course, I can’t prove that, but neither could you, about alternative parties….
And interesting commentary in yesterday’s Minneapolis Star Tribune by Lawrence Jacobs and Vin Weber about “Democracy (as only we know it)” adds to this conversation. You can read it here.
from Lauri: So when the birthday of our country falls in a weekend as beautiful as this, it would be a shame to let it pass by silently. A play in the park, dog sitting my adorable nephew Gio, bonfire and banana boats. A little playtime at Chutes and Ladders followed by a surprise journey to the World’s largest Candy store in Jordan. Ended with some tuna noodle casserole back at home and a trip with Heather to the cemetery to deliver some flowers for what would have been mom’s 74th birthday. We have much to be thankful for…. In good times and in bad. The men and women who bravely fought on behalf of all us, to give us freedom and guarantee us a country where we are free to make mistakes without fearing for our lives and to succeed because of our own determination. Regardless of all the craziness and pageantry of elections and political endeavors, may we all remember the gift our forefathers gave us so many years ago. God bless all of my friends out here and beyond and most importantly, God Bless America!

#1140 – Dick Bernard: Dealing with Un-reason.

July 2, 2016/0 Comments/in Community, Politics, Technology, War /by dickbernard

The early morning Just Above Sunset, “Dreams of Vengeance“, was another excellent analysis. The column is worth a weekend read.
Among the insights: In the recent “Brexit” election a crucial segment of the electorate who voted heavily to exit the European Union, was also a demographic which had the most to lose from Britain’s actually leaving the EU. Effectively, they seemed to have voted against their own self-interest.
The column also talks about the dismay of the American “middle class” – angry and frustrated, while at the same time seeming to dismiss the amazing recovery of this country from the very near economic collapse of 2001-2009, of which a disastrous Iraq war was one of the causative factors.
Mid-morning, I left for my daily duties, one of which, this day, was a little political “leaf-letting” for an area candidate for state representative. It was a very nice day; I did my duty; hardly anyone was at home (not unexpected, on 4th of July weekend.) Those I met were most pleasant.
Back at the local office, another person on the same assignment was reporting on a conversation with a couple of older people somewhere in our town, apparently Democrats, who were thinking seriously of voting Republican in November.
The reasoning went like this: The Republicans are more likely to keep them “safe”; and they didn’t trust Hillary Clinton….
There is no time to be wasted arguing with such people.
Consistently, Hillary gets high marks for being as honest and as open as it is possible for a politician with many years of public service to be, while her presumed opponent; Donald Trump, is such a pathological liar that even the media has gotten tired of even “fact-checking” him. Nothing he says can be trusted.
Still he seems to get, among a certain segment, higher marks than she in the “straight talk” area.
The apparent illogic, both in last weeks British vote, and right now in America, seems essentially to be the reverse of the quantifiable reality.
Emotions “trump” facts.
*
Today caused me to think of the periodic stampede of people to buy lottery tickets. The stampede to buy tickets increases as the odds against winning also increase.
It seems as if it is hardly worth losing one’s dollars if the prize is only $5,000,000; but once the prize is $500,000,000, and the odds against winning astronomically greater, people are falling all over themselves to buy losing tickets.
Rather than buy low and sell high, many seem to be addicted to buying high, and losing it all….
And the Donald Trumps of the world reap the financial rewards by doing the opposite: buy low and sell high.
As for feeling more “safe” with Republicans in charge, there seems a very serious short term memory problem.
Given that we are in what may seem, at least via the “news”, an “unsafe” world (what else would the news have to talk about without daily catastrophes?), we in this country, and even in the world, are living in a very safe time* in our history, and it is largely due to sound government policy and a notion, at least, that we are part of a global community.
There are great problems, to be sure, but against our own, and the world’s, deadly history, this is a pretty peaceful time, at least so far as “war” is concerned.
There is an amazing amnesia about the disastrous eight years following 9-11-01. Then, our nation was led on a misadventure that costs tens of thousands of lives – ours and Iraqis in particular – in the wake of 9-11-01. The refugee crisis, ISIS and all the rest flowed out of our Iraq War.
Financially, I was most apprehensive about the future of our economy in September, 2008, in the last months of the Bush presidency.
I made an effort to quantify the human cost of war to the U.S. some months ago, specifically as it related to Iraq and Afghanistan 2001 through the present. The results are here and speak for themselves:War Deaths U.S.002.
I also made an effort to get some reasonably accurate data about death-by-Drones, then, but was unsuccessful. Todays paper had an article about Drone casualties, which includes other sources of data. (The comments are interesting.)
Even using the highest estimates of civilian Drone deaths, the toll by Drones is a tiny fraction of those who died in the Iraq War.
There have been few “terrorist” (defined as such) incidents on our shores, but even these are dwarfed by other incidents of wanton killing, especially with guns.
Statistically, we are overwhelmingly more likely to die at the hands of some ordinary looking citizen, than by some certifiable “terrorist”*.
But, it seems, data (facts) don’t really make much difference when dealing with emotions.
The only antidote is work for a strong voter turnout in November, for candidates who care about the future of this country and the world of which we are a part.
* – The notable exception, and it is an important one, is that we in the U.S. are killing ourselves and our fellow citizens with guns at an alarming rate, well over 10,000 U.S. citizens every single year. Here’s one data source that seems credible.

COMMENTS: from Larry: Excellent piece. The real “fear” that Americans should have is masked by the outrageous rants of Donald Trump, the Republican nominee. What all of us should actually fear is his getting elected president of the most powerful country on the planet.
Fear mongering is Trump’s key campaign tactic. And he continues to express fear in a variety of ways, over and over again while providing no workable solutions to the problems he tells us to fear. As one of the most effective propagandists of all time said: “It would not be impossible to prove with sufficient repetition and a psychological understanding of the people concerned that a square is in fact a circle. They are mere words, and words can be molded until they clothe ideas and disguise.” That from Joseph Goebbels, a man who, in no small measure, helped the world’s worst narcissist (at least to that date) become the cruelest, most self-gratifying dictator in the world. The real fear Americans should have is not of Mrs. Clinton but of the kind of country we will become under another unmitigated ego-maniacal fool.

#1138 – Dick Bernard: "Brexit". Another first rough draft of history.

June 25, 2016/0 Comments/in History, International Relations, Politics /by dickbernard

This morning I sent my friend, Christine, lifelong French citizen, this Just Above Sunset blog in the aftermath of the “Brexit” vote in England. The post is excellent and informative; Christine’s comments come a little later in this post.
To me, the most important data comes near the end of the column:
“But consider the UK data:
HOW AGES VOTED
18-24: 75% Remain
25-49: 56% Remain
50-64: 44% Remain
65+: 39% Remain
The future electorate of the UK wanted to remain in Europe.“
My generation, the youngers parents and grandparents said “we don’t”. Such a division doesn’t augur well.
{June 26, 2016 Minneapolis Star Tribune p. A12: Turnout for the vote “was 71.8%, with more than 30 million people voting..Leave won by 52 percent to 48 percent.“)
(click on photo to enlarge)

Hawaii state flag, Big Island of Hawaii, Dec. 27, 2015

There will be endless analyses of what the Brexit vote really means, on many levels. I really knew little about it until it actually happened.
What astonishes me is that this ballot question was apparently a simple “yes” or “no” and, apparently, only advisory – did the voter want Britain to remain in or get out of the European Union? This required no knowledge by the voter, not even any emotion. Just mark “yes” or “no” or not bother to go to the polls at all to answer the single question “yes” or “no”.
While the results apparently are advisory only, they have huge implications for the UK, for the European Union, for the entire world. And virtually nothing seems to have been thought through, by the majority, nor by the people who demanded the vote.
They just wanted “it”, whatever “it” was. Sound familiar?
Essentially, it was virtually “government by twitter”: an utterly brainless affair. How does any supposedly democratic society survive this passivity?
In my opinion, it doesn’t.
I include the odd flag picture at the beginning because, in so many ways, we are twins of England, from the time of our first settlement. I saw this flag on the island of Hawaii in late December, marking an apparent roadside death of someone. I learned later that it was the state flag of Hawaii, and the use of the Union Jack – the British flag – along with the stripes of the U.S. flag was intentional and most interesting.
Here’s the story of the flag.
In the United States we have just completed the Primary-Caucus system where symbolically winners of the Presidential horse-race have been anointed through a hodgepodge of endorsement systems. We are more and more formalizing the “primary” system, but only for President, as if the President of the United States is the only position which matters, and even less formally than in England, we demand the simplest possible commitment to “vote” for the candidate of our choice.
We know little, and we don’t care. Just make it quick and simple.
The question was made simple in England and now what?
After reading the Just Above Sunset, Christine responded (response shared with her permission):
“I find this analysis very interesting although I don’t buy the Christians, Jerusalem and religious links around it.
I fully agree with the comment that “Driving the “Brexit” vote were many of the same impulses that have animated American politics in this turbulent election year: anger at distant elites, anxiety about a perceived loss of national sovereignty and, perhaps most of all, resentment toward migrants and refugees.
“There’s a fundamental issue that all developed economies have to confront, which is that globalization and technological changes have meant millions of people have seen their jobs marginalized and wages decline,” said David Axelrod. ”
I am not expert enough about Trump and American context but it seems to me similar to what I can hear and read here in France.
I don’t believe France or other European countries, although they have populist political leaders too, would follow the UK. Actually we are all frightened, and this earthquake induces a fast reaction amongst the European leaders to reform and strengthen the European organisation as soon as possible.
The very good effect of all this is that EVERYBODY talks about Europe which was not the case earlier.
Europe, for those who thought that they did not benefit from it, now realize how important it is. Even if there is much to say about it, Europe is a great tool to improve and harmonize little silly things like safety regulations. Traveling, or employing all sorts of people (which brings the subject of immigration….), easy for most specialists like medical doctors whose diplomas are recognized, to work wherever they want, schools accepting equivalencies, but also to drive commercial markets in the world, with America, India, China, Russia…and so much more like no boundaries (again immigration is a topic), same money (UK never wanted to leave the Pound)….”
Reader” what is your opinion? At least share it with yourself!
We need to become very engaged as citizens. We must responsibly control our own fate.

#1137 – Dick Bernard: "Politics" and "Politicians" and "Bureaucrats"

June 23, 2016/1 Comment/in Community, Minnesota, Politics /by dickbernard

Click photos to enlarge them. Tomorrows post on “Gridlock” in Minnesota and Washington.

Rep. JoAnn Ward meets with constituents Jun 20, 2016

The subject of this post has been on my mind for a long time. Very recent events make today an appropriate time to share a few thoughts and photos: Donald Trump has made his formal entry into the Presidential campaign by trashing Hillary Clinton (who I have, since 2008, and continuing) supported as an eminently qualified candidate for President of the United States. The Republicans have been attempting to destroy her for at least 25 years now).
More on Hillary Clinton in a post to come later.
Last night began the “sit-in” by Congressional Democrats to escalate the attempt to get some action on Guns (I support this action, strongly). Also yesterday a good friend forwarded to me one of those “forwards” full of “facts” with absolutely no supporting citations, or claim of authorship, and, thus, unbelievable (yet believed by many, especially old white guys with computers.)
In short, it’s time….

Cong. Betty McCollum MN-4th CD May 4, 2016

Even the use of the words “politics” and “politicians” in this headline will turn off some readers.
“Politics” and “Politicians” are words that can be made to have an unpleasant, even icky, ring. Here’s one definition. I think the part which applies most to our democratic society in this country is: “5a: the total complex of relations between people living in society.”

Candidate for SD 53B Rep Alberder Gillespie meets citizens May 24, 2016

In my view, Politics is all of us; everyone of us have to be “politicians”.

We’ll be electing a President in a few months, and the flood of publicity can make it seem that that the Presidency is the only election that matters: make Trump the President and CEO of the United States and all will be solved. The idea is ridiculous on its face, but many think that.
I tend to follow “politics” more than most; and perhaps I participate more than most as well. We go to fundraisers for candidates we support; this afternoon I’ll be in a local legislators unit in a local parade; I’m on the Board of a statewide group called the “DFL Senior Caucus” of the Democratic (DFL) party in Minnesota; I write stuff. In short, I try to show up.
Every reader is like me in that they are represented in many ways at many levels in our society.

MN Gov.. Mark Dayton May 24, 2016

Speaking personally, with no pretense of providing a complete list, here are some of the positions I (and all of us) are called to select by our vote: (whether I vote or not makes no difference, every action or inaction or foolish action is the same. It is a “vote”):
U.S. President (and Vice-President);
Two United States Senator, and one member of Congress;
State Governor, and several Constitutional Officers (Treasurer, Auditor, Attorney General…;
One State Senator;
One State Legislator:
One County Commissioner;
A Mayor and Council People in my town;
Certain Judges;
School Board Members;
Homeowners Association Board officers and representatives;
and on and on and on.

State Sen Dist 53, Rep JoAnn Ward Dist 53A and Washington Co. Dist 2 Commissioner Stan Karwoski Jan. 31, 2016

State Sen Dist 53, Rep JoAnn Ward Dist 53A and candidate for Washington Co. Dist 2 Commissioner Stan Karwoski Jan. 31, 2016

I have an opportunity, and even an obligation, to help in whatever ways I can elected officials who are not on my ballot, by contributing money, or similarly. The tone of this country depends on who occupy the offices, as is ever more painfully obvious.
Then, there’s that “bureaucracy” that some love to hate:
Superintendent of Schools, Principals, Teachers
Fire and Police Department
City employees of all sorts
State Highway Departments and those who work for them, very visible in this season of road construction.
Public Hospitals, and Libraries, and Parks
This could also go on and on and on.
At the very least, we should be grateful that there are citizens who are willing to “step up to the plate” and seek and perform the duties of the very important jobs that need doing. Leadership is not an easy task.
At the very least, learn to know WHO represents you directly in the above positions, and others which are related. And consider developing a civil relationship with them, the more direct and active the better. They have a very hard job, trying to represent all of us.

At the Oakdale Summerfest Parade on June 23, with candidates JoAnn Ward, Betty McCollum and Susan Kent and perhaps fifteen others as part of this unit.

Practicing the chant pre-Oakdale parade June 24.

Before the Oakdale Parade June 23, with supporting cast: 1923 Ford.

Former MN Secretary of State, Mark Ritchie, discussing Expo 2023, a possible World’s Fair-like event for Minnesota in 2023.

Rep. Keith Ellison, Minneapolis, with constituents Jun 9, 2016

Russ Feingold, former U.S. Senator, WI, in Minneapolis, exploring a bid to run for U.S. Senate again in 2016.

Peter Barus: A Talk By Amy Goodman

May 29, 2016/0 Comments/in Community, History, Media, Peace & Justice, Peter Barus, Politics, Technology /by dickbernard

NOTE: Peter is a longtime great friend from rural Vermont. He is an occasional and always welcome visitor at this space. On May 22, he had an opportunity to hear journalist Amy Goodman in Troy, New York. His comments follow, with his permission.
(click to enlarge)

Peter Barus, front row, left, Oct 23, 2002, Mastery Conference, Annandale MN.

Peter Barus:
May/22/2016
Amy Goodman spoke last night at the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, NY, a lovely little old converted church. Arriving early, I strolled around the block in this economically by-passed neighborhood of old houses, grand old churches, and grinding poverty. A local church still retains its original Tiffany stained glass windows, and the Troy Music Hall is world-famous for extraordinary acoustics. I found that the Sanctuary for Independent Media is very active in the immediate community. At one end of the block is a little park, with an outdoor stage, built by (and commemorating) local artists, craftspeople and community groups. The back of the stage is a wall of intricate mosaic made by many hands. There was chicken being cooked for the $100 a plate dinner, and while I was standing around, a little car parked, and out stepped Amy, with two or three friends. We all walked around the little park while one of the Sanctuary’s leaders explained the history of this little patch of green in the city. There is a community garden at the other end of the block, and inside the Sanctuary is a 100-watt FM radio station that broadcasts Democracy Now! along with music and community affairs programming.
After supper Amy spoke to a packed house in the high-ceilinged former church. Soon everyone was listening as if sitting across the kitchen table with Amy, as she reported on the 100-city tour she is completing with her book.”Democracy Now!: Twenty Years Covering the Movements Changing America” by Amy Goodman, David Goodman, and Denis Moynihan. Her speech covered almost the last four decades of peace, justice, civil rights action, from an eye-witness perspective only she can provide. The connections, the people and events, touched my own life at more points than I’d ever realized. Her stories are moving and the raw truth of them is immediate and inspiring. They seem to have a common thread, of ordinary people acting in admirable and selfless ways, without a moment’s hesitation, in the face of systematic oppression, violence and injustice. And it seems that this is how human beings normally act in such circumstances – media depictions to the contrary notwithstanding.
One important message is that the media have almost no connection to direct human experience, and politics is covered in proportion to political ad revenues. Punditry demands no actual knowledge of the facts. This is why, for instance, we rarely hear what Sanders actually says, much less in his own voice. Instead we are treated to speculation about violent “followers”. This major Presidential candidate has been “vanished” from the airwaves. The night the Republicans ended up with a “presumptive nominee”, that individual got coverage of an empty podium at one of his mansions, captioned “to speak soon!” while his rivals’ concession speeches, some Hillary sound bites, and zero mention of Sanders droned on. Sanders was at that time addressing an audience of tens of thousands in Arizona, by far the largest actual news event, and the cameras were pointing at an empty platform.
Amy brought stories of a real and very large movement, the same one we are constantly told ended successfully when Obama was elected, It is the current generation’s Civil Rights movement. Occupy Wall Street is part of that, Black Lives Matter is part of that. The many anti-war demonstrations that go almost totally unreported are part of that. The Sanders campaign is part of that. And the real, and unreported, question today is whether the corporate media will manage to keep enough of us distracted, resigned, apathetic and cynical while the forces of blind capitalism complete the looting, militarization and ultimately the destruction of our only planet.
The corporate media are simply ignoring that ubiquitous and vital public conversation. The stakes seem high. As I listened to Amy speak, it became clear that it’s not about choosing “sides” in some mythical epic struggle between good and evil, war and peace, much less “Republicans” and “Democrats”; it’s about discovering one’s own commitment, and whether it is to mere personal avoidance of pain, or to aliveness and possibility for all people, everywhere. To climbing the mythical Ladder of Success, or being of some actual service in making a workable world while we’re in it together.
Amy Goodman is a walking demand that we struggle with this question, for ourselves. Get with “people like us, and not like us,” she says, and express your own experience honestly, and listen honestly to theirs. Instead of accepting the false dichotomies and slogans and polls, endless polls, that pour out of the media echo chamber, take your part in the conversation that matters.
Peter
COMMENT:
from Dick: Great post from Peter. I most resonate with the last paragraph.
Each time I hear the conversation about who has the power I think back to a thirty years ago talk, about 1987, about “Referent Power” – how much we have, and how ineffectively the left uses it. Referent Power? Here. Scroll down a little ways. Developing positive relationships with someone who sees some things differently is crucial to making positive change. Relationships are not easy. They are crucial.

#1132- Dick Bernard: The Spymasters, and related.

May 22, 2016/0 Comments/in Community, History, International Relations, Media, Peace & Justice, Politics, Technology, War /by dickbernard

Last night we watched what I’d consider a must-watch two hour special on CBS’ 48 Hours: “The Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs“. If you missed it, I think you can watch it on-line here. Ordinarily these are shown free for a very limited amount of time.
Succinctly, we live in a complicated world. The constant effort, on all sides, is to try to reduce everything to the simplest of terms. If you watch this program reflectively, rather than strictly judgmentally, it will cause you to think.
Towards the end of the program we were reminded that in the 15 years since 9-11-01 there have been 45 deaths due to terrorism in the United States (an average of three per year in our population of over 300,000,000); on the other hand, radical Islamic terrorism and its dangers have spread dramatically. We see this, of course, mostly in TV images of ISIS these days. But even here, there are only a limited number of merchants of terror.
Fear of Terror is exploitable, as we see most everyday in our political conversation. It is used to keep people psychologically on edge, by so doing keeping them more susceptible to manipulation.
Back in the winter of 2016, I set about trying to define a bit how the face of war has changed. It exists in this single page graphic: War Deaths U.S.002.
Here is the same data pictorially (click to enlarge).

We are in a time of change, and in my opinion it is change for the better, though we will never rid the planet of evil. And the nature of news – we see it every single day – is to focus on the tragedies, the evil, the polarization of one person, one group, against another.
But a shift is happening.
By no means is it obvious, but it is happening. People of good will, which is the vast majority of us, simply have to take the bait and be, as Gandhi said so clearly, “the change we wish to see in the world”. But to do this we need to change our own behaviors, so easily leveraged by those who seek to elevate war above peace for their own reasons.
For one instance, yesterdays e-mail brought a rather remarkable commentary from a long-time peace activist in Israel, Uri Avnery. Avnery is a 92-year Israeli Jew with credentials. His comments are, I feel, pretty remarkable. You can read that here.
I thought the e-mail fascinating, and sent it to our near 90-year old friend, who grew up in a largely Catholic town in Nazi Germany and still has many relatives and contacts in her home country.
Her response: “The email on Uri Avery’s Observations gives insights to what is going on in Israel.
I believe it was Bastian, my German relative, who sometime ago remarked about the great number of Jews from Israel that come to Germany, want to live there, and seek German citizenship. Bastian stated also that these new immigrants could not live any longer with what was going on in Israel.
I was doubtful, I thought they may have been drawn by the free education and the lack of inflation that is taking place in Israel.
I went on the internet tonight and checked Jews moving back to Germany and I got quite a choice. To me surprising and interesting.
My niece Manuela … is most outspoken and angry about the fact that Germany is still paying Israel 3 billion a year for the Holocaust. She says, “My generation wasn’t even born when that took place. The young Jews that come here like us, so let it rest. There are enough monuments here — we will never forget.”
Israel should think about what it is doing to the Palestinians. As long as they take the land and freedom from the Palestinians there will never be peace.”

#1130 – Dick Bernard: West Virginia, and on we go.

May 11, 2016/0 Comments/in Politics /by dickbernard

Last Tuesday, I gave personal impressions of the Presidential Primary season as of the day of the Indiana Primary Election, May 3. At the beginning of that post (here) are a few comments in response to the May 3 post.
Yesterday were the West Virginia and Nebraska primaries. Yes, there was a Presidential Primary in Nebraska…results listed for the Republicans; but none for the Democrats. Under apparent Nebraska rules, this seems legitimate, still rather odd. Here’s the report I searched out today; I could find nothing about the “election” at the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office.
On we go.
There remain six months before the elections in November.
A challenge:
Without checking, take a piece of paper and write down on it all of the elected officials who you think represent you currently.
This would include the names of those in offices like Governor, your local legislator and Senator, your U.S. Senators, your Congressperson.
Then check your data against the facts, most likely easily found at your state’s Secretary of State’s website.
Write down who these folks are, and make it a point to learn a little bit more about them. You have plenty of time, but as you know, time flies.
Check out other data about the 2016 election: what offices are up for election this year; who the announced candidates are etc. The Secretary of State’s office is a good place to start. Every state is different.
How does one register to vote? Timetables? Declared candidates? You’ll probably find them there, if not at this moment, fairly soon.
Or, just check with someone at your City Hall, or County administration office, or even a friend or neighbor you respect. They will be very helpful.
In my state, Minnesota, the Secretary of State’s website is here.
An long-standing excellent source of non-partisan information is always the League of Women Voters (LWV). Most states have their own LWV affiliate. Minnesota’s is here.
I often hear people say they detest “politics”.
The essence of “politics” is the people who participate in the process.
We are all “politics” Here are some definitions of the word. It is just the matter of our participation, or non-participation, in the political process that will make the difference.

#1128 – Dick Bernard: A Political Conversation on the day of the Indiana Primary.

May 3, 2016/0 Comments/in Politics /by dickbernard

Comments following publication of this post:
from Flo: I appreciate your perspective but your piece appears to fail to recognize how Trump has risen to the top of the heap in the Republicans with just the support of disgruntled Americans who want to see somebody “stick it to” somebody else, with no thought of the repercussions. There are “backs” [pay-back time? ultimate responses] with every assault. Perhaps we’ll see them unfold in this election, but will it actually move us in a more positive direction or just set the scene for the next round of “backs”? I’ll push for the positive and try to accept compromises that that I know will still hurt somebody but seldom me, personally. It’s also important to note the the Equal Rights Amendment has been introduced in every Congress since 1923, but when it passed in 1984 it failed the final test of 3/4 of state’s support by three. The amendment continues to be “heard” by every Congress, but women are still not equal under the Constitution of the United States or Minnesota. Every right has to be hard earned by women and myriad minority groups, not taken for granted.
Thanks for airing your voice! It’s refreshing!
from Fred: Here is a quote from my favorite American newsman and cynic H. L. Mencken that is important this political season. It is famous but often misquoted. Here is the original version (pay special attention to the last sentence).
“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”
from Jan: I am trying to figure out women who don’t support Hillary Clinton.
from Phyllis: I’m for Hillary, too! Hope the Bernie supporters really think hard and strong if they plan to vote for Trump if Bernie is not the nominee….
from Carl, recommended by a mutual friend, received by Dick in March, 2016, pertinent to this conversation: Steps to Fearocracy- Crowning a Demagogue v2
Just Above Sunset, for May 10, 2016 (published early a.m. on May 11). Title: Trump and God. And another: The Impossible Reconciliation.
*
May 3, 2016
Relevant and timely, the most recent Just Above Sunset.

On 7th Street, Minneapolis MN, Apr 19, 2016

(click to enlarge photo)
Today, another primary election, this time in Indiana. The chattering class considers this an important day…for Cruz, who’s fading fast. Bernie fights on, but in the longer term already seems not very relevant. Both Ted and Bernie know the score, and it’s late in the game.
So, at the next table at the coffee joint just minutes ago, two guys were catching up: comparing notes on Grandkids, Mom in the Nursing Home, that sort of thing.
At the end one of them said “Today is election in Indiana. It’s looking like Trump and Clinton.” (response) “Yah, I like Kasich, but….” (back to the first) “I’d vote for Cruz, but not for Trump.”
They seemed to agree if it was Clinton and Trump, they may not vote at all…at least for President.
I was tempted to ask, “so how will that help you?” But I have one or two brain cells left, and I didn’t go there. Besides, they were in the act of leaving when they made their declarations. As a friend likes to say, “power to ’em”. They’ll do what they’ll do.
People punish only themselves by doing the political equivalent of a kid holding his or her breath till they near pass out.
But you can bet that there’s lots of these conversations, to others, or to oneself, going on. “My way, or the highway”. In my circles: “Bernie or nothing”.
I’m one of those who’s been very comfortable supporting Hillary Clinton for eight years now. She’s got the credentials, and the toughness and, apparently, the stamina for the most difficult job in the world. Year after year, she’s one of the most admired women on the planet, and she deserves the accolades. She fits the job requisites for President of the United States. She’s been personally attacked for 25 years, and she survives.
She’s also demonstrably and basically honest in campaign claims. (This doesn’t stop those who loudly declare “she lies”, which she is doesn’t, when compared on truthiness with fellow candidates past and present.
I am most puzzled by the women – there are lots of them – who pass on no opportunity to express their dislike of Hillary Clinton. These include the progressive (most liberal) types. There is something more than ideology going on in their dislike of their colleague female.
I have my theories, informed by work experience, but I’ll pass on sharing them in this forum.
Meanwhile, at this moment, even before Indiana starts counting ballots and tallying delegates for Democratic and Republican Conventions, it appears that the race will be between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Those who like vicious battles (I’m not one of those) will enjoy the coming months.
Because of my own political leanings, I really don’t care whether those two guys I heard in the coffee shop sit out the election in November.
For sure, I hope those who have “felt the Bern” , after grieving for a little while, get to work for Democrats in the upcoming election season.
I won’t “hold my breath”….
POSTSCRIPT: All along I’ve liked how Bernie Sanders handled himself in this campaign. I think the Democratic candidates have been respectful of each other, and I like that.

Waiting for Bernie: A crowd at the Commons on Franklin Avenue, Minneapolis, Sunday May 31, 2015

Bernie Sanders, St. Paul MN, Feb 12, 2016

Hillary Clinton, St. Paul MN, Feb 12, 2016

Wednesday morning, the day after Indiana
I watch little of the endless analysis of election results, which begins long before the polls close. That Bernie won Indiana didn’t surprise – Hillary is looking towards the general election; it did surprise that Cruz dropped out. What little influence he might have, he lost. He burned most all of his bridges…within his own party.
I had reason to call up a post I did about “Power” some years ago. You can read it here. The topic of Power appears in the illustration down the page, and I write a bit about it there. Pay special attention to the one called Referent Power.
Movements come and mostly go because they are of the moment.
The ones that last are built on relationships and they require hard work, and compromise (think marriage).
Ted Cruz is the latest reminder about the fact that relationships are everything when it comes to politics. Traditional definitions of power: authority, money, things like that, don’t count for all that much. Relationships do…and have to expand beyond the people who agree with you. Those relationships take work, lots of it.
One of the photos, above, from late May, 2015, was taken by myself. I actually planned to go to see Bernie speak that day, but the line was too long, and I didn’t think there’d be space. I regret not at least getting in line. I took one last photo before I left the area. It is below.
Bernie caught a wave, and, of course, the narrative becomes that he managed to get the attention of the Democrats, which includes me. But I think it is wishful thinking to that he can enact his (or any) point of view by getting elected – to get in power. And I think he knows that. We are too diverse a society, in my opinion.
I’m an active Democrat, and I get, and the people I tend to be around also get, that there are unmet needs within society.
But we’re also aware of the practical limits that go beyond idealism. Progress is always a process, to be worked towards, within the limits of societies attitudes, prejudices, etc.
I learned long ago, in teacher union work, that you always had goals which turned out to be too high, and you were always disappointed when you fell far short of those goals, and had to make compromises you swore you’d never make…it is just how it is in negotiating between union members, and then with the administration and Board, and in larger part the entire community.
Negotiations is complicated.
It was perhaps a half dozen years into my staff career when I figured this out, while taking the time to look back at a particular “Don Quixote” quest we were on, about elementary class size. It was something we couldn’t negotiate – a management right – so each year we’d present our data, make our arguments, and the Board would thank us, and we’d go home, some of us very frustrated.
We did this year after year, and a notebook had been kept of each years presentation.
I happened to look back at the old data, and compared it against the current data one year in the late 1970s, and it was astonishing how much progress we had made in the last five. We just needed to have a perspective, which we hadn’t been able to see. There is a reason for things like long term plans, and long term vision, especially long term vision!
One other thing which comes to mind hours after Indiana. In organizing of most anything there is a hard and fast rule: don’t peak too soon (a corollary, don’t peak too late).
Election day in November is when candidates have to peak.
It may possibly be that Donald Trump peaked in Indiana, yesterday.
There may be a reason why Hillary Clinton was working a longer term plan.
It’s just a possibility.

Minneapolis MN, late May, 2015, someone’s welcome to Bernie Sanders.

Another thought on perspective, noon Wednesday:
We went out for breakfast this morning and four men were having a conversation about the implications of yesterday. Things like “trade policy” and “jobs” drifted my way, and the comment from one, “Hillary deserves to win”. I expect to see more serious conversations among friends of all stripes.
The conversation is good.
On my walk, after breakfast, I reflected on the lament I hear in different forms (and forums) from different persons: for instance, “liberals are never satisfied, they just want, want, want”, said in a way that suggests that “they’re taking away something I have, and I won’t tolerate it.”
It has occurred to me that conservatives, however described, especially under the far right “Make America Great Again” banner, have a point, worth at least paying attention to.
Under the purest of definitions, perhaps some feel we should go back to the beginning, where all authority was vested in white men with property, including slaves. After all, the Bible talks as a matter of fact about Kings, Slaves and such.
Back in those good old days when our republic came to be, the Founding Fathers were the ones who drafted “all men are created equal” into the Declaration of Independence, but this did not include women, slaves….
It took Negroes until 1863 to see the Emancipation Proclamation come into being, but not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965, did these rights have any teeth. And now, more than 150 years after 1863, attempts are made to diminish as much as possible those now ancient rights.
For women, it took even longer to get recognition: Womens Suffrage joined the Bill of Rights 1920, but it was not until after the Federal Titles, Title IX and the like, in the 1970s that the idea of women’s rights really took root.
Indians (Native Americans)? That takes many more chapters….
And how we treated, sometimes officially, certain minorities with contempt at certain times: Jews, Catholics, Japanese, strangers from most anywhere, the handicapped….
Today’s subject of caricature and contempt, like “Mexicans” and “Muslims”, can take heart: we’ve been there, done that, a lot, but we are ever changing, for the better.
Since when could an African-American President even be imagined? Now there’s the possibility of a woman as President. John Kennedy broke the “Catholic” barrier. Such happens.
And then there’s the matter of “God” in politics. The Founding Fathers looked with justifiable suspicion on organized religion, as even the strict constructionists know. Nonetheless, constantly, especially in the last 100 years, and even more recently, have been attempts to enshrine in our national fabric a vision of “God” which glorifies the beliefs of some that, somehow, God specifically blessed America, in ways they define in their own terms – no one else’s ideas matter.
These folks are aggressive and relentless and need to be challenged at every turn as they are attempting to impose their belief on others.

Rural Minnesota June 26, 2012

I think we’re becoming better, slowly. And that is frustrating and terrifying to the arch-conservatives. Plodding ahead, slowly, is hard, hard, work, and worth it.
Viewed through this frame, while the conservatives truly have a right to grieve, this is one old white Christian man who never wants us to go back again to those “good old days”.
We are, again, a “melting pot” and we are far richer for this.

Across from the White House June 2006, a carefully orchestrated protest, with cooperation of media, protestors and police, in progress. There were some “arrests”.

The Donkey and the Elephant just blocks up the street from the White House on 16th Ave NW.

#1127 – Dick Bernard: May 1, 2016, May Day, World Law Day

April 30, 2016/0 Comments/in Family History, History, Politics, Susan Boyle, War /by dickbernard

Tomorrow is May 1. May Day.
Since I was a little kid back in the North Dakota of the early 1940s, I learned there was something special about May 1.
Probably the first actual memory was of May Baskets, which had some significance, though I do not remember exactly why. And there were Maypoles.
(click to enlarge, double click for more detail)

A traveling May Pole in Heart of the Beast Parade, Minneapolis, May 5, 2013

As a lifelong Catholic I remember, for some reason, “Mary, Queen of the May”. And later, when the television age and the Cold War interfaced for me (that was 1956 when we got TV; we almost never were in real movie theaters with news reels) sometimes there would be a short film clip of those awful Communists parading their weapons of war in Red Square in Moscow on May 1…May Day.
May 1 has had a long history. Search the words “May Day”, and here is what you get.
The Wikipedia entry for May Day is most interesting.
May Day has come to be a multi-purpose day, fixed on a particular date (rather than day), and this year, since it falls on a Sunday, it is simpler to celebrate in our U.S. weekend calendar, especially if the weather is nice.
Tomorrow will be the annual May Day “Heart of the Beast” Parade in south Minneapolis, and this year it actually can be on May 1, rather than some other nearby date. Occasionally I’ve marched in that parade as part of a unit; occasionally, I’ve watched it as a spectator. It is a fun day with a 42 year history.

Heart of the Beast May Day Parade May 5, 2013, Minneapolis MN

Tomorrow, however, Sunday, May 1, 2015, I’ll be heavily involved in two events honoring my friend, Lynn Elling, who died at 94 on February 14. One is a celebration of his life at 3 p.m. at First Universalist Church in Minneapolis (34th and Dupont), and the second, the 4th Annual Lynn and Donna Elling Symposium on World Peace through Law – “World Law Day”, this years event spotlighting solutions to mitigate climate change, presented by J. Drake Hamilton of Fresh Energy.
The date of both events is intentional. May 1 was very significant to Lynn Elling.
He and others invented World Law Day.
“World Law Day” is yet another creative use of May 1.
The first World Law Day celebration was May 1, 1964, in Minneapolis, ten years before the Heart of the Beast Theater marshaled its first May Day parade. The co-founder of the event was Lynn Elling. As described in the brochure for this years World Law Day:
“World Law Day was a creation of Lynn Elling, Martha Platt, Dr. Asher White and others. The first event was May 1, 1964. World Law Day was an adaptation of Law Day, proclaimed by President Eisenhower in 1958, and enacted into U.S. Law in 1961. Law Day was the U.S. “cold war” response to the martial tradition of May 1, May Day, in the Soviet bloc.
The premise was peace through World Law, rather than constant war or threat of war.
Large annual dinners on World Law Day went on for many years in Minnesota and perhaps other places. At some point for one or another unremembered reason, the tradition ended, but Lynn never forgot.
In 2012, after the death of Donna, Lynn asked that World Law Day dinner be reinstated May 1, 2013 at Gandhi Mahal, he and Donna’s favorite restaurant.
At the time he was planning a major trip to Vietnam with his son, Tod, who had been adopted from Vietnam orphanage in the 1970s. Tod and Lynn arrived home only a couple of days before the 2013 event.
2016 is the 4th annual World Law Day, and the 52nd anniversary of the first World Law Day in 1964.”
As Lynn’s long and noteworthy life wound down, he was ever more fond of the mantra that today “is an open moment in history” for the world to get its act together for peace and for justice. His is a noble dream. We can help.
More about Lynn Elling, including his own memories on a 2014 video, here (click on “read more” right below his name.)

World Law Day May 1, 2013, Lynn Elling 2nd from left.

(More about Thor Heyerdahl here).

#1126 – Dick Bernard: Attending a Political Convention. Does this make me, or us, "Party Hacks"!?

April 26, 2016/0 Comments/in Politics /by dickbernard

Today the eyes of the nation (at least a few of them, anyway) are on places like Pennsylvania, running their horse races for President in the runup to the party conventions to come.
My preference is to focus on the more familiar and far less visible: in my case, the local Senate District 53 DFL (Democrat) Convention I attended last Saturday. Previously I wrote about the Precinct Caucuses leading to that convention. You can read that here.
(click to enlarge)

April 23, 2016, the “walking subcaucus” conveners.

Back on March 1, at the Precinct Caucus, those who attended their Caucus had an opportunity to “run” for delegate to the Senate District Caucus. I use the word “run” in quotes, since in most all cases, anyone who wished to stand for election was elected…and our caucuses were more heavily attended than even in 2008, which was a record year.
Part of the “culling” process is very simple: if you run for delegate to the Senate District, you are de facto committing yourself to a full day meeting, which in our case was at one of the local high schools, East Ridge, on April 23.
East Ridge is an attractive venue, but who wants to commit to an entire Saturday being, as our chair playfully reminded us, “party hacks”, simply by virtue of our willingness to participate. (It is pretty easy to become a “party hack”, though lacking in rewards!)
After the earlier Precinct Caucus, and before the Convention, I volunteered for the Resolutions Committee where a dozen of we ordinary citizens met for a couple of hours to sort through a bunch of resolutions proposed at the caucus. These were condensed into a very nicely prepared report bringing forth perhaps 58 proposed resolutions.
A guess – only a guess: fewer than 400 delegates actually registered on April 23, and perhaps three fourths of these stuck around for the entire day, which was near eight hours. Much of the extra time came from the “B” side of our district, where there were three candidates vying for endorsement for one legislative position. This wasn’t my “side”, so I was among the group that had to occupy ourselves while the other group debated and went to a second ballot to choose their candidate.
I had one assignment this Convention day: leading the Pledge of Allegiance as the colors were advanced at the time the Convention began.
I’m as patriotic as anyone, and have said the Pledge hundreds of times, but this time I wrote it down, just in case. I printed the first version I saw on the internet (emphasized letters as they were on the internet version):

Before saying the Pledge, I decided to ask my fellow participants to consider dedicating the convention to someone in their life who in some way contributed to their motivation to participate in politics to this extent.
For me, to myself, I picked my two grandfathers: one, Grandpa Bernard, a veteran of the Spanish-American War who was 63 when the Social Security act passed in August 1935; the other, a farmer, Grandpa Busch, who likely was one of founders, and certainly one of the very earliest organizers for the North Dakota Farmers Union in 1928.
The main event, at the end, was to select Delegates to the next levels, the 4th Congressional and State Conventions.
We were entitled to 18 delegates and the decision was to go to the “walking subcaucus” method, where individuals agree to convene special interests. In this case, the descriptor had to begin with either “Clinton”, “Sanders” or “Uncommitted”, with one or two words more. In the end, there were 23 proposed sub-caucuses (see photo above).
In my experience, this process always works very well.
In our districts case, in the end seven delegates were Sanders, eight delegates were Clinton, and three were Uncommitted. (I was with the Clinton bunch, and wasn’t interested in going forward. Our group of over twenty people elected three to represent us.)
There were, there are, some tensions. But that is how gatherings like this work. This is society at work.
I’m happy to have been involved.
Thanks to my fellow citizens who did the organizing and the participating in this most important part of the democratic process.
from Kay: Dick, I really liked your preface to the Pledge. I thought about my mom, whose political activism & involvement in League of Women Voters was an early inspiration for me!
from Annelee: Thanks for sharing “Another election day”. Glad we have people like you patriotic and caring.