“MEA”

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PRENOTE:  Some comments have been added at the very end of the Oct 8 post about Gaza.  Here.  I expect to do a followup post on this topic on Nov.. 4.  Your contribution is solicited.

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In a couple of months I’ll mark 24 years retired after a 36 year career in public education.  Nonetheless, yesterday, as has been fairly common for me in my retired years, I went to the morning sessions of the “2023 MEA conference”  (at River Centre in St. Paul).  (Here’s the Minneapolis Star tribune article: MEA Conf Star Trib Oct 20 2023).

“MEA”  is such a tradition in Minnesota that the third Thursday in October is always the start of “MEA weekend”, a no-school event for kids, as hard to dislodge as Thanksgiving and other similar holidays.

“MEA” for the past 25 years has been a program of Education Minnesota, the merged organization (1998) which previously had been two competing teacher unions, MEA and MFT.  The name “MEA weekend” survived – more so public tradition than anything else.  I noticed that officially, in the program, that”MEA” means  “Minnesota Educator Academy”  – (called “MEA Conference”. on the cover of the union’s Minnesota Educator Oct – Nov issue).  Words…Acronyms….

For much of my career and 100 years before the annual gathering was called the “teachers convention”.   In more recent years, including in my career, it has become recognized there are many teachers in schools, which include folks like cooks, custodians, secretaries etc.  “School” is all of the children and adults assembled – a place for kids to become adults, with abundant adult role models.

There was a large menu of choices yesterday.

I can only speak about the five persons I heard.  There were many choices.  It was an excellent day.  Click on the names for more about each of those I heard.

Monica Byron, vice-president of Ed MN welcomed us.   She acknowledged this was the first such speech she’d given to such a group.   Personally I thought this comment added a great deal to otherwise very well prepared remarks.  I would bet all of us in the hall could remember our own first, among many firsts in our own lives!

Monica introduced Michael Houston, MEA’s 59th Teacher of the Year, who gave an inspiring talk.

Keynoter was Brittany Wagner, one of the main stars of the Netflix series “Last Chance U”.  She was an outstanding  motivational speaker.

After her speech I caught Brittany and Michael (both at right).  Both spring from very ordinary roots, like we do:

Brittany Wagner and Michael Houston. St. Paul Oct 20, 2023

I had two other learning experiences Thursday.

I sat in on the session led by Evan Rosenthal: “Exploring Gender: Helping Cisgender Teachers Support Transgender Students and Staff.”  The link below Evan’s name is a YouTube video he presented to a group of Dentists.  It is definitely the same Evan I saw on Thursday, and the content is similar.  I specifically chose this particular workshop, and the interactions with the group in the audience were very meaningful.

Finally, As I entered the exhibit area Thursday morning, a table attracted my interest.  A teacher, Blair Clinton was selling his book “Memoirs of a Mediocre Teacher“.  I bought the book, and I think I’m going to find it worthwhile.  Blair has been teaching for over 20 years, and he’s a reading interventionist in a twin cities metropolitan school district.  Like very teacher, he has his own personal story, and my guess is that most of us who have ever taught have had lots of experience of feeling mediocre!  Things in school don’t always go perfectly!

A final thought: Most of the presenters yesterday noted the influence of at least one teacher in their career trajectory. It occurred to me yesterday, and has occurred to me often over the years, that every teacher (regardless of title: parent, co-workers, etc.) inevitably and often without knowing it has a particularly memorable impact on someone in his or her orbit.  I’ve thought often of these teachers in my own life.  Even a negative experience with a teacher can ultimately have a positive outcome in the long run.

Give it some thought.

Thanks, Education Minnesota.

POSTNOTE Oct 22:  I noted with interest a column by retired Community College history teacher Chuck Chalberg in today’s Minneapolis StarTribune opinion section.  Chalberg apparently retired about 2010, and is about my age, and has written frequently from his point of view.  He would have been a long-time member of MEA/Education Minnesota, but he is apparently no fan of public education and teachers unions.  I found a most interesting commentary about him on-line, which includes within a link to a talk he gave in South Dakota some years ago.  You can read it here.

I have a very different point of view: public school reflects all the imperfections of society in general, and is therefore a crucial platform for young people of all abilities and disabilities to prepare for adulthood.

My parents were career public school teachers, both beginning with country schools about 1929.  Several aunts and uncles were career teachers.  My parents entire career was in a state where teachers had no rights, and their salaries and working conditions reflected that, and my siblings and I saw the downside of that arrangement.  My parents certainly had contracts, a key provision that their contracts were annual, renewed at the discretion of the local school board.

Personally, six of my school years were in Catholic elementary school; I taught junior high school for 9 years, 8 in Minnesota, then represented public school teachers for 27 years, all in Minnesota.  Nine grandkids have spent all or much of their school years in public schools.  One daughter is a middle school principal in a large suburban middle school; another is full-time long term substitute in another middle school.

Is public education perfect?  Absolutely not.  Is there a better alternative?  I think not.  In the end, all of us citizens are in the same kettle.  Perhaps you can delay your childs exposure to the real world, but that is always temporary.  We swim or sink together.

As to politics, the teachers union is not in thrall to any political party; its interest, however, is in good public policy for public education, generally.

Chalberg’s commentary can be read here: Chalberg Star Trib Oct 22 23.  Here’s something he wrote in 2010, at about the end of his career as a teacher.  Here are some comments shared between friends James Klein and Dick Bernard on the topic of public education and unions:Jim Klein on public education and unions October 24, 2023   (The beginning of this link is Jim’s comment in the on-line comments section below.  The link includes more comments from Jim and myself.)

ADDENDA: Brief Essay on School and Community, by Dick Bernard, 2006: Community by Dick Bernard 2006.  Positive qualities of educators identified by teachers at a workshop in the late 1990s: Qualities of Educators.

COMMENTS (more at end of post): 

from Fred: Sounds as if you had a fine time at MEA. The Diary of a Mediocre Teacher sounds interesting.

from Norm:  Thanks for your analysis of what school is actually like.  That is, not every student is well behaved and follows the rules.  Not every student is there to learn although many are.  Not every parent is supportive of what the school is doing with their child, nor does every parent even care what is happening with their child when he/she is in school. or (fill-in-the-blanks).

In many ways, that mixture of the interest levels of the students in the public school system are in some respects just a microcosm of society at large in many ways.
So, I suspect, that the purpose of Moms for Liberty and those kinds of groups who want to interfere with the teaching in public schools is to make sure that kids are only taught what they themselves are comfortable with in their limited view of the world.
That is really concerning to me.  Hopefully, the results that will become known on November 8th will not show large inroads onto the school boards by the MAGA nuts.

 

 

Fresh Energy

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PRENOTE: I have added some postnotes to last weeks post on Gaza.  Please take a look.

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Yesterday we, along with several hundred others, attended the annual breakfast of an organization which does very good work, Fresh Energy.

We have contributed substantially to the work of Fresh Energy since 2016.  Fresh Energies mission is “to shape and drive bold policy solutions to achieve equitable carbon-neutral economies. Together we are working toward a vision of a just, prosperous, and resilient future powered by a shared commitment to a carbon-neutral economy”.   It has a remarkable record of success working for positive incremental change.  I encourage  your active interest in Fresh Energy.   This in no was is intended to diminish the work of other related organizations.  Fresh Energy’s program has found a very important niche in the national and international initiative.

The entire October 12 program (slightly more than an hour) can be viewed here.  I found especially stimulating the talk by Ramez Naan, which begins at about 53 minutes and runs for about 25 minutes.  But the entire program (just over an hour) is very worthwhile.

We left Thursday’s program with the usual souvenirs, including a tote bag with this illustration (the buildings spell something):

Fresh Energy gift Oct 12, 2023.

The pamphlet which came with this illustration  gives many suggestions, available online (below).

It was sadly ironic for me that the illustration of “community” above came into my possession at about the same time the forced evacuation of Gaza Palestinians was announced by Israel, and the TV screen is full of scenes of these kinds of streets in ruins.

The world is making progress, but not always in a positive direction.

Take the time to get more actively engaged.

Israel October 7, 2023

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POSTNOTE 6 FEBRUARY 6, 2024: Followup posts: Nov 4, Nov 8, Nov 18, Dec 10, Dec 25,  2023, Feb 5 2024

POSTNOTE 5 October 24, 2023: I continue to seek some kind of reasonably reliable information about what, exactly, Gaza is.  Here’s something from NBC News which seems reasonably reliable and helpful.

POSTNOTE 4 October 13, 2023:  Today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune headlines “Gaza evacuation ordered”.  The subhead says “Israeli military tells 1.1 million Palestinians to move south within 24 hours”.   Gaza’s size is equivalent to a square 12 miles on a side, including over 2 million people.  It is, literally, a prison.  Gazan’s cannot move in or out as Ukrainians still can.  Try to imagine….

There are many points of view.  Today, Joyce passed along a very meaning filled post from Rabbi Daniya Ruttenberg.  You can read it here.  

October 10, a years long friend on one side of the issue sent a copy of his letter which asked a former U.S. president for “courage” to take a stand.  (I have friends on both ‘sides’ – I will not identify the ‘side’ of this friend, here).  My personal stand: I empathize with the vast majority on both ‘sides’ who have no interest in anything but peace, and no interest whatsoever in what amounts to a religious war.  I don’t accept violence as a solution from either perpetrator or in retribution.  But I am not naive about human history.  Zealots who achieve power, regardless of means, or ‘brand’, are a huge problem, and have always been.   This includes supposed religious leaders.  I speak as someone who considers himself ‘religious’, and things like the Inquisition, and the Crusades and Slavery itself were important and reprehensible components within my own religious tradition in the not too distant past.

There is and has always been and will always be evil, and it resides among us, and it will never be eradicated.  It manifest in many ways.   It needs fuel to grow, and that is where we, in a democratic society, come in, for good or ill.  We can choose our fate by how we vote.

Going forward: Saturday is one week since the current crisis, which is compared with 9-11-01, began.  I will next post on this issue at this space on the one month anniversary of October 7, about Nov. 4.  This is about the time lapse between 9-11-01 and the bombing of Afghanistan in October, 2001….  I’m watching, and I’ll continue to watch, not only the actions, but the conversations about this terrible crisis.

POSTNOTE 3 Oct. 11, 2023 Minneapolis Star Tribune commentary by Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer: Nelson-Pallmeyer Oct 10 23 STrib.  Disclosure: I have known and respected Jack and his work for many years.  Sue commented: “Thank you, Dick, for referring us to the Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer piece – very solid. Based on what used to be called “critical thinking,” which has gone out of style in this era.”

Also relevant, my good friend, of Syrian ancestry, commented on this link I’d asked him to comment on, about the Balfour Declaration, which he feels is the root of the problem.  Here was his comment on the link:  “It is relatively accurate, but the most important thing written is the statement that I extracted and pasted below.  The protection of the Palestinian Arabs’ political rights has been completely ignored, as well as the rights of the Jordanians and parts of Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt.  The British are and have been very evil people.  They are the people that we fought our Revolutionary War against.

“The British government acknowledged in 1939 that the local population’s views should have been taken into account, and recognized in 2017 that the declaration should have called for the protection of the Palestinian Arabs’ political rights.”

A 2014 release from Pax Christi was forwarded by one of you, and seems worthy of attention at this time.

POSTNOTE 2:  As noted yesterday, the internet is awash with disinformation about circumstances surrounding this tragic situation.  It is difficult to separate truth from fiction….  As noted at this space yesterday: “In the near future I want to take a stab at communication insecurity in this age of AI, etc.  Skepticism about anything visual or verbal is warranted, especially if you don’t know well, the exact source.  More later.”

POSTNOTE Oct. 9, 2023: I have a lot to say, but my opinions are like any other opinions from anyone, whether expert or not.  At the end of this post, I share my limited direct experience with the country and the people of Israel, and that’s about all.

Here is a little geographic perspective: I am always interested in geographic context.  Gaza is almost exactly the same size as Ramsey County (St. Paul and environs), with four times as many people in its bounds.  Ramsey is one of Minnesota’s smallest counties.  Israel is about a tenth the size of Minnesota, about the same size as New Jersey.   It has about twice the population of Minnesota; about the same population as New Jersey.  More or less three-quarters of Israels population is Jewish.

Gaza is about 141 sq. miles; Ramsey Co, 152 sq. miles; populations about 2, 250,000; Ramsey Co 550,000.  Israel 8,550 sq miles, 9 million people; Minnesota 87,000 sq miles, about 5.7 million people.

It is less than 50 miles from Gaza to either Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.

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Originating post: The news is that yesterday in Israel was its 9-11-01.  The attack began about 6:30 a.m. local time in Israel.   That was 2:30 local time here in Minnesota; 24 hours ago as I write.

I am not numb to this carnage; neither, unfortunately, is this unusual in our world.  Nonetheless, the narrative for what is, now, is being set by every picture, every interview, everywhere.  This will be a test for discernment of ‘information’, much of which will likely be disinformation.

Back in the awful days after 9-11-01 I pleaded for some perspective in the U.S. response to the heinous actions of 19 people who killed themselves so that many more would die..  The tone of our country rapidly became retribution.

Quite often I’ve used a short article from early October, 2001, which deserves rereading.   Simply substitute Israel for the U.S.; Hamas for the 19 who flew the planes into the Twin Towers.  Here’s pdf of the below photo: Afghanistan Bombing Oct 10 2001

The long war predicted in the above article came through: Afghanistan, then Iraq, then Afghanistan again…20 years, four presidents.

Still, the tendency is revenge against a word which most of us know little about: Hamas.  Everything else regardless of expertise of the narrator is sheer opinion.

War (retribution) always seems like the first option; it is also the worst option, in my opinion.  But if only one side. is for peace, a negotiation is fruitless.

Take some time to learn more than the headlines or early visuals.

If you wish: three articles about Gaza; Hamas; Hezbollah.  I hesitate to define exactly how Gaza fits into Israel, politically.  The State Department article linked above might help a little.  Gaza isn’t an independent country.

Personal Experience:

I was to Israel in January, 1996, with a tour group led by a Lutheran Minister, a Catholic theologian, and a prominent church musician.  The trip was powerful, slanted to the zionist point of view, but not overtly so.  Yasser Arafat was about to be elected leader of the Palestinians.   I saw a huge banner supporting his election in Bethlehem.  The only evidence of conflict that trip were two Israeli jets screaming over us at low altitude, probably heading towards Lebanon.  We were at one of the holy sites on the Sea of Galilee.  Yitzhak Rabin had been assassinated a couple of months before we came.

4 years later, late April, early May, 2000, we were with a group of about 40, half us Jews, half Christian, who did a Pilgrimage together to holocaust sites mostly in Czech Republic and Poland.  We walked into Birkenau from Auschwitz, literally along the railroad tracks.  It was an indescribably powerful experience.  Quite certainly our colleagues from that trip have their own opinions at this moment in history….

COMMENTS:

from Carol: extract from Tom Friedman, NYTimes, Oct 7 2023:  “Hamas was conducting what appeared to be practice maneuvers for just this kind of attack all along the Gaza border — right before the eyes of the Israeli military.

But it appears that Israeli intelligence interpreted the moves as Hamas just trying to mess with the heads of the Israeli military….
“The intelligence interpretation is that they were training for something that they would never dare to do,” Nahum said. “It was bad judgment and arrogance.” Hamas instead launched an incredibly complex and sophisticated invasion from land and sea.”


from Fred: Thanks for the “comparative geography” lesson! I’ve read several histories regarding Israel’s wars and studied the maps, as always. The map scale of the area never really sunk in. This will help me remember.

It was wise to include a 9-11 newspaper clipping, especially one with a poll of Americans. As you indicate, the “thing” about wars is no one can ever be certain exactly how they will play out.

from Harry: a commentary from a group called “Friends of Sabeel”

Heather Cox Richardson “Letters from an American” October 9, 2023.  (Here is the October 7 post to which Dr. Richardson refers.)

from Dick: Some snippets of history:

from New York Times Digest, aboard a cruise ship in the Baltic June 7, 2003.  Note right hand column: New York Times Digest Jun 7 2003

 

From National Geographic “Lands of the Bible Today”, December, 1967

from Molly:  Thanks, Dick, for the helpful posts.

Blessings of this blue-sky autumn day to you,

 

Long term

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This is an ‘odd couple’ post, consisting of two recent editorials in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and an update on a previous post.  Three different topics.

First, I completed reading Cassidy Hutchinson’s memoir, “Enough“, and I summarize it by adding to my initial post about it, here.  Succinctly, the book was a very good use of my time.  I highly recommend it.  Take a look.  Online there are many reviews and it is highly rated.

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Second, my local newspaper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, often has thought provoking editorials, including the following two within the past week:

Climate Change STrib Sep 29, 2023is a very interesting take on the very long term for climate change.   Coincident with, but not because of the editorial, I had sent a brief note to my e-mail list on October 1:

You wouldn’t believe it its October 1 in Minnesota, where today’s temp will possibly be over 90.  Quite often, sometime in October, there will be the first ‘temporary’ snow…not today!

October 4, James responded:

Climate change notwithstanding, this weather is NOT unprecedented!  I don’t think I will ever forget doorknocking for [a legislative candidate] in 2008 on THE SATURDAY BEFORE ELECTION DAY in shorts and a short sleeved shirt.  And sweating.  Sunday Monday and Tuesday were mild too. I think I wore a light jacket on either Sunday or Monday, but did GOTV [get out the vote] on Tuesday in shirt sleeves.    

On the other hand, I equally clearly remember, in 1984, Annearle and I were driving past [Woodbury’s] Jordan Ranch on Upper Afton Road, in MID SEPTEMBER, and it started to snow.  We had just moved to Woodbury from El Cerrito CA (second suburb north of Berkeley) in May, and had lived in the SF Bay Area for just short of 7 years.  As the snow started to fly, Annearle looked at me and said “What the hell have we DONE?”

I responded to Jim, including a copy of the editorial:

Of course this leads to the endless conversation of WEATHER vs CLIMATE and GLOBAL WARMING vs CLIMATE CHANGE and on and on and on!

I happen to be in the camp that says that the least we can do is to be far more responsible as humans for what we have – things like ground water depletion, waste in general, etc.
On the other hand, a long time great friend, a scientist in the aeronautical world, poo-poos climate change as simply a function of millions of years.  

I also sent the editorial to the friend referenced above, to which he responded, also on Oct. 4:

That is an interesting article.  The one thing that came to mind as I read it was that the last four ice ages have been the result of the earth’s orbit becoming elongated due to the gravitational influences of Jupiter and Saturn, so it is possible that the orbit of earth could be moved further away from the sun and the earth could continue to exist after the sun’s diameter is greatly increased as it becomes a red giant as it’s mass and gravity are reduced due to loss of mass with each solar storm that takes place.  But it will be long after we are all gone. 

So…what do YOU feel about this?

Finally, Catholic Synod STrib Oct 5, 2023.  Those who know me, know I’m lifelong Catholic, which does not mean I’m typical, as if there is a typical Catholic.  We are an interesting rabble, and our power is in whether or how we choose to participate.

This second editorial is about the most interestingly named  “Synod on Synodality“.   If you’re Catholic in any sense of that word, or not, I’ll think you’ll find the editorial interesting, and the Synod on Synodality proceedings worth following.

Love it or hate it, the Catholic Church, with all its good and its bad points, is not likely to wither away soon.  And “the Church” is all of us who care.

POSTNOTE AND REMINDER:  As I have mentioned, I follow the national and international news constantly and carefully through sources I consider reputable and fair.  I only choose not to emphasize the increasingly obvious threats to our own democracy at this space, trying to give attention to other things as well.  But I urge you to be aware and be informed.  We are in dangerous times.   

Haiti, revisited

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In December, 2003, and again in March, 2006, I had two opportunities to visit wonderful ordinary people in the country of Haiti.

In 2008, four disastrous tropical storms hit Haiti in August and September.  Two years later, Haiti advocates grieved together as Haiti suffered through the unimaginable. tragedy of the earthquake of January, 2010; thence the cholera epidemic later the same year.

Today the news from/about Haiti is not good.  Visual and written messages mitigate against travel there (below photo).  One wonders what is ahead for these long suffering and wonderful people.

Nothing ever is simple as it seems, including such as the above photo.

In 2003 and 2006 I had an opportunity to learn more about Haiti’s history, and Haitians generally, on the ground, in Haiti itself, from Port-au-Prince into the interior of the country.

Succinctly, I appreciated the Haiti contacts.   But with friends like our own U.S. policy, Haitians don’t need enemies.

Haiti became an independent and free state in 1804, the culmination of a revolt of slaves against France.  Haiti was then France’s richest colony, so the loss was severe.

But victories have consequences.  In my understanding, one of the early resolutions of the U.S. government was to not recognize Haiti as a country.  We were a slave owning country, and the idea of freed slaves was not attractive.  We did not recognize the country as a country until 1862.  It was years before Fredrick Douglass was called into action to represent the U.S. in Haiti.  For reasons outlined in the linked article, Mr. Douglass’s time was not productive, for reasons not at all because of Douglass..

From 1915-34. the U.S. occupied and controlled Haiti, essentially as a colony.  In 1957, the to-be dictator Francois Duvalier ascended to power and curried favor with the U.S. as an anti-communist, later followed by his son, “Papa Doc”.  The U.S. was never far in the background.

In 1990 came the first democratic election, in which Jean-Bertrand Aristide won election.  A coup threw him out of office, and he was restored in 1994; finally to be deposed for good at the end of February, 2004, two months after my first visit to Haiti.

Essentially, it seems that Haiti became something of a ward of the United Nations, with the approval of the United States.  In the final coup of 2004, the U.S., France and Canada were key actors.

Of course, there is irresolvable arguments about who was responsible for what.  The ultimate results are what we see today – a country in chaos.

I write now because last evening we had the opportunity to meet with a few Haiti advocates in Minnesota.  It was a very good meeting.   Anyone interested in participating, please let me know and I’ll pass word along to the organizers.

As for myself, in the wake of my time of activism on Haiti I wrote some reflections about the country and the people as I saw it.  You can explore the link here.

NOTE, the blog mentioned at the beginning of the referenced page, OutsideTheWalls, has been replaced by this page, ThoughtsTowardsABetterWorld.  Enter the search word “Haiti” and you’ll find reference to 118 posts which at minimum mention the word “Haiti”.  While I am no longer engaged actively in Haiti activities, I am still in solidarity with the fine people living there.

Cassidy Hutchinson, “Enough”

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POSTNOTE 3 – October. 6, 2023:  I completed the book, Enough, by Cassidy Hutchinson, Wednesday, Oct. 4.  It has become one of the unusual books that I read from cover to cover.  There are many reviews, and it is not my intention to review the book, other than saying I found reading this 26 year old’s memoir to be a learning experience.

Much happened between the day I purchased the book (Sep 29) and October 5.  Attorney General Merrick Garland was subject of a powerful segment on CBS 60 Minutes; a U.S. Government shutdown was temporarily averted on Saturday; on October 3, House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, was voted out his position – the first such action in House history, and nobody knows the consequences of that.  The office is vacant, and its occupant is third in line of succession to the Presidency….

Overnight came a troubling report from yesterday, including a Liz Cheney talk at the University of Minnesota yesterday.

Ordinary citizen Donald Trump was given a gag order relating to conduct at his court hearing in New York City, and shows little sign of learning his lesson, and on and on….

It is all paralyzing, but this is no time for anyone who cares about the future of this country to be paralyzed.  The solution is with each of us, one action at a time.

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There was a great deal of foot for thought for me in Enough.  Some morsels:  Hutchinson more than once called herself a Moderate Republican; I’ve always called myself a Moderate Democrat.  What is the difference?  She admired what she knew about Ronald Reagan, whose Presidency ended seven years before she was born.  In probably her second chance to vote for President, she supported Mitt Romney.  Of course, she was loyal to “the Boss” as one would expect of a staff employee.

I never had the rarified experience she did, but I worked hard for Reagan’s opponent, incumbent Jimmy Carter, who I’ve always admired.  My vote was for Barack Obama, twice.  On and on.  We both called ourself, political “moderates” though certainly not “twins”.

These and many other vignettes in the book, with the overlay of the near three years since Jan 6 2021,  cause me to think of myself and other ordinary “American people”.

Individually and as a collective group we are much like what we experience at an ordinary family reunion.  Politics and government are akin to a gigantic buffet, smorgasbord, potluck (take your pick of the word) which I’d guess every reader has experienced, perhaps often.  There are choices to be made, and one’s plate is only so large…as is one’s stomach.  Despite the wailing we so often indulge in, we are an extremely rich country, and there is usually much more available to us than can be consumed.  (I’ll be at such an event on Saturday.  My guess is there will be lots of “leftovers”.)

Most of us are content to pick our few favorites in the line, eat moderately, visit pleasantly, and go home.  We are almost all in this category.  I would guess there might always be someone  obsessed with only one item (call it an “issue”), and won’t eat anything else.  Perhaps that might be the ideologue.

The winner at the potluck is generally all of us, who get some balance and pleasure out of the event.  Were the event to be controlled by the ideologue, there would be less participation.

Maybe our country is a little bit like that potluck table.  Maybe we’re only temporarily out of whack.  Unfortunately, we’re the only ones who can fix this, by who we choose to elect to all our leaders, carefully and well informed.

I do highly recommend Enough.  You won’t regret the read.

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POSTNOTE 1 – OCT 1, 2023:  Here is Heather Cox Richardson on the House and Senate votes to resolve the threatened government shutdown yesterday.

Simon and Schuster, 2023, 362 pages

Sept. 30, 2023, 2:25 p.m.: Today, I took time to dive into Cassidy Hutchinson’s new book, “Enough“.  As of this writing, I’ve finished about half of the book, up to the chapter entitled “Election”.  My impressions below:

(Unrelated to this topic, but if you wish, check also the recent posts for Sep 24 (commentaries on Putin and Afghanistan 2003), 26 (my community school election) and 29 (Haiti revisited).

On Sept. 28, 2023, came an e-mail from long-time friend Larry Gauper.

“[Cassidy Hutchinson is] on Lawrence O’Donnell in this youtube clip…she is terrific and Alexander Butterfield is featured too in a clip in the segment…these are two heroes and she’s the kind of young person we need to save this country…LG
Here’s the link.“

My response to Larry:

Monday night I watched Cassidy on Rachel Maddow;

Tuesday, I got her book – hard copy.  Missed Laurence since it’s past my bedtime.
Today I just finished watching her on Nicole Wallace’s program on MSNBC.
So, that’s where I’m at on this!
Yesterday, while purchasing [her book] “Enough”,  I also asked for and purchased “Cheerfulness” by Garrison Keillor.
So, I guess we’re on the same page.

6:45 p.m. Sep 29: I watched the YouTube reference, and it includes Alexander Butterfield (from Watergate era) speaking directly to Cassidy.  It is very powerful.

Cassidy is today only 26 years old, and in Jan, 2021 had just turned 24.

I remembered my life when I was 25 – that was in 1965.  By then, I, too, had experienced a great deal I’d never expected.  Youth is not a disqualified.  We have a great deal to learn from this young person, as we did from our own live.
Sept. 30, 2023, 2:35 p.m.;  I started reading the book.  I frequently buy such books mostly to support the authors effort.  Enough is well worth the investment.

“Enough” is personally, and well, written.  As she acknowledges at the beginning “names and some identifying characteristics of some individuals have been changed”, so don’t look for a who’s who.  The book is a personal story.

Cassidy’s place in history is assured, by the January 6, 2021, Insurrection hearings.  She was an employee of the executive branch of our government when the events of 2020-21  occurred.

She was 23 years old when most of the events occurred; in a couple of months she’ll be 27.

What I’ve read so far – from her birth to the 2020 election – has been interesting and informative.  I anticipate that this will continue in the ‘meat’ of the story as I continue reading.

I think I can safely say that anyone who reads this post has experienced life to age 27.  For myself, 27 was 56 years ago.  Those who know my family history, know that some of those years were challenging.  But I would suggest that everyone who has passed the threshold out of childhood can relate many similar stories as told by Cassidy, though all will be different.

Cassidy certainly had the ability and initiative to achieve.  I would suspect she has a bright future ahead of her, though her testimony and her book will certainly not be roundly applauded by those who were past and future patrons.

In the book, she declared herself as a “moderate Republican” – a Mitt Romney supporter.

I’ve always called myself a “moderate Democrat” and I have never heard an adequate explanation of what is the difference between the two terms.  But that’s a topic for another time.  I urge you to actually read Enough and use it as a springboard for thought and discussion.

I will add more comments here after I complete the book, likely in the next few days.  The old picture of the White House in 1904 (below) comes from a large collection of postcards saved vey my grandparents in the early 1900s when they settled in North Dakota.

 

Postcard of White House, 1904, from the Busch farm collection, Berlin ND


POSTNOTE 2: October 1, 2023
After completing the above on Sep 30, and quite literally at the last minute, “Congress staves off shutdown” as the front page headline in the Sunday Minneapolis Star Tribune declared.  There remain issues, but there is no shutdown.


Here’s the vote:

Minneapolis Star Tribune Sunday Oct 1, 2023

There will be endless analysis and postmortems of what this all means.  All that matters to this individual voter is how my Congressperson, and my U.S. Senators voted, and why.

There are remaining issues, unresolved yesterday.  Learn about them, too.

We, the people, are the electors of the government, and our Congressperson is the one closest to our own area.  Take the time to learn….

COMMENTS (more below)

A School Referendum: SoWashCo883, Nov 7 2023

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This post relates specifically and solely to a local school election in suburban St. Paul MN.  It is my personal opinion, about my own school district: Dick Bernard

1. There are a large number of candidates for three school board seats.  My personal preferred candidates:
MELINDA DOLS,
SATONIA MOORE
SIMI PATNAIK
These candidates, in my opinion,  seem best prepared to support public education for all.
Here is an important link regarding the election, including candidate links, if submitted.
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(Personally, my entire life story has been immersed in public education.  Both parents were career public school teachers; my career was public education;  today, one grandson, and two daughters are in public education, two of the three in SoWashCo833.)
2. I recommend a YES vote on each of the three referendum questions, which have been carefully prepared based on existing and future needs.  Here is the school district handout on the referendum election: Sowashco Referendum 2023 SD handout.  NOTE THE HI-LITED PORTION AT THE BOTTOM OF BOTH PAGES.  This school district link also includes an easy to follow tax calculator – how much the issues will cost on your tax bill.
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The 2023 referendum follows up on a failed referendum in August, 2022, in which roughly 10% of eligible voters voted yes; about 20% voted no; and about 70% did not vote at all.
Succinctly, another failure will only delay and make more expensive future similar questions.  The needs will not go away.
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Personal Opinion:
Public Education is open to  everyone;
It is inclusive and not exclusive;
In my opinion, the single most important function of “School” is to be the place where young people grow up, and learn skills to cope with the real world they will become part of.
Like every other institution of people, Public Schools are not perfect.
But Public Schools are essential to society at large, and they deserve and need our support.
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I cannot emphasize enough: in the last such election in #833, almost 70% of the eligible voters did not vote at all.  This is our problem, not anyone elses responsibility.
Pass the word.  There is 45 days till the election.
POSTSCRIPT: Here’s what I wrote after the August, 2022 referendum election in SoWashCo.

 

Putin, and Afghanistan: A Peek at Two Rough Drafts of History

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May 28 to June 9, 2003, we joined my cousin and her husband on a Baltic cruise on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary.  It was a marvelous time, Copenhagen start and end; St. Petersburg, Russia, June 3 and 4; the other days Stockholm, Helsinki and rural Finland, Estonia, Gdynia (Gdansk) Poland; Oslo, Norway.  A sampler, but a rich one.

But this trip was different: two days after President George Bush visited Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg (May 31-June 1, 2003) we were there, in fact, one of our tour bus stops was  the lobby of the hotel where the Bush’s stayed.  President Bush meetings with Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.

At our  Copenhagen hotel, London’s  Financial Times (FT) for May 29, 2003,  opined on the upcoming Bush visit: Putin, Financial Times June, 2003.  A few weeks earlier, May 1,  2003, had been President Bush’s premature presumed-triumphal “Mission Accomplished” visit to the USS Abraham Lincoln off San Diego.

Back in Copenhagen as our trip ended, at the same hotel, another copy of the Financial Times, this one for June 7-8, 2003, featured a review of what has come to be described as “Charlie’s War” – the early 1990s U.S. dive into the deep end of the pool that is Afghanistan.  The U.S. descent into that over 30 year quagmire was helped along by then-Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson.

The entire and very interesting FT commentary is here: Afghanistan Charlie Wilson 1990s.  Note: the link can be enlarged for ease of reading.

I tend to save things for future reference, as was the case for these two articles.  Given recent history, they seem particularly relevant.  They are offered as food for thought – snapshots of a rough draft of history.  What we choose to remember, and what we choose to forget.

It is 20 years since I saved these articles, less than two years after 9-11-01.

They speak for themselves.

Personal opinion: in our country, at least so far, citizens elect our representatives.  If we criticize them – as we do – we are criticizing ourselves.

Register.  Become informed.  Vote.  Express yourself in other ways.

 

 

Sondergard and the Mn Orch

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For years we’ve subscribed to short season (usually 6 concerts) of the Minnesota Orchestra, a magnificent band!

This mornings Minneapolis Star Tribune, page one, featured the debut of a new conductor.  As the review in the Variety section headlines: “Thomas Sondergard makes an epic debut”.

Here’s the front page photo:

Sep 22, 2023 Minneapolis Star Tribune front page

Here’s the program descriptor of the concert we heard: Sondergard Mn Orch Prog Sep 21 2023.  The Strib review is here: https://tinyurl.com/yrdkta8r

On page two of the link, note the highlighted section at the bottom of the page.  Wherever you are, you can listen, live, to the full performance tonight, 8 p.m. CDT.  You’ll be glad you did.

Also in this program book is an article about Sondergard in his own words; and an interview with the featured Oboe soloist Nathan Hughes. Sondergard:Hughes Mn Orch Prog Sep 21 2023 

NOTE: In the photo, had Sondergard looked to his left, he’d have caught us, four rows back.  Fame is elusive….

Additional Note: The annual twin cities Nonviolent observance is between now and October 3.  Schedule of events here.

Vladivostok, and other things.

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I’m ending this week with ‘miscellany’ – there’s far too much going on to write about everything.  Here goes:

  1. VLADIVOSTOK

Earlier this week, Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin met near Vladivostok, Russia.

I am a long-ago Geography Major.  Back then – the 50s – I would only have known it had to be a very long ride from Pyongyang to Moscow.  Those were the days when you had to look at a Globe, a map hanging on the wall, or an Atlas in the library to even find Vladivostok, if it even showed up on the immense land mass that was, then, the USSR.

Now, the handy route map on my computer  apologizes for having no data about how to get from Pyongyang to Vladivostok, but still provides amazing information.  So, my alternative was to get the route from Moscow to Vladivostok.  Here it is, as adapted by myself:

Moscow Vladivostok Russia N. Korea Ukraine

Long and short: It’s over 5000 land miles from Moscow to Vladivostok.  On the other hand, unknown to me till yesterday, Russia shares a few miles of border with North Korea, close to Vladivostok. Indeed, Khasan, Russia is at the border with North Korea,  160 miles or so from Vladivostok.

(It’s about 500 miles from Kyiv, Ukraine, to Moscow – not much more distant than Minneapolis to Chicago.)

Geographically, Russia is an immense country – roughly the size of Canada and the U.S. combined.  On the other hand, Russia’s population is less than half that of the United States; and about three times the population of Ukraine….

Of course, Vladivostok would not be in the news except for the fact that Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin were talking in person about some deals.  The in-person meeting had its own messages to the assorted audiences who would see it.

So, we catch a moment when two authoritarians apparently commit to their deal.  Of course, their power will be utterly worthless to them when they die, as they will, as we all ultimately do.

There are few scoundrels in Putin and Kim’s class.  But I could easily write a list of perhaps ten individuals who I’d consider equally or even more dangerous authoritarians – people who control power over people in assorted ways, a few of them in our own country.  Your list may well be similar to mine, but who specifically doesn’t matter.  To whom, including themselves, would more concentration of power make a long term difference?

The reality, it seems to me, is the symbolism of the armored train that Kim Jung Un used to get to the border of Russia.  It demonstrates the constant paranoia about enemies.  They and their ilk are  in prisons of their own making, with only temporary reward.  No thanks.

2. COURT

The Rule of Law has been the hallmark in our countries aspiration to democracy.   It has been and hopefully will continue to be our ideal.  By no means is our Rule of Law perfect.  But it is infinitely better than a Law of Force, such as demonstrated Jan. 6, 2021, and surrounding days following the election of 2020.   It has been a dismal time in our history.

The Rule of Law is deliberately tedious and all about interpretation of evidence, and ultimately left up to a judge (there are over 30,000 of these, state and federal), or a jury of citizens.  Justice takes time, and is foolish to predict outcomes.  I can wait.  But I will follow the process over the coming months and perhaps even years.

I pay a great deal of attention to the legal issues front and center regarding Jan. 6, Mar-a-Lago, Fulton County GA, New York, etc., but   I have devoted very little space to them here.  To the best of my recollection I have not personally used the words “Donald Trump” in this blog since January 2021.   (There have been rare mentions since Jan 2021, and have been in comments by others than myself.). To me, “Donald Trump” is really only the people who voted him into office and still support him.  As an individual, he is nothing – a modern day “Wizard of Oz” behind his media screen, a fraud gifted in front of a microphone.  In my opinion, he will stand alone as the worst president in all of our history as a country.

In progress now are the first of endless court cases which deserve to be watched.  There are  over  1,300,000 lawyers in the U.S.  who will be especially attentive.  Their function is to argue points of law.  So disagreements and losing cases are not alien concepts to them.  Every lawsuit is at some level one versus another.

My continuing mantra: be sure you’re registered to vote, and that you vote well informed in the upcoming elections; and urge others you know to do the same.

 3. MAUI:

This week I came across a 2013-14 calendar I’d kept which featured a series of ancient maps.  I leafed through it, and January was an 1885 map of Maui:

Maui, 1885

If you look carefully, on the far left of the map, there is a circled word, Lahaina, which has immediate meaning in these days.  Here’s a pdf of the  map,  Maui 1885

Lahaina, the site of the recent disastrous fires which gripped us all,  is but a speck on Maui, as Maui is just a speck in the Pacific Ocean.

Detail is important, but it is also important to retain perspective.

(The colors on the map connote ownership in 1885, the green and the yellow were either government or crown properties.  Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1898, a state in 1959.)

4. MISCELLANY:

Of course, there’s always “breaking news”. everywhere.  This week a strike of United Auto Workers began; there is harping about impeaching Joe Biden, etc. etc.  Bad news always sells better than good.

I like to notice the people I have contact with every day, in every context, whether I know them or not.  While there are exceptions, I am struck by how truly decent people are.  It is good grounding in reality.  I would guess others have the same impressions.  We know we’re a polarized society, but I see signs that folks are working on that, one interaction at a time.  There is hope.

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Molly sent an article about Covid vaccination for the upcoming fall season. “There’s a lot of general info & background in this article, fyi. here sounds good to me!” .

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Frank suggests the following:

Father Harry Bury, Maverick Priest was interviewed by Don Olson on Thursday September 14th on KFAI on 90.3 FM’s “Northern Sun New”.

This talk will be archived for 2 weeks.

Play at Landmark “War, Resistance, and Protest: The Trial of the Minnesota 8”  October 5th & 6th – 7 pm | October 7th – 2 pm, 2023      $10

Dick’s note: The play is Frank’s personal story of the  important trial and subsequent imprisonment at the time of Vietnam War protests in the late 60s early 70s.  Frank is a long-time friend, but I did not know him till long after the events of the Trial.

5. RECOMMENDATION:

Like everyone, I’m besieged with information.  Every time I publish a post I say publicly what I consider my self to be – you can see it at upper right: Moderate Democrat.

Over time, I’ve come to rely on several commentators as frequent sources of credible information, especially on politics in general.  I recommend you check out any of these sources, any time.  Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse, on matters of Law; Heather Cox-Richardson, Letters from an American, on matters of public and international policy and history; Jay Kuo, The Status Kuo, on matters of Law; Doug Muder, The Weekly Sift, on general matters of public policy.  There are many other reliable sources, but these are good, reliable, frequent sources of informed analysis.  I especially thank my friend, Joyce, for making me aware of these and many other resources.

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POSTNOTE SEP. 17: Last evening I happened across a very relevant TV program, released May, 2020, which is still accessible.  It was a 2020 William Shatner program on the topic of Cults.  At least take notice of it, here.  I did not seek the program out, but it is very relevant to today….

COMMENTS (see also the end of this post): 

from Howie: Thanks for the geography lesson. Having driven from the Midwest to Seattle and from the Midwest to DC, I have a personal experience with the size of the US, about 3000 mi wide. 5000 mi within Russia takes on a personal scale. I suspect that many who travel at 300 mph, 30k ft above the earth, will not have that personal perspective.

from Darryll:  Early in Trumps rule, I compared him to the Wizard of OZ.  I also compared him to a carnival barker.  I now believe “mob boss” is the best description. I cannot understand the people, I know well, supporting him.  The book, by his niece, describing him is right on the money.

 I believe he and his kind are as much a danger to this country as global warming.  He can be stopped.  I have problems with people who think global warming is not a danger.  I taught the principals of global warming in my classes for many years.

 

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