October 31, 2023

Please see endnote as well.

Halloween eve it snowed overnight, the first of the season, certainly not the last.  Something we look forward to, and then wonder why….  Here’s the view from the garage at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

October 31, 2023

It brings to mind another Halloween: October 31, 1991.  I was in Hibbing at the time.  Halloween night – it was a Thursday – started benignly enough.  I recall a light freezing rain.  And then it started to snow, and snow, and snow…by the time it cleared I recall  nearly three feet of snow.  Paralysis.

Yesterdays did not match this, but whatever, winter has introduced itself once again.

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Three additional brief musings today:

Some weeks ago one of my daughters asked about a painting we have of the old farm house in ND.  This brought memories of a photo moment at that farm house in August, 1972, following the funeral of Grandma Rosa.

Busch farm August 1972 rural Berlin ND

Of course, I’d seen the photo before.  Possibly I’m the one who took it that day.  This time I decided to identify everyone I could in the photo: parents, aunts & uncles, siblings, cousins, inlays, kids, nephews and nieces – three generations, at the funeral of the last of the previous generation, born 1884.  Eight of the “kids” who grew up in that house were there….  It was not an unusual scrum of large families back in the day.

The names aren’t relevant here.  There were 28 in all in the picture; 20 more who were not, some there but AWOL at the time of the photo.  One cousin not yet born.  The person who asked about the painting, is front and center in the photo, walking towards the group, then nearing three years old, now 51 years older.  There have been lots of changes over the years – that is how moments go in all of our lives.

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Monday night, Molly sent her fall poems, “With the leaves turning and falling here in MN, and the first accumulation of snow predicted for tonight (an inch or so, melting soon), it seems like there’s still time for a bit of autumn poetry.” Poetry 2023 Fall.

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October 23, Kathy sent a musing about a ‘road race’ in her town, involving herself and four little kids:

Thought you’d get a kick out of this….
You’ll NEVER believe what I did today!!! I drag raced 4 little kids as I was getting back from my ride around the abbey hill on my etrike😜 They challenged me to race them knowing my trike was electric😂 
They had a lot of chutzpah and were faster than me from the start but the electricity outlasted the kid power. We were neck and neck as I turned down my street. Couldn’t believe I took them up on it but could see they were serious😉
The 2 dads on the street were all in! My friends Sherry and Inga were aghast to see the kids and I racing together!  The kids think my trike is pretty cool😎They would love to ride my trike😉

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Yes, these are not kind and gentle times – we all can see the same news.  But there is a lot of kindness and gentleness out there, and this is another timeout to highlight that.

October 24, 2023

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ENDNOTE: November 4, as promised, I’ll comment on Gaza/Israel one month after October 7.  Here is my original post, if you wish to review it.  Your own opinions are welcome.  Let me know before Saturday.

Le Vent du Nord

There is a great plenty of difficult news out there in our world.  This is an opportunity to take a refreshing and very enjoyable break.

Last Sunday evening we spent a great couple of hours with the Quebec music group Le Vent du Nord.  There was a full house at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis.  The group is celebrating 20 years this year.  My photo isn’t the best, but here they are last Sunday:

Le Vent du Nord, Minneapolis, October 22, 2023. Photo: Dick Bernard

Le Vent du Nord is an incredible group, and better information and some music as well is best accessed at their website and on YouTube.  (My favorite cut from their latest album is Ma Louise.  In YouTube scroll down to find the 7 minute official version sung by the group.)

Take the time to learn a bit about the groups history and accomplishment at the website.  They recently won prestigious recognition in England (Songlines).  Songlines has a very interesting writeup about the group.

Last Sunday was the third time I’ve heard the group in person.  The previous times were 2011 (in Fargo) and 2012 (Minneapolis), both times, brought here by Virgil Benoit.   I had the unexpected task of introducing the group at the Minneapolis performance as Virgil was hospitalized after a car accident. It was the first and only time I’ve had that kind of duty.  Most recently, the band is the background music for a new film on the French and French-Canadians in Minnesota, En Avant L’Etoile du Nord .  Christine Loys film is in English, (trailer is embedded link).  Christine first met the band at the 2012 performance.

The language of the music is all in French, but the band is fluent in English, and the rhythms literally sing.  In a sense, the lyrics translate themselves.  You don’t need to know the language to get the translation.

My Dad was 100% French-Canadian, and his growing up language was only French, but I only learned English.  Makes no difference in getting the drift of the tunes.  The group members are great ambassadors.

Give yourself a gift.  Take a listen.  And if they happen to be in your area, attend the concert.  You’ll be glad you did.

COMMENTS:

from Brian in NYC:  Thanks for sharing. Here’s a live version :). [NOTE; there’s portions of more than just one song….]

I had no idea about your French Canadian connections until I took the time to ready your email.  Fascinating.
As you may know [we] have a log cabin in upstate NY near the Quebec border.  We go up often, and also often visit my Peace Corps hostess mother … near Montreal.   We love it up there.

from Jane in Berkeley: Kind of a cross between bluegrass and Cajun.  Nice break from all the sorrow in the world right now.  And I’m STILL trying to get to North Dakota.  Didn’t realize that your dad was French Canadian.

from Kathy in Oregon: I plan to make it either to Eugene or Lincoln City depending upon the weather 🙂 Thanks for the tip!

from SAK, in London:

Dear Mr Bernard, I was just thinking of you today what with all what’s happening all round!

And here you are with Le Vent du Nord, a group I have enjoyed for decades now. I have to say in little doses since they are very rhythmical & that might get a bit taxing.

Some of the songs are political & this one has certain hints:  Lanlaire

It is obviously Quebecois & not metropolitan French. It is often the case that Quebecois retained & uses words which went out of “fashion” in France just like south Americans still use ancient Spanish words. Very cute how languages evolve.

Well this song fascinates because of the word Lanlaire & how it is used as the name of someone & as sending someone packing (or to the devil or worse 😊).

Here is a translation which doesn’t do it justice

Did you know Lanlaire, whose passing we mourn

We hardly see the like, we don’t see the like of him

Barely was he born when instead of moaning and screaming

He went around, singing in all the neighborhoods

“Go get Lanlaired”, so much was he spoken of

Lanlaire Lonla, go get Lanlaired, go get Lonla!

They put him in a college to learn Latin

He committed sacrilege, he smoked Libertines

And when the severe master condemned him to dry bread

His ordinary food, he answered him in Greek

Go get lost (lanlaired), Lanlaire, that’s all he knew

They tell him go or stay, being a soldier is too frugal

Doctor? you are too modest, trader? you are too loyal

So you want to be a notary, but the cost is high

Since you don’t know how to do anything, be a lawyer or a stock marketer  🙂

Go, get lost, the devil has been there

He only placed wisdom in permitted pleasures

Often changing mistresses, but never changing friends

They wanted him to take a kind wife with a big dowry

Me, he said, I would sell myself and tomorrow the first fool

will send me lanlairing, now what would you say to that!?

He did nothing in his life, so as not to do evil

He was poor without envy, he lived on his native soil

He remained single and even had no children.

If you think you will find many of his descendants on earth

Go get lanlaired, we don’t make the like anymore.

 

 

“MEA”

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

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

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

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

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”

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

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

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

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.