I voted today in MN Primary.  Simple.  Efficient.  Last day to vote August 11.

Saturday, St. Paul, the final of three program related to Hiroshima & Nagasaki.  Details: HiroshimaNagasaki_2026-81vs

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Monday, my friend Kathy, who volunteers at a place that recycles stuff being discarded by homeowners who are downsizing or are deceased, gave me a rescued CD.  There are treasures  – “pearls without price – in junk, as we all know.  And the recent acquisition, which she gave me, was Bet Midler’s 1990 CD “Some People’s Lives”, within which, #7, is one of Bet’s favorites “From A Distance“, an anthem about the World as Family.  You can easily call it up on YouTube.  The  has long been a personal favorite.  I didn’t know it was on the CD.

The next evening, I watched episode 4 of the series on the history of man in Space “Once Upon A Time In Space: Friends Forever“ on the local PBS channel.  For me, it was a powerful commentary on times together and times apart between nations possessing or desiring to be first in space, on the moon, or whatever.  There are no words I can come up with to adequately summarize the power of the last segment (I had seen the other three episodes as well).

Wednesday, I listened to Bet’s CD in the car (my vintage 2010 Toyota only plays CDs), and when Cut 7, “From a Distance”, came up I was hooked again, and the viewing of the PBS program more than set the hook.  The song is the aspiration; the film a recitation of the reality….

Humans desire peace, but we seem to covet war and attract leaders who covet enemies to dominate or destroy.  It’s a very strange dichotomy.

If you have the inclination, listen to Bet’s rendition of From a Distance; and access the series on the space program (link above).  And if you want a little extra fix about Peace, watch the 1971 film on World Citizenship, Man’s Next Giant Leap”  produced by my friend Lynn Elling and sponsored by the United Nations Association, for use is schools.  It is 30 minutes, here.  Working for peace is a worthwhile aspiration.  Like anything good, it requires effort.

This is no time to be paralyzed into hopelessness.  If you have any aspirational goals for a Better World, it is time to get to work, and keep at it.

POSTNOTES

For your weekend, if you have not already seen these:

Darryl Pederson’s thoughts (August 1) on Nuclear are especially pertinent at this time in history.  Darryl’s thoughts are informed by his 40 year University professorship.

Back on June 10 was a post related to Drones.

July 1 I started a post on Satellites but for whatever reason never completed it.  If you’re interested, here were my starting thoughts:  Especially note Larry’s comment at the end.

SATELLITES…

Two recent and related events: a forward that showed the immense recent increase in the number of satellites orbiting the earth; the ascendance of Elon Musk into the rarefied atmosphere of Trillionaire. in substantial part attributed to his Star Link program.

I am one of the dwindling number of people who can honestly say they actually saw the twinkling Sputnik pass across the night sky in the fall of 1957.  That first satellite, which was in orbit only a relatively short time,  got an immense amount of attention, and I saw it in the night sky over my grandparents farm in south central North Dakota.  We knew about it because its path was printed in the newspaper so we knew where to look.  And the night it flew over was cloudless, and there was no interfering light as is so true today.

There has been an incredible increase in the number of satellites in orbit.  Here is the NASA visualization.  I have chosen this source because it is possibly more objective than some others.  At any rate, it seems fair to say, regardless of source, that currently there are probably more than 25,ooo satellites (including space junk) orbiting the earth.

A visualization of this makes outer space look crowded, and frightening.

Here’s my attempt to get this in a reasonable perspective, using readily available data.

20,000 satellites and space junk of significant size (estimate)

197,000,000 square miles – area of the earth 

of which

57,500,000 square miles is land (U.S. 3,500,000 sq miles)

8,300,000,000 world population (U.S. approximately 349,000,000)

So long as I’m listing data: one square mile has 640 acres; urban areas such as the one in which I live are typically divided into lots, which vary in size.  A one acre lot is fairly large, there is no standard typical number of lots per acre, but in urban areas it would probably generally be perhaps four lots to an acre.  My uncle’s farmstead was about 10 acres.

The satellites have multiple uses by multiple interests and there is no doubt that can be used for less than innocent reasons.  For just one example, communication via internet can be compromised.

At the same time, if you simply consider the density of space satellites, space is not crowded.  Given that the satellites may be orbiting 100 miles or more above the earth, the surface area which they occupy is infinitely greater than the land area of the world.

Then comes the dream of settling on Mars, for example.

It would take 6-9 months for a spacecraft to reach Mars, and then the prospective settler would have to protect themselves from multiple crucial problems.

Who would want to be the first explorer to settle on the moon, or on Mars?  Not I.

We recently watched a fascinating sci fi film on the general topic of actually going to where man has not gone before.  Check out Project Hail Mary.

…AND OTHER THINGS.

Looking at the visualization of satellites, one could easily get the mis-impression that outer space was crowded – what about traffic jams?  Collisions in space?

While anything is possible, the probability of such happening is infinitesimally small.  Indeed anything haas the capacity to do evil things, if in the hands of evil people.   But it is not wise to spend a lot of time worrying about something over which you have little or no control.  There is no such thing as privacy anymore.  Care should replace fear as a reaction.

I got to thinking about a piece of junk mail I got a long time ago – I didn’t keep it, but I’m sure it was well over ten years.  It was junk.  But there was something different about this one: It was machine addressed to my home address, and the front of the envelope had an aerial photograph of a neighborhood.  I looked more closely at the neighborhood, and sure enough it was exactly where we lived, our address in the middle of it.  Why it was done, I have no idea.  But it certainly was an experiment for someone using GPS technology.  It is an envelope I wish I had kept.

The matter of drones, about which I wrote recently is a similar matter.  The technology is incredible, and subject to abuse.  But I think it best to try to keep it in its proper perspective.  We will not get rid of drones, and even if we could it would not get rid of war…best we work to assure as much control over the use of the technology as we possibly can.

Finally, Artificial Intelligence (AI).  It’s the latest think and it has huge potential for good and for misuse.  It is being discussed at many levels.  I use a minor version of AI every day.  Usually when seeking information, including for this very blog – just asking a question about most anything provides information which at minimum helps lead me in the direction of credible information from a real source that I trust.

At the same time, there is reason to be suspect of AI generated propaganda, for instance political attack literature.  The only effective antidote for this is individual discretion.  If you see or hear something that doesn’t look quite right, it most likely isn’t accurate, on purpose.  If the source of the information isn’t verifiable, it’s not trustworthy.

COMMENT:  August 2: Larry posted his own thoughts on AI from personal experience:  “Just posted my lastest YouTube essay. This is on Artificial Intelligence, today’s big buzz term. I tell in three minutes 39 seconds how I use Gemini. Of special note – you may find the opening graphic interesting. Totally created in about two minutes by Gemini A-I. I just typed in a few thoughts about what I wanted. I plan to make more use of that free service. Here’s the link: Thoughts on A I“

Caveat Emptor is the old saw.  Let the buyer beware.

ALSO, August 1: very interesting informed comment on the current Nuclear talk, as well as information about the 81st anniversary (Aug 6&9) of Hiroshima and Nagasaki observances in this area, both here.

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The Minnesota Primary Election is August 11, and because our law allows early voting, the vote has already started.

I’ll vote early, but wanted to wait until I could hear Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in person – which opportunity came July 30 (photo).

Peggy is the DFL (Democrat) endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate.  Rep. Angie Craig, also a Democrat and current Mn Congresswoman, passed on the normal endorsement process for the same seat – not uncommon.

Of course no candidate, or no person, has the luxury of an in-person face-off with a candidate. Even an average size and population state, as Minnesota is, has millions of potential voters and tens of thousands of square miles, and only two Senators.  So, when I have the opportunity to see and hear a candidate in person, I accept it.  I have my opinion about the process of selecting candidates – that’s for another time.   (I’ll be voting for and support Peggy.   I have no issue with Angie, but can only vote for one.)

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, at Woodbury MN July 30, 2026

On Thursday, Peggy made a very positive impression to a good sized crowd.  She has done a great number of local visits across our large state.

“Second-in-commands”, as Lt. Gov., VP, and the like, generally are out of the spotlight, and so they are often not well known, even if their role is crucial.  Think of VP Harry Truman who became President when FDR died; Lyndon Johnson after the death of JFK; Gerald Ford after Nixon resigned (VP Spiro Agnew had resigned earlier)…Richard Nixon was vice-president to Eisenhower and later ran for President; George H.W. Bush was vice-president to Reagan, and later became president.

In recent Minnesota history Karl Rolvaag was Lt Gov before being elected Governor.  Ditto for Rudy Perpich.  Earlier in Minnesota history there were 7 others.

The occupant of second chair, so to speak, may not be as visible, but the occupant has to be ready, just in case, and “just in case” does happen, really pretty frequently.

Peggy has paid far more than her dues in public service, details at her website.  Leave the content of the legally anonymous dark money attack ads out of your deliberations for her (or any) candidate.  I’ll comfortably cast my own vote for her.  A friend who has worked with her said  “I’ve never met anyone who works harder than she does! She truly cares about people and helping everyone. There have been times when she and I haven’t agreed but she always listens and tries to find common ground. However, she is never afraid to fight for what’s right.

At the Thursday gathering, the “f” (fraud) word came up.  Peggy handled the question competently.

I’ve taken considerable interest in this issue since the beginning.  The attack narrative is that Minnesota is soft and my party is incompetent on crime.  I totally disagree.  Long and short: Fraud doesn’t start at Minnesota’s borders, nor is it the exclusive province of the Somali community, which is portrayed to be collectively guilty.  Fraud is a problem everywhere.  The longest Minnesota sentence so far in the fraud cases was given to a white lady who grew up in the next door suburb to me – 41 years was her sentence.  Only about 1 of 1000 Somali’s (about 60 in all) in this state were perpetrators who in various ways cashed in on the fraud.

Every state and country has crooks, just waiting for opportunities.  They are like germs in pandemics: they look for openings and attack.  Deliver us from the evil of mal-information, which is epidemic in this era, and likely to get much worse.

We’re stuck with negative, deceptive and dishonest message mongers exploiting our freedom of speech.  The tactic works.  But this doesn’t mean we have to buy the BS messages.  Consider the source, the content and the context.

Minnesotans, vote by August 11.  The six other statewide primary candidates I support are here.  I support the endorsement process.

POSTNOTE 1:  Earlier in the day of Lt. Gov Flanagan’s meeting with us, the front page headline of the Minnesota Star Tribune screamed “St. Paul mayor facing sex harassment probe“.  The new mayor, a woman, is only at the point of being accused, but this instantly became front page news.  I remarked to friends later the same day that if the circumstances involved a white male official the odds would be pretty solid that the allegations would not even be news especially in older days.   (The mayor is female and of Hmong ancestry.)  Stay tuned.

On the same front page was another headline “Cyberattack hits state’s water utilities“.  There was almost immediately a conclusion shared publicly by the President of the United States, that of course it was Gov. Tim Walz’s fault and the plot was Iranian based.  Front page news?  “Truth”?

These were reminders that this election season will be slimy, likely far worse than normal times.  Minnesotans which are apparently at or near the top of the Presidents enemy list, needs to be prepared to be dragged through the mud.  For everyone: Be very wary and aware.

POST NOTE 2: I did a post referencing Tony Fauci July 30.  You can read it here.

COMMENTS:

from Larry:

Yesterday was Tony Fauci’s day in the bullseye in Congressional hearing about  dealing with Covid-19, 6 years ago.

This morning, Jeff passed along Paul Krugman’s take on this and other similar issues, and it is worth your time to read.  I’m a subscriber to Krugman.  Here is his column: “Reality is a Communist plot”.

Anthony Fauci, who I really didn’t know much about before Covid-19, was the person needed for the time of crisis.  His demeanor, credentials as a scientist and all gave hope.  Sure, there were occasional wrong calls, but as anyone who’s ever dealt with a crisis knows, you do your best

We all lived through The horrid time of Covid-19 and know our personal stories.  At the end of the pandemic, February, 2022, I was hospitalized for surgery for Colon cancer, and my roommate was a young man struck down with long Covid, not contagious but not recovered.  He was not happy.  Probably in his 30’s, he had been an AAU calibre basketball player, but when we were roomies, he could barely walk, and was becoming morbidly obese.

We conversed.  I often think about him, but I can’t stay in contact.  I knew only his first name.

I responded to Jeff’s forward, today, with my own brief comment:

61 years ago today, July 24, 1965, my wife, Barbara, age 22, died at the University of Minnesota Hospital in Minneapolis.  She had been hospitalized there for 58 days, awaiting the possibility of a kidney transplant, a condition which had been part of our lives the entirety of our two year marriage.  Our son was a few months over one year old at the time of her death.  He is now 62.

There are endless details.  61 years is a long time, and 61 is not a notable anniversary, but the event came to mind without intention (see following para), and it seems a worthwhile time to revisit what was a very difficult time in two lives and the exemplary roles of medicine and community at the time, with possibly some learning opportunities for both in the present day.

This writing is for anyone who might be interested in the topic, but specifically it is for the medical and government institutions which became involved at the time.  This heightened awareness – recollection – came about because a friend of mine, active in a twin cities Senior Kiwanis chapter, told me about a session they were going to have about revitalization of rural health policy.

The situation long ago for my wife and I was very much a creature of rural medical and public policy in 1963-66,   I attended the local meeting on July 21, 2026.  It was excellent.

This writing does not pertain to any contents of the meeting, whose speakers were two Minnesota state legislators with a passion in support of effective public health .

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Before the meeting I shared with my friend a four page summary of the 1964-65 personal experience.  It can be read here: Medical 1964-66 A.

By the time of the meeting, I recalled keeping some correspondence during the time of the medical crisis. I had kept the material in a file all these years.  It includes 10 letters from government entities, which speak for themselves: Medical Care 1964-66 C.

I reiterate: there is no criticism made about anything at the time, or now.  Our experience was about personal reality, not theory.  Life was moment to moment.

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Recently, I tried to describe what we went through with a friend of Barbara’s during her high school days. He is a retired vice-president of a well known health insurance provider.  Essentially I described my personal situation in 1964-66, thusly:  it was like being in a canoe, and after losing the only paddle, approaching a waterfall on a river.  You can see big trouble ahead, but there is nothing you can do.

You go over the waterfall, and by some quirk you survive, but now you face the prospect of continuing the trip, not knowing what is ahead, but without either paddle or canoe….   All that you have is the present.

Larry, the friend, allowed that the description made sense.  Each and every day, somewhere, others are facing a similar crisis.  What can we do?

As the legislators were talking on the 21st, I kept looking at the Kiwanis banner just beyond them.

Minnesota Legislators at Kiwanis July 21, 2026

The banner says it all, about any aspect of community, be it medical, fire, etc., etc.  We are members of a community which, in my reading, is all of us, anywhere in this state, country and world.

My thanks to everyone who cares.  Do take the time to read the links, and feel free to share.  Perhaps something in the contents will resonate….

PS:  Most likely, everyone who wrote the letters shared above are long deceased.  I want especially to note two of them, Julius W. Bartels, who was the hospital administrator and Barbara’s ambulance driver in Elgin in May of 1965.  Not long afterwards, I think Nov. 20, 1965, Mr. Bartels was taking another patient and her husband to Bismarck, on the same country highway.  This particular day, to my recollection from the newspaper of the time, Bartels collided with a grain truck entering the highway, probably out of his sightline until right before the accident.  He and his passengers were killed, and if memory served, the large family of husband and wife was orphaned….  Bartels was 45 years old.

Delano Pfeifle, then a young physician apparently in his first year of practice at then-Quain and Ramstad Clinic in Bismarck ND, did much heavy lifting, helping facilitate the inevitable trip to University of Minnesota Hospital in Minneapolis.

PS 2: The last letter is a refund of Barbara’s ND teacher retirement account.  She had started her first school year in North Dakota in 1963, but had to resign less than two months into the term.  In Elgin, she tried to substitute, but to my knowledge could only do two days due to her illness.  My son qualified for minimal social security benefits due to policy at the time.  Barbara had worked in sufficient quarters to qualify for Social Security, even perhaps not more than a day in a quarter.

PS 3:  Three days before Barbara died, I signed a teaching contract for the Anoka-Hennepin School District.  This was my third year of teaching.  Needless to say, the beginning of my time in the Twin Cities was unusual to say the least.  I taught nine years in all, thence came 27 years representing public school teachers through MEA and then Education Minnesota, retiring in 2000.

Barbara’s funeral was in Valley City North Dakota July 29, 1965.  Unknown by me until years later, the next day, July 30, 1965, Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare Act into Law.

Dick and Barbara and Tom Bernard, August 1964

PRENOTE;  This post is about Voting.  More below this note.  It is no coincidence that I am posting before the Presidents speech tonight.  We need to be actively engaged.

Midday today I went to MN Orchestra performance.  This was a fill-in for a previously missed concert, and this was one of last concerts of the season, so I ended up in the third balcony in an otherwise full house.  There are no bad seats at Orchestra Hall, and the concert was superb.  The acoustics are phenomenal.  Here’s a photo at the end of the Beethoven piece.

Orchestra Hall Minneapolis MN July 16, 2026

We are short-season ticket holders at the Orchestra, and have been for many years.  This day, I found myself musing about the orchestra and we in the audience as community, in the greater sense.  For a conductor and orchestra to work, there is teamwork beyond what most of us can imagine.  And the chemistry between band and audience is an essential.  What if, I mused, the conductor only recognized one-half of the orchestra.  The other half had no role but to sit there.  What if only half of the house was filled, and they were all sitting on the same side?

I’m thinking of course of our current political nation.  We are certainly no finely tuned orchestra.  Divided we fail.

On a related note. I subscribe to Tim Snyder’s Substack and yesterday he gave the first of ten lectures on successive Wednesdays as described here.  I watched the first 90 minute segment and it was worth the time.   If you have an interest and can access the program, you may find it very worthwhile.

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VOTING

Election Day is November 3 2026.  In my state, Minnesota, here are the dates.  We are over 240,000,000 eligible (18 years or over) voters in the U.S.  For voter registration anywhere, here is the portal.

Our right to vote is available, free, to each and every eligible citizen for each and every elective position on their ballot in our country, the United States of America.

Daily, we are all learning is the cost of a single vote.  Of course, our vote is private; but the results for all of us are not.  We, the people, all of us, need to think about the implications of our single action – or inaction – in 2024.

There are those who are terrified by Democracy and whose campaign is to reduce by any means available the number of people who can and will vote.  This is an active threat.

In the last presidential election, roughly a third voted Republican, Democrat, or not at all.  There is no “Independent” entity, though a small percentage voted with splinter groups of one sort of another.

We – all of us – are accountable for our vote (or non-vote) in every election.  The benefit (or penalty) depends on our own individual free choice.  The buck stops with each of us, individually.

For your, my and our future, at minimum be certain you are registered to vote and that you cast a well-informed ballot for all positions up for election on November 3, 2026.  On July 27, 100 days remain to election day.

You have a single opportunity to select your elected officials for their terms of office, usually two or four years, sometimes one, sometimes six….  Don’t waste your opportunity by not voting, or voting without knowledge of your preferred candidate and the implications of your vote.  Vote well informed.

POSTNOTE: Carlo sent her personal opinion about the notion of denying otherwise qualified person from the vote via the misnamed SAFE Act, now being promoted.

She does not agree.   I agree with her assessment.  Of course, there is much more to be said.  I present Carlo’s as one expressed opinion on a critical issue.

“It is time to stop the misinformation. 

Please take out copies of the Constitution, read it, and use it to stop Donald Trump’s lies and schemes regarding a woman’s right to vote. 

I suggest that Mr. Trump is counting on citizens’ lack of knowledge of the Constitution to continue his campaign of disenfranchisement of a woman’s right to vote.

The SAVE Act

Question!

Does the Republican Party and President Donald Trump with passage of the SAVE Act have the right to override the 19th Amendment with a simple vote in Congress?

The 19th Amendment of the Constitution gives women the unabridged right to vote. 

A birth certificate, a passport, or proof of is citizenship are not stated in that amendment and therefore not required for a woman to vote. 

The 19th amendment states the following:

Nineteenth Amendment

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

[Office of the Federal Register (OFR).]

If Congress wants to change the 19th Amendment The following will be necessary:

Article V, U.S. Constitution

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Article V

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.

[Officer of the Federal Register (OFR)]

The Constitution has not been amended regarding a woman’s right to vote therefore the 19th Amendment stands as written and does not require a woman to produce a passport, birth certificate, or proof of citizenship in order to vote. 

Therefore the right of citizens of the United States right to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Please inform the PEOPLE!

Thank you

CSM”