Uncategorized – Page 55 – Thoughts Towards a Better World

Thanksgiving 2020

November 22, 2020/6 Comments/in Uncategorized /by dickbernard

I’m an ordinary citizen. At this difficult time, there are so many people who support, in a great many ways, my own life and those of every one of us. All of them deserve our profound thanks. Let that suffice. Happy Thanksgiving. With gratitude.

Friend Molly periodically sends favorite poetry to a list of friends, including me. Here’s her 2020 Thanksgiving selections: Thanksgiving 2020 Molly (Click to enlarge).

Last week brother John arranged a Zoom call for we assorted family members, and his background was the below photo, which he had skillfully edited to emphasize the magnificent wild turkey in California.

California Turkeys March 17, 2020

I asked John for permission to use the photo, and also for a little more information about his photo: “Taken on Pleasant’s Valley Road between Winters and Vacaville, California on 17 March at about 11:15 in the morning. As I mentioned in the zoom session, this was the area that was completely burned over this August in a lightning caused wildfire.”

My ask of John related to preparing my thoughts for this Thanksgiving writing, and John’s photo reminded me of this 1910 postcard from our ND grandparents collection:

Thanksgiving Postcard from early 1900s, received at the Busch farm rural Berlin ND.

There are endless messages in the above, all pertinent to this day. Just for a single instance: John’s photo was taken at the very beginning of the pandemic we are all enduring, and before one of the catastrophic west coast wildfires this past summer.

For what does one give thanks this year, or any year? Certainly turkeys, their siblings and ancestors wouldn’t be especially happy. (Yes, I eat turkey, and while I always prefer vegetarian.)

This years message, in this year of hundreds of thousands of unexpected death from a deadly disease, still is one of hope for a better future if enough of us apply our own lives lessons from our own pasts.

Autumn, the wonderful manager of my local Caribou coffee place (which has been takeout only since the pandemic began months ago), mentioned in the last few days her grandmothers recent death from cancer.

We were having a brief chat, and as I recall, her home had been the home hospice for grandma, a woman about my age. They wished to give grandma her last days at home.

Autumn was remembering something told her by someone – her Mom? – that all of we humans have two events in common: we are all born; we all die. Then there is all that time in-between, where reality constantly intrudes on our lives….

There are a few who might read this post who have known me – for good or ill – for most of my 80 years, including John.

In thinking about this post, I’ve mostly thought back to what I’ve most always considered the most difficult years of my life, which on reflection were by far the most formative, in a very real sense.

They were very hard times, now many years ago, but they’ve had a lifelong impact on my perspective on life. They were a learning time, a blessing, not a burden.

We’ve all had them…or will….

February 29, 2020, one week before the Pandemic brought our lives to a screeching halt, I was speaking to a group at the Little Canada Historical Society about a small newsletter for French-Canadians I had edited for over 15 years back in the 1980s and 90s. How does one summarize about 1000 pages and 1000 snippets of life in 25 minutes?

I told the group that I had started helping with the newsletter “half a lifetime ago” at the beginning of what I would later, and still, call “the best and the worst year of my entire life.”

I said I thought that many of those sitting in the room probably could remember a personal year list that fit my descriptor.

One lady, at least, got it. I saw her nodding “YES”. I’m sure there were more. Every life’s road has ruts, for everyone.

This Thanksgiving is in the midst of one of those difficult times.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving, especially to Autumn and her crew, and everyone else who is making our lives livable even in these hard times..

NOTES: Related and pertinent is this post, here.

Another post with John’s work is “Paradise” here.

The old French-Canadian newsletter can be found online here. Click on Library, then Chez Nous. The volumes are fully indexed.

Talk on politics? I am extremely concerned, but my opinion can wait till after Christmas. Here’s a column which started my November 24, 2020: “Not Quite Dramatic Capitulation”.

COMMENTS (more at end of post):

from Fred: A terrific Thanksgiving memoir Dick! Thanks! Happy Thanksgiving.

from Jeff: Happy 100th anniversary to the poem that every writer needs to know. Here.

from Sonya, whose done local history in one of my ND counties:

I never ran across much about the Spanish flu or any medical advice given to people in the area. While searching for information on the soldiers from the County who died in WWI, it was heartbreaking to find that many of them died before they even went into combat. Of the WWI names on the memorial stone at the park, more than 50% died from things such as the flu, training accidents, or pneumonia.

As you have probably heard, Covid is raging in the Dakotas (our new nickname is North Dacovid). Our County has been hard hit. Many people we know have had it and recovered, but I’ve heard from multiple sources that every county nursing home resident tested positive, and 14 of them have died in the last 3 months. Every week the local paper has more obituaries than normal.

I hope 2021 brings some normalcy to our lives.

response from Dick: my mother, who grew up on a farm about five miles from where Sonya lives, wrote her memories of growing up about 1980, and said this about the WWI flu: “I think one of the mot traumatic experiences I had happened when I was about nine years old and got the World War I flu. Many people were very sick and some died. I had a very rough siege with that flu and remember when Dr. Salvage came out in some very cold winter weather, in the middle of the night, to keep me from bleeding to death. I don’t remember what he did but I had a very high fever and was bleeding from the nose and I spit out chunks of blood. I think they thought I was gone for sure. I recovered though and it took a long while for me to regain my strength. I can remember having some wild dreams and nightmares and must have been out of my head at least part of the time.” (p. 116 of the Busch-Berning family history, Pioneers, April 2006.)

Lifetime

November 20, 2020/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by dickbernard

Today as part of my daily drive I went by Lifetime Fitness, which had been my daily haunt till Covid-19 closed it in mid-March.

I took a photo.

Lifetime Fitness Woodbury MN Nov. 20, 2020

The parking lot was active this day, though Lifetime will again close as of midnight. Like other businesses it was closed a few months and then reopened for a few, and now it’s closed again.

Personally, I’ve taken a vacation from Lifetime these last few months, preferring my long-time outdoor route. We’re getting into snow-time and daily cold weather, so it won’t be as comfortable as the tread mill with neat videos of walking in scenic areas around the world in perpetual sunlight and perfect summer weather. So be it.

The first day I walked in the park last March, I came across some prairie architecture off the walking path. It utilized assorted deadfalls in the woods – things like tree branches and the like. Every now and then, there were changes: additional ‘structures’, modified designs….

Recently I actually saw some people around the project – some kids and their Dad from one of the houses a short distance away. It was some nice useful activity. Here’s the latest rendition of their “house”: a nice constructive use of time during a terrible health crisis in our world.

In the Carver Park woods, November, 2020

Back in March, 2020, in the same park down the same path I saw a note somebody left which whose sentiments I hope we can subscribe to for as long as it takes.

At entrance to Carver Park walking trail, Woodbury MN April 8, 2020.

There’s nothing funny about Covid-19, but this cartoon from the 2021 calendar (January) from the Union of Concerned Scientists seems appropriate for the occasion.

2021 Center for Science and Democracy Calendar, Union of Concerned Scientists. Artist (c) April Kim Tonin

POSTNOTE: Saturday’s Minneapolis Star Tribune had a front page graphic of Covid-19 in Minnesota. Note especially the November timeline on the right side of the page: Covid-19 and MN 2020 (click to enlarge).

Saturday afternoon I went by the empty parking lot of the local movie theater, which was a popular destination in per-Covid-19 times. It, along with other gathering places in Minnesota, is again shut down for several weeks. As marquee announces: “See you after the shutdown:.

Woodbury theater, Saturday afternoon Nov. 21, 2020. Note the message on the left side of the marquee.

Tonight (Wed 11/18) 7-9 p.m.

November 18, 2020/3 Comments/in Uncategorized /by dickbernard

How do we know Fascism when we see it?. Tonight. Online, no cost. A program of the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota.

I have commented on this before, here.

This is an appropriate topic of interest today, and this is reflected in the media.

Sunday afternoon I saw a long program on National Geographic Channel about Nazi Germany (“Inside the SS”; and “After Hitler”). (National Geographic has a library of at least 10 available programs on Hitlers Germany.)

Last night, the local PBS channel had a program on the first six months of what became Nazi Germany (early 1933). Earlier, PBS has broadcast more than once Rick Steve’s film of European Fascism (Italy, Spain, Germany).

It can happen here…

First Thoughts after the 2020 Election: “Team USA”?

November 15, 2020/5 Comments/in Uncategorized /by dickbernard

This is the first of what will likely be several followup posts on Election 2020 and the future. Previous post here.

First, a commentary and several on-line events, all open to the public and I highly recommend:

This morning, a hard-hitting, easy read, here.

Recently, a. highly respected group I’m part of, Fresh Energy, had its annual breakfast, this year, virtual. Here is the recorded program, including the keynote speaker, for those interested.

Nov. 18 7-9 p.m. CST: note the first two paragraphs of my Oct 23 post entitled “antifa”. An on-line panel discussion: “How do we know Fascism when we see it?” All details in the link, there.

Nov. 19 7-8 p.m. CST: Discussion of the film Made in Bangladesh. Information at https://www.globalsolutionsmn.org, scroll down to Third Thursday Global Films Discussion group.

Nov. 21 7 p.m. A new film on-line: Madan Sara. Haiti. All details at the link.

A local polling place Nov. 3 2020.

FirstThoughts after Election 2020. Team.

This is the first of possibly several posts on this topic. Check back between now and end of November.

As the political donnybrook of 2020 begins to settle, I think back to some simple lessons from athletics:

1 – Ten years ago or so, at my local fitness place, I would follow my time on the tread mill with a few minutes of shooting a few solitary baskets in the gym. If I was there about noon, often there would be a pick-up game, always men, probably on lunch hour, playing out their memories of high school or college ball.

These were always ragged events: dribble, shoot, rebound, dribble…. I was far too old, and short of skills to join the rabble. There was no referee, sometimes anger, sometimes posted rules were violated, doubtless some visitors were disinvited. Passing was an undesirable option. A lunch hour ‘field of dreams”.

This day I think about the occasional visitor who really stood out from the rest of the “team”. This person was big, strong, and a cut above the rest of the tribe on the floor. This guy – there were more than one like this, usually not there at the same time – had one view of reality. Get the rebound, dribble down the court, shoot, repeat.

When he got the ball the court was his. Lesser individuals were just people to run over. They were necessary to validate his efforts, but useless to his idea of ‘team’. The ball was his. Period.

I think of a particular individual in our national political conversation at this moment in our history who resembles this ball-hog. Thankfully, he is being retired. Not so thankfully, he has more than two months to do more very serious damage.

2 – I think of another example, another basketball team which I never saw, but which lives on in memory, since I did see the gym in which they practiced and played, and met the coach.

My Dad was a school teacher in tiny towns in North Dakota. His title was Superintendent, but really he was teaching Principal.

One year, in 1942, he took a job in a tiny school district near Jamestown ND. The story I relate was sometime in the early 1990s when Dad and I visited the town, and he happened across an old man who had been the coach of the town basketball team before Dad arrived. We also visited the long closed school, now someones home. We saw the gym – the baskets still there.

The town team in the early 1940s was legendary, I gathered. Near all the high school age boys, literally, were needed on the team. This coaches teams were always winners. He was a volunteer, a part of the town.

The secret of their success was simple: they were a team.

Their offense was simple: pass, pass, pass. That was their practice. They were boring to watch, I’d guess, since they became expert at passing from one to the other until there was a near sure shot.

On defense, they were tenacious pests to the opponents. Ball stealing was common. Then, pass, pass, pass.

They always won.

WWII closed down the program, I gathered. Boys went in the service. There were other priorities. But they leave a lesson.

Today’s “Team USA” – all of us – has some very hard, hard lessons to learn if we are to have any chance of thriving in the future.

The tribal strong man model is a sure loser.

Being a team will take a great deal of practice. We – everyone – is part of the team called the United States….

There is no other choice.

Armistice Day

November 10, 2020/2 Comments/in Uncategorized /by dickbernard

Directly related post here.

Wednesday, Nov. 11, became Armistice Day when the end of World War I was declared as the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month Nov. 11, 1918. In the United States, in 1954, it was renamed “Veterans Day”.

My mother, in her memories of the North Dakota farm where she grew up, remembered Nov. 11, 1918. On that day she was 9 years old: “The hired girl and I were out in the snow chasing chickens into the coop so they wouldn’t freeze when there was a great long train whistle from the Grand Rapids railroad track [about 5 miles away]. In the house there was a long, long telephone ringing to signify the end of World War I.”

One of Grandpa’s hired men apparently was killed in the war; Grandpa, 37 when the U.S. entered the war, wanted to enlist but his German ancestry was apparently a deterrent – we were at war against Germany. Both Grandma and my Mom had and recovered from the World War I flu, which originated on a farm in Kansas, but which has always carried the name “Spanish flu”.

Such are the stories of war and peace.

Sunday we were at a family birthday party in South St. Paul, and on the yard we saw this:

Nov. 8, 2020 S. St. Paul MN

All of these placards were for named veterans which by now have been picked up by the persons who ordered them. This was a project of my daughter, Lauri. I didn’t count them, but I’m sure there were well over one hundred. It’s a very neat idea.

When I saw the signs my memories went back to an early November day in London in 2001. We were by the Westminster Abbey, and there was a yard full of small crosses, each signifying a casualty of WWI. Below are two photos.

Westminster Abbey Grounds, London, Nov. 5, 2001

This was apparently an annual Armistice Day event (in the Commonwealth, “Remembrance Day”). Here, a small rectangular area was devoted, possibly, to various units who had lost fellow citizens in war. It was somber and moving, and probably greatly enlarged by November 11, a week later.

At the end of our sojourn in London we were at Gatwick airport, waiting to board our flight home. We embarked on Nov. 11. At precisely 11 a.m. an announcement came on the airport PA, asking for 2 minutes of silence in memory. I will never forget how complete the silence was in that immense terminal.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not a purist about War. Sadly, humans will never abolish war for all the reasons we already know.

My allegiance is as a Veteran for Peace; but my background is a family full of military veterans, including myself and my brothers, and a Marine grandson.

Having acknowledged my own ambivalence, war is a fatal malady to which humans, alone among the species, seem addicted.

This year, the 2020 American elections, not yet ended, were like all campaigns I’ve witnessed, using war as a model, full of military references such as “battleground states”. Worse, now we seem to be a nation divided into two tribes in which one ‘side’ must lose, as in the Civil War. We almost reverence division and the need to kill an enemy – yes, our neighbor – whose only sin is to not agree with our side. Mask or not? So it seems to go.

We are victims of our own stupidity.

Most recently, statistics for Covid-19 show 130,553 new cases on Nov. 9, 10.3 million overall in the U.S., 240,000 deaths…. These are numbers you’d see for a very major long-term war, and we don’t seem to care – at least those who think they’ve “won” something or other.

We are all losers, digging an ever deeper hole for our nation. Only we can change the conversation, one effort at a time. This is each of our responsibility.

For this Armistice Day, 2020, a recommendation if you wish: Following is a recommendation from a friend if you wish.

The 2020 Armistice message from Emmanuel Charles McCarthy concludes with this: “This November 11^th— the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice Treaty of WW I by the politicians who started and perpetuated the infamous bloodbath called World War I—between 8 P.M and 9:30 P.M. the heroic Catholic Christian life of Ben Salmon will be presented by Michael Baxter, PhD and discussed with audience participation. The information needed to register to view and participate in this educational event via computer can be located here. Do consider watching and asking others to watch, especially if you are a Christian or a Catholic.” (continued below: “The rest….”

COMMENTS (more at end of post):

from Jeff: If you get a chance watch “They Shall Never Grow Old”, a documentary by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit) really great technical feat that he colorized and reframed old WWI films to modern film speeds, making the soldiers look like humans we would recognize today…..the entire film screenplay is just quotation after quotation from veterans who served, mostly from the UK, but also from Australia, NZ, USA and Canada. Its definitely on HBO, but you might be able to find it on Youtube as well. It functions as a tribute to the vets, and at times to peace as well. Not alot of dwelling on the actual fighting, but enough. More about the total experience.

from SAK, in England: Do take care please Mr Bernard – I know you will!

Wishing you & yours a healthy time ahead cold as it may be.

from Fred: Nice blog piece. I hadn’t thought about those living, during WW1 days, in remote rural districts. They had to rely upon those locals with the ingenuity and ability to spread the word. In Goodhue County, I recall that a large delegation of Zumbrotans hastily organized a celebration with town band and Motor Corp [the Home Guard on wheels] and marched through the streets. They then headed to Pine Island where the locals, already celebrating, followed their own town band out to greet their neighbors. Now united, both groups marched off to Mazeppa.

In the major city of Red Wing, church bells rang for an hour and workers at manufacturing plants tied down steam whistles. Young women of the Lutheran Ladies Seminary, carrying a huge American flag, led a parade down Main Street [it is shown in part on the cover of Patriot Hearts]. Elks Drum Corps led other spontaneous parades during the day. Crowds hanged and trampled effigies of Kaiser Wilhelm, then dragged them through the streets before burning them. A huge collections of combustibles where gathered at the foot of Barn Bluff and set alight. Townspeople burned “Nov 11” into the south facing side of the bluff for all to see. Now that’s a celebration.

from Annelee Woodstrom, author of “War Child, Growing Up In Adolf Hitler’s Germany” (still available on Amazon and it is excellent:)

Dick, Your blog brought memories to me from the other side, also equally misled and eager to die for what Uncle Pepp asked. “For what?”

It was maybe February 1945 . I had been home with terrible tonsillitis, but I needed to get back to work in Regensburg,.

I stopped at Uncle Pepp’s bakery to say good by. To this day, seventy-five years later, I can remember what Uncle Pepp said as I entered his office.

“What can I do for you?”

“Nothing, I came to say good by”

“So good by it is”

I can’t go on with this… If you want ever to use it, Uncle Pepp’s observation is in WAR CHILD, page 122.The fifth paragraph is Mama talking how Papa felt about the war, and then Uncle Pepp’ s feelings goes on to Page 123.I wish I would not have been so young, maybe they would have shared more with me .

Yet, they must have left something with me, because I wrote during February 1960

(comment continued).

Here is the finish,

Papa and Uncle Pepp must have left something with me:

I wrote during February 1968 while the Vietnam War was going on.

I was a student at Moorhead State College, I think it was for an English class.

I remember the comment on my work when I got it back” It is true, I am NOT making that up.

“Annelee, this is not what I ask for. Good, B

KENNY [Annelee’s husband] WAS REALLY UPSET WITH ME, BECAUSE I SPOKE OUT AGAINST THE WAR, AND I TOLD HIM THAT IF ROY [their son] WOULD HAVE HAD TO GO, I WOULD HAVE GONE TO CANADA WITH HIM AND SANDY [their daughter] BECAUSE I DIDN’T BRING MY CHILDREN INTO THIS WORLD TO LIVE LIKE I HAD TO. OF COURSE I KNEW ROY WOULDN’T HAVE TO GO, BECAUSE OF HIS EYE INJURY. I STILL CAN HEAR KENNY, “ANNELEE, DON’T SAY IT JUST THINK IT!

WHAT I WROTE IS BEFORE THE TABLE OF CONTENTS IN WAR CHILD. OH, THE MEMORIES YOUR BLOG BROUGHT BACK!

from Jeff, again: I am very pessimistic about the next 90-120 days. we are setting records on hospitalizations now, which was based

on people likely infected 3-5 weeks ago…when daily new infections were at 50,000 per day.

yesterday we had 140,000 new cases. Deaths will go up, but the death % may go up because healthcare resources are going

to be extremely stressed, especially in rural areas.

Time for you to review the 2nd wave of the Great Influenza back in 1919. [from Dick: simply google the 1918 flu pandemic]

also from Jeff: Another day, another COVID-19 case record in Minnesota…— the second-highest one-day total yet after yesterday’s record 56 deaths — were reported Thursday in Minnesota. Health officials reported 292 new hospital admissions, also a single-day record.

from Jermitt: Thanks, Dick for your thoughtful message. Thanks also to your daughter, and those who have written in response to your message. Like you and the others, I’m opposed to war or military action that requires people putting their lives at risk. I too served four years in the army. I was a nurse in the army and was responsible for mending those who were ill or injured. But as you know my real calling was to be a teacher. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and your wisdom.

from Sandy: I looked your blog and photos and writings over and it was great Dick…what memories Thanks for sharing Hope you and family are stay safe and healthy.

from David: Here is a Veteran’s Day piece from the New York Times’ ongoing “At War” series. The author talks about why he enlisted and his discomfort with the “Thank you for your service” meme. Also, I found the comparison of soldiers with schoolteachers interesting. Opinion | A Veteran’s Search for Meaning – The New York Times

from Darleen: I find it interesting that many other Presidents did not serve in the military — only one is mentioned. I do like Trump and will always believe that he is the best Pres and Obama one of the worst.

response from Dick: I am just going from memory, so this may be incorrect, about military veterans as President in my lifetime: Franklin Roosevelt early contracted Polio, of course, making military service not an option, his four male children were all in the military; his Uncle Theodore Roosevelt was in military and all of his sons served; Harry Truman was a Captain in WWI; Dwight Eisenhower was of course highly distinguished military in WWII; JFK was in WWII; Jimmy Carter was a naval officer on nuclear submarines; George H.W. Busch was a military veteran; I think his son George was in the service, though it was controversial for some, and not regular military; Joe Biden’s son, Beau, served with distinction..

The rest of McCarthy’s Nov. 6 e-mail is here:

Today, around the world those who know about World War I stand appalled at the misery and destruction of life that the mindless callousness of aristocrats, politicians, religious leaders and generals of that time poured into the lives of tens of millions of human beings. It is universally perceived that this foray into industrial based human slaughter was a moral abomination.

However, Cardinal James Gibbons, the biggest of the big-time players in the U.S. Catholic hierarchy in 1917, under the auspices of some spiritual authority he erroneously thought he had from Jesus, wrote to President Woodrow Wilson after the U.S. declared war on Germany, that the Catholic Church, its priests, its religious and its lay people will henceforth be committed to maiming and killing German Catholics and Protestants in Europe: “Our people, as ever, will rise as one man to serve the nation. Our priests and consecrated women will once again, as in every former trial of our country, win by their bravery, their heroism and their service new admiration and approval…. We are all true Americans, ready to do whatever is in us to do for the preservation, the progress and triumph of our beloved country.”

Living as we do today in a time when it is apparent how easily, quickly and thoroughly the media can generate hate towards people and division among people, we can easily imagine and understand what an isolated human being, Catholic , Protestant or atheist, would encounter if in 1917 he or she resisted the call to arms by the government, by the mass media and by the institutions of what is called the government’s “trust system”, e.g. Churches, Synagogues, private and public schools, religious and secular universities, celebrities, the Knights of Columbus, Masons, the Elks, the Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis Club, etc., which it has at its disposal to verify government propaganda as Gospel truth. With such an assault on the misinformed or uninformed media-shaped minds of the ordinary citizen who would dare say that the sinking of theLusitania was not the sinking of a passenger ship but of a ship loaded with weapons and munitions camouflaged as a passenger ship? Who would dare say going to war against a nation who would engage in such a savage act—and multitudes of other media concocted savageries besides—was morally wrong? For a Christian to stand up and say, “No,” to following Cardinal Gibbons or President Wilson would not only be foolhardy and a waste of time, it would be bringing down on oneself all the misery and even death that the government and its “trust system” institutions could muster.

However, a married Catholic Christian with a family in Denver, Colorado, by the name of Ben Salmon did just that and suffered the consequences of not “going along and getting along” with the summons to mass homicide by U.S. government leaders, by the U.S. Church leaders, by the U.S. media moguls—and by his enraged fellow Christians and citizens full of hate of the enemy.

Today…and all tomorrows

November 7, 2020/3 Comments/in Uncategorized /by dickbernard

This morning I think back to a long ago church service I remember vividly.

In my tradition (Catholic) each Sunday there is a Gospel reading from the Christian scripture, followed by a homily by the Priest based on the scripture.

On this particular Sunday, a visiting Priest read the text which includes the phrase “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Mark 12:31 – my grandmothers 1911 Catholic Bible).

Then the Priest sat down, And sat, and sat, and sat….

He didn’t say a word.

Then the Mass continued, without comment.

I’ve always remembered that wordless homily. Maybe he just wanted us to think about where each one of us fit into the meaning of this word.

If you’re interested, in the post I started Nov. 3, and completed early on Nov. 7, is available here.

Sometime after the Presidential race is decided, I’ll write my personal opinion about the future.

Presidential inauguration is Jan 20, 2021

The 117th Congress convenes Jan. 3, 2021

COMMENTS (more at end of post):

from SAK in Europe: Excellent, love it!

from Barry: Yaaaaay! Rejoice!

from Laura: Time to celebrate, Dick!!!

from Paul: Being a pk [peachers kid] and caring about my faith traditions and my Dad’s life calling I learned about the 3 year common lectionary from him. I also remember Peter Eichten giving the “pre-mass” talk and asking, “is Joan of Arc [Catholic Church] too political, No” and then feigning sitting down, there’s a lot of power in simplicity and silence, “Love thy Neighbor” is always a challenging one and big enough to stand alone on those 3 words. We are all so happy with the election results, the sense of relief is massive across our country. Have a great week!

from Susan: I guess I can love my neighbor but not the things he says or does. Like I can love my children but not some of the things they do or say. As it is with Biden, I cannot love the fact that he subscribes to killing babies. Apparently, in his “quasi Catholic” faith he does not value the right to life. Shame on him or anyone who can vote for him. Trump is rude and crude, but at least he is pro-life. I could never vote for anyone who is not pro-life.

Response to Susan from Dick: There is another biblical verse: Judge not lest you yourself be judged, or words to that effect. Sorry, I happen to have huge respect for Biden. The ‘baby killer’ word seems to be going around again. I’ve heard it from someone in North Dakota, and Illinois, and now you. “What WOULD Jesus do?” Who judges what a “real Catholic” as opposed to a quasi Catholic is? I don’t think all pro-lifers are pro-life, by the way. Sorry I’m short with you, but you’re insulting me (probably without knowing you were). Here’s what I wrote about abortion years ago – I’ve been following this topic for many years.). Oct 12, 2009: Abortion. Read it carefully.

Response to Susan from Carol: My cousin who lives abroad sent out an e-mail to relatives asking those who supported Trump to explain why. This is part of my response (now updated, as THANK GOD Biden won):

We have a tantrum-throwing, self-serving, corrupt, dangerous toddler in the White House. Four more years of this and we either would not even have had an election or, more likely, the results of it would’ve been pre-determined, and no one would have any confidence left in their vote making any difference. (You know, like those “other” countries we’ve always shaken our heads about…)

This country has been going to hell and all I ever hear as far as excuses from some of you is abortion. Abortion isn’t going away, no matter who is on the Supreme Court. Trump has been so using you on this issue (one thing, at least, which he’s brilliant at).

Saying that Biden (or anybody else, anywhere) supports abortion makes my blood boil. [And that Biden, “Subscribes to killing babies” is a totally despicable thing to say.] I am pro-choice. And I hate abortion. I wish there were never need for another one. But my lifetime view on this (in spite of the fact that my upbringing was rightwing evangelical conservative) was formed early on when my young neighbor/friend had to drop out of school because her drunken father raped and impregnated her. This was before Roe v. Wade, and with 12 kids, her family was dirt-poor. It surely was impossible to travel to another state or country for an abortion. Even then, I knew that was wrong. I have other stories…

The article [linked here] is terrifying to me. Our country just dodged a very big bullet (altho’ it’s not yet over). And still we have the “one-issue voters.” Incredible. Life is not all black-and-white – altho’ maybe it’s easier if you don’t have to think. And I agree that “prolife” is often a misnomer.

Voting 2020: A Potpourri

November 3, 2020/1 Comment/in Uncategorized /by dickbernard

This post has numerous parts, thus “potpourri”. Browse through, check out what you wish.

Pre-note 4:30 a.m. Nov. 6, 2020: Overnight, “Rage Against the Inevitable”. As I noted yesterday, “my next election post will likely come after there is [some relatively reasonable] consensus on who is declared winner of the Presidential election.” Blogging will continue, including on politics. Check back each week.

Pre-Note Nov. 5: This post is really a potpourri of items about the election I found of interest till election day itself. It began before the polls opened on Nov. 3 and continues. I’d suggest simply scrolling through and looking at whichever you might find interesting. And most of all I suggest you stay engaged as a citizen. We are all called on to be “President” of this country in which we live. Avant! (Forward!)

The Nov. 5 Just Above Sunset summarizes post election thus far: The New Longest Day.

My next election post will likely come after there is at least consensus on who is declared winner of the Presidential election.

Nov. 6 from JoAnn Ward, my former State Representative: Greetings in this time of uncertainty. I became involved with Braver Angels (previously Better Angels) while serving in the MN House. Please consider signing the letter, and joining me in the work of a higher partisanship – for the maintenance of our Union. Call, email, or text me with questions, or to share the work. I’d love to hear from you.

I am a moderator for the workshops, and I invite you to explore the Braver Angels website to learn of the many ways to connect with others who are also on this journey.

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory … will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.
— Abraham Lincoln, 1861

“Life is short, and we do not have too much time to gladden the hearts of those who travel with us, so be quick to love and make haste to be kind.”

Henri-Frederic Amiel

“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” Denis Waitley

“So let us begin a new remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.” John F Kennedy

POSTNOTE Nov. 7, 2020: Just Above Sunset: Such a Shame.

There has been numerous comments to my Oct. 23 post: “Antifa”. In particular I’d recommend revisiting the link at the beginning of the post to the website of the Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, for information on past and upcoming programming on its Fascism in Minnesota in the 1930s. Information in the following two sections: “How Do We Know Fascism When We See It?” “Brooks Turner: Legends and Myths of Ancient Minnesota”. There is an important on-line live discussion on Nov. 18 7-9 p.m. Details at Brooks Turner section. The previous talk by Brooks Turner may be on the WAM YouTube channel. The talk was very interesting.

During the month of October, through Election Day, I created a blog including the front page headlines of the Minneapolis Star Tribune for each day. That post is here.

Last week, a. highly respected group I’m part of, Fresh Energy, had its annual breakfast, this year, virtual. Here is the program, including the keynote speaker, for those interested.

Originating Post Nov. 3, 2020: Today is Election Day. The first polls open in about 10 minutes.

I’ll publish the first part of this before the polls open on the east coast, and not make any amendments or additions till after the stateside polls close, which for me, means tomorrow. I cast my ballot by mail in early October. Anyone who knows me or reads this blog knows where I stand and why, and has for some months now.

This is easily the oddest election in my lifetime, at minimum. I’ll have opinions to share later. In the interim some thoughts on voting, below. And for the history buffs, the summary I did of the very long month deciding the 2000 Presidential election involving George W. Bush and Al Gore. At your leisure, here is the 20 pages: U.S. President Election 2000.

Here’s what the overnight Just Above Sunset summarizes as the last day of campaigning ended yesterday: When Less Is Never More.

A following post will be my own musing on my history as a voter in the United States of America since I turned 21 in 1961 (21 was then the voting age). Have a good day.

*****

Added Nov. 4, 2020:

front page of Sunday July 15, 2001 New York Times. This is the first part of a several page report in the New York Times about the controversy in the 2000 election.

Also, a Nov 1, 2020, New York Times report on voter suppression: “Why Are Republicans So Afraid of Voters?” Voter Suppression NYTimes 11:1:20

COMMENTARY FROM GERMANY

Oct. 6, 2020 from Annelee in rural Minnesota: The email on Trump is from my niece, [who lives] near Munich, Germany. There are no words I can add, only sadness when I look at the Trump signs around my home. Will people wake up too late?

Hello Aunt Annelee,

You wanted to know what Germans think about Trump.

Well, only ridicule and malice. What more can you say about such a theater. we are sitting together at work and teasing and laughing at Trump. No one can understand how the American people endure this man. Only lies and stupidities come out of Trump’s mouth. Here is a report on Trump. All morning, the reporters ridicule and tease Trump on the radio and TV. Really funny. The Germans are slowly starting to care less who becomes president in America. This is your president. We are a sovereign state that no longer lets America dictate what we should and should not do. It won’t be a good time. the transatlantic relationship has ruined Trump. We Germans will survive this, we are a strong people and have survived very different, worse times. we will also survive Trump’s sanctions and make our politics and not those that Trump would like to have for Germany. The politics for Germany is made in Germany and not in the USA. Such a madness. Was it all just fake and Trump has no COVID at all or is this man really just insane when he has COVID, how irresponsible. This is supposed to be the most powerful man in the world, this is a madman and clown. COVID is extremely contagious and can be fatal. How many people have to die in the US before anyone wakes up in the US? Without words.

The situation in the morning

President on steroids

By Roland Nelles , US correspondent

Dear reader, good morning,

Today we are dealing with Donald Trump’s return to the White House

06.10.2020, 06.07 a.m.

Between madness and reality

To the outside world, what is currently happening in the United States may seem bizarre or curious, maybe even laughable. For many people who live in the country, however, the situation is no longer funny.

The handling of the coronavirus by US President Donald Trump and his entourage in the White House is becoming more and more delusional. As things stand, Trump has apparently discharged himself from the hospital because he wants to prove to the whole world what a strong guy he is and how harmless the virus is from his point of view. When he returned to the headquarters of power, he posed on the balcony of the White House for the photographers without a mask .

Donald Trump on his return from the hospital

Donald Trump on his return from the hospital Photo:

from Germany Oct 6, 2020 SCOTT / REUTERS

They are images like from a Hollywood autocrat parody , but they are real. Trump gives the fearless fighter to win the November 3rd election. At the same time, he further downplays the danger posed by the virus: “Do not be afraid of Covid! Do not let it dominate your life!”, Trump tweeted to his compatriots. “I feel better than 20 years ago.”

In particular, the relatives of the more than 200,000 Americans who have died of the disease in recent months are likely to wonder more than ever whether their Commander in Chief still has all the cups in the cupboard. The US journalist colleague Gloria Borger commented: “If 1,000 people died every day in plane crashes, would the president also say, don’t you fear flying?”

Trump’s doctors have indicated that the president is doing much better, but that he is not yet out of the woods. Trump apparently takes steroids , according to the hospital , which experts say can lead to extreme activity, mood swings and sleep disorders in some patients . Feelings of megalomania are also said to have occurred.

What exactly triggers the treatment at Trump is not clear. Either way, it’s not a particularly comforting feeling to know that the most powerful man in the world is under the influence of drugs that could have the mentioned side effects.

COMMENTS (more at end of the page)

Nov. 3 from a good friend in England: Many thanks Mr Bernard I just read your blog & Just Above Sunset.

A year of election fever. 4 years of tweets, bluster & lies.

I can see my old English literature teacher, who assigned us Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, rolling his eyes as was his wont, and perhaps quoting from that very book:

“That will do extremely well, child. You have delighted us long enough.”

Or as Juliet said (according to Shakespeare): “Wilt Thou Be Gone?”

In this context less is definitely more.

Nov. 3 from Kathy: Nice grounding experience to be working at the polls today. Despite the fact that 70% of our precinct voted ahead of time there were 50 folks in line when we opened at 7:00am in St Louis Park.

Steady all day since then. No drama, just determination and commitment to participate. To vote.

Grateful to be here.

Nov. 7, from Flo, responding to Joann’s Braver Angels above:

I didn’t want another four years of Trump, but I’m really concerned about how the US will overcome the very seriously divided government we now have from a very contentious election. An acquaintance of ours here asked to meet with us in early August to discuss our politics. We agreed, believing that we could share our perspectives respectfully. Unfortunately, his agenda was to tell us how wrong we were to be Democrats. When we parted company on the matter in mid-October, he was convinced that our nation needs to split between conservatives and liberals, two nations where we’ve been one since the Declaration of Independence. Yes, like the split that led to the Civil War. I’m still shaking my head about his anger directed particularly toward me for not understanding why it had to be the outcome! Yes, we live in a very red rural area of Minnesota. What do you think?

(2, also from Flo) Several Leagues in your area, including Woodbury, I believe, have been engaged in the Braver (Better) Angels initiative. Let me know if they still are. It would be an incredible uphill battle to get one going here. For a couple of conversations we had with the guy who wants to divide the US, a guy who had promoted “Conversation Leading to Understanding” joined us. That didn’t go well, either. All I can say is that we tried.

Response to Flo from Dick: A suggestion to you, personally. You are very astute and aware of the politics in your area. Probably best to start conversations with people who you know to be more moderate. I used to say ‘’each one, reach two” – I’ve decided two was too ambitious. If we each tried to reach one, more doable.

Headlines

November 2, 2020/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by dickbernard

At this space, in my October 2 post, I said this: “It is my intention to take a vacation from this space for at least the next month (through the election)”. As I began this post (October 7), I was already finding this a difficult task. There were 11 posts then to now. I let you know about three. No apologies.

What I decided to do was simply copy the main front page headlines from my morning paper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, for each day of the past month. It’s as close to Twitter I will ever come. On occasions, there are secondary headlines from the same page, if directly related to the main head.

PRE-NOTE: We have subscribed to the “STrib” for many years. Headlines and their placement, of course, reflect the newspapers assessment of the important news of the day, and reflect the general editorial slant of the publisher. I think the Strib would currently assess itself as moderate right, traditional conservative Republican. Most of its endorsements for national office this round have been for Democrats, including for President.

Here they are.

Thu Oct 1: “Trump’s new foe – the election”

Fri Oct 2: “TRUMP HAS VIRUS”

Oct 2 came this e-mail, in relevant part:

“I was visiting with one of my teen [friends who] WAS an ardent Trump supporter. She commented that this “testing positive for the virus” may all be a farce so that Trump can drop out of the remaining debates after his horrible showing.”

[Nov. 2: I still struggle with the lack of verifiable evidence of Trump’s disease and treatment. As I understand it, in addition to the usual privacy of medical records, there is the matter of Non-disclosure agreements which may be in effect. At any rate, we will probably never know the real story.]

Sat Oct 3: “TRUMP HOSPITALIZED”

Sun Oct 4: “Crucial 48 hours for Trump”

Mon Oct 5: “Mixed messages on Trump”

Tue Oct 6: “Return downplays peril”. “Hospital cuts close COVID facility.”

This date an e-mail from our friend Annelee in rural Minnesota. Annelee just turned 94, and grew up and until age 20 lived in Adolf Hitler’s Germany. Her e-mail contents are the post you can find here.

Wed Oct 7: “Trump tries to regain ground”. “Rate of COVID-19 unknowns reach new high.”

Thu Oct 8: “Wisconsin clamping down” [Covid-19]; “Stark differences on pandemic” [Harris-Pence debate]

In the Harris-Pence debate, which I watched, I most noted Pence’s assertion and false equivalence with Obama’s alleged inaction on the Swine Flu virus in 2009. Here is how the Center for Disease Control reports on it. This flu originated in the U.S., three months after Obama became President and did affect huge numbers of people – over 60,000,000 – with about 12,000 deaths (over 220,000 deaths and over 8 million cases from Covid-19 so far). Here are the worldwide statistics on Covid-19.

Fri Oct 9: “Trump calls for arrest of his foes. He identifies Obama, Biden and others.” “Militia kidnap plot targeted MI governor.” [The arrest of white nationalists in Michigan yesterday reminds me of an article I saw and saved from the Sep 25, 2000, USNews and World Report. You can read it here (2 pages): USNews 9-25-2000001]

Sat Oct 10: “Alarm over plan for poll ‘guards'”

Sun Oct 11: Covid-19 “Case record fuels worry statewide”

Mon Oct 12: “GOP races to confirm high court pick”

Tue Oct 13: “[Supreme Court nominee] Barrett vows fairness; Dems zero in on ACA [Affordable Care Act]” “2nd COVID peak hits hard, wide.”

Wed Oct 14: “[Amy Coney] Barrett elusive on ACA, Roe, election” [Affordable Care Act. Roe: Women’s right to choose.]

Thu Oct 15, above the fold: “Daily [Covid-19] deaths return to June peak”. “[Supreme Court nominee] Barrett defers on presidential powers”. “Virus resurgence sends shudders across Europe.” “Marking birthday [George] Floyd never had.”

Fri Oct 16: “Jobless rate falls as many stop looking.” “Schools feeling surge in COVID-19.”

Sat Oct 17: “State [Minnesota] virus cases up 50% in week”. Election-Day Fervor, Every Day”

This evening we watched Rick Steves Fascism in Europe on public television, about Germany, Italy and Spain. Yes, it can happen here and in some ways eerily reminiscent of the tactics used by Hitler, Mussolini and Franco in the 1930s. We, the people, need to be complicit for autocracy and fascism to succeed even in the short term.

Thursday I watched the outstanding documentary “Prosecuting Evil, The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz”. Mr. Ferencz prosecuted war criminals at Nurnberg after the German surrender in 1945. The film is easily available and worth watching.

Sun Oct 18: “Trend in [Covid-19] cases signals ‘dark days’ “

Mon Oct 19: “So long, old friend” [about the death of legendary twin cities sports reporter, Sid Hartman]

Tue Oct 20: “Minn. case growth outpaces testing” [Covid-19]

Wed Oct 21: “Justice Dept. offers training to MPD” [Minneapolis Police Department]

Thu Oct 22: “New [Covid-19] virus deaths tie 1-day record.” “Officials out to foil poll “armies”.”

Fri Oct 23: Final Presidential Debate “Final arguments on virus, race, jobs”. “Four officers in [George] Floyd case will go to trial.”

Sat Oct 24: “Boogaloo linked to 3rd Precinct assault.” “Masks could easily save 100,000 lives.” “Early turnout shatters records.”

Sun Oct 25: “IN GRIEF, A PLEA TO THE POLICE.” “Workers return warily to the office.” “Weekly virus toll is highest in months.”

Mon Oct 26: “COVID, heart attacks a deadly combo”. “As his aides test positive, Pence is going to Hibbing”. “National discourse on race is echoing in presidential election”

Tue Oct 27: “Barrett sworn in [for Supreme Court] amid lingering bitterness.” “[Gov.] Walz says next weeks critical in COVID-19 stand”

Wed Oct 28: “Schools improvise as virus spreads.” “[Gov] Walz: Every option on table for deficit.”

Thu Oct 29: “Another wave of shutdowns.” “Minnesotans urged to take care for vote, Halloween.” “Teachers buckling under pandemic workload.”

Fri Oct 30: “Court puts late ballots on hold.” “Record day for COVID numbers.”

Sat Oct 31: “As clock ticks down, rhetoric ramps up.” “Record 738 virus cases in hospitals.” “Already cast vote [in MN]: 1.6M and counting.”

Sun Nov 1: All the front page headlines: “Tested like never before.” “Runaway October for state [COVID-19] infections.” “At a crossroads, U.S. is choosing its future.” “‘COVID Paradox’: Jobs, no workers.” “N. Dakota sounds late virus alarm.”

Mon Nov 2: “Parties scour state for last-minute votes.” “Hormone Boost Could be Covid-19 Key.” “Don’t expect a winner on Nov. 3.” “Senate control takes cue from top.”

Tue Nov 3: “A rush to finish early voting.” “DOJ to monitor in Mpls. for first time since 2004.” “Trump stokes more fear of fraud.”

Wed Nov 4: “BALLOT OVERTIME.” “3 key heartland states still counting.” “Biden takes Minnesota; Smith retains her Senate seat.”

I personally was amazed that voting turned out to be very orderly and even quiet on Election Day. No reports of problems. A couple of drive-by’s seemed to indicate that there were no significant lines on Election Day.

Thu Nov 5: missing

Fri Nov 6: “DECISION DAY” “Last states set to complete counts”. Biden closes on victory; Trump baselessly attacks result.”

Sat Nov 7: “DOING THE MATH.” “Biden lead grows,, but race not called.” “Trump’s bids to overturn results in court fall flat so far.”

Sun Nov 8: “BIDEN WINS.” “Harris makes history as Vice President.” “‘This is the time to heal, ‘ president-elect tells nation.”

Mon Nov 9: “Health Workers Told: cut Quarantine short.” “Biden starts his transition as virus rages.”

Tue Nov 19: “Walz plans focused virus rules.” “Vaccine trial shows early sign of promise.” “Restrictions to target top sources of spread.”

Paradise

November 1, 2020/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by dickbernard

Remembering a disastrous fire.

Oct 25, my brother John, who’s an avid explorer, sent a note with several photos, from the former Paradise. Here are his notes, followed by a few comments.

“…. California, that is

Two years after the big burn that pretty much wiped out this town of several thousand that was nestled in the pines in the foothills.

A local artist took advantage of a burned out big tree to craft this carved Phoenix rising – maybe someday it will. But not for now the hillside behind shows the devastation of the fire.

Previous downtown area is about 90% burned out shells or cleared concrete pads.

Some green and nice area survived but it’s going to be decades before anything gets back even close to normal.”

I wrote back to John:

“Your mention of Paradise brought back a memory from our AMTRAK trip [June, 2019].

We were waiting for the train at Salem [OR], ready for the final leg to Davis [CA]. An old guy (older than me), was waiting for the same train, heading to LA [Los Angeles] area. He was very fit for his age, hispanic, very articulate, his muscle shirt revealed a very prominent Marine tattoo. He was so proud of his Marine grandson, who had not long before completed Marine boot camp, and wore Grandpa’s belt at the graduation. He was very talkative, and told us he and his wife had been in the Paradise fire and lost everything. They survived. Within a month, she was waiting to see a doctor and died of a heart attack in the doctors office. He wasn’t over it, that’s for certain. I wanted to take a picture, but it wasn’t appropriate, I felt. I picture the guy in my mind as I write. We weren’t in the same part of the train as he, so we never saw him again.

Stay safe.

Just talked to [son] Tom who said the Rocky Mountain fire in Colorado is the biggest ever in the state. He thought it might end soon, as they’re expecting several inches of snow in the mountains. Apparently not so in your area.”

A couple of other comments came on screen from others in the family: “It’s a heartbreaking tragedy. Hope survivors have found peace in wherever they’re living now.” “Paradise as a home in the forest comes with some huge downside risk. I suspect more than a few are rethinking the joys and pleasures of life in the forest preserves where you’re one match away from tragedy and disaster. Risk is omnipresent and takes prudent balancing wherever you hang your hat.”

November 1, 2020: I’ve thought a lot about the sentence which precedes this one: “Risk is omnipresent…hang your hat.” It is true that we spend a lot of time, if we have that luxury, of trying to assure safety of whatever is important to us. It is also true that sometimes we go to great lengths in the opposite direction of safety – sometimes with intention, sometimes not. If you take a few moments, I would guess that everyone can list examples of each in your own life; things that worked, or didn’t.

Long ago, in my working years, I ‘burned out’ (I didn’t know that at the time), quit my job, and ended up unemployed for a full year. It was an opportunity to restore and regroup, but at the end it was terrifying. It was literally half a lifetime ago – near 40 years. I often reference that time as “the best and worst year of my life”. There were worse, and obviously there were better. It happened. Here I am.

At the beginning of that year of unemployment I happened to be visiting my sister and family at their home and went with them to their church on Sunday. In the church bulletin that day was a short essay on Risk which has always spoke to me and I’ve used often, and which I offer to you now. An opportunity, if you wish, to reflect on how risk has impacted on your own life. Have a great life.

I am not sure of the authorship of this quotation. It is sometimes attributed to Leo Buscaglia, sometimes ‘anonymous’. In the source I saw it, there was no specific attribution. Whatever, the thoughts are of value.

White Nationalist

October 31, 2020/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by dickbernard

The following is being published today (Oct. 31) and will be a link to the Antifa post of Oct 23. This arrangement is intentional; the posts are directly related.

Pre-note: Today (Oct. 24) the top headline in the Minneapolis StarTribune was “Boogaloo linked to [Minneapolis] 3rd Precinct [police station] assault”. Gandhi Mahal restaurant was one very easy block from the 3rd precinct. It perhaps may never be provable, but I continue to believe that Boogaloo or their partners in crime were involved in the mayhem after George Floyds murder on May 25.

Oct. 9 I sent this note to those on my blog list:

“Yesterday’s reveal of a plot to kidnap the Michigan Governor reminds me of the article (click to enlarge): USNews 9-25-2000001. I read in a laundromat on September 24, 2000, (two weeks after 9-11-01). The magazine was published a year before 9-11.

Yes the magazine was a year old when I saw it. Yes, I was in a laundromat washing heavy rugs at the time and a headline on the cover caught my eye.

Above is the link to the two page article. Take the time. Remember, this was written 20 years ago.”

Here are the responses received to the article.

from Barbara Oct 9: Thanks for sharing this 20 year old article. Now they have had 20 more years to spread and organize their hate. And stockpile “guns.”

from Maria Oct 9: Thank you Dick, I am donating to the Southern poverty Law Center since, probably, over thirty years. Since the day after President’s 2016 inauguration, one of my posters, in peaceful demonstrations, said on one side “NO ALT RIGHT” and on the other “ NO KKK “.

from Emmett Oct 9: A scary world that has not changed much in 20 years. Hope you and all your family are doing well.

from Mike Oct 9: Very scary next few months. Hoping for a peaceful transition of power, but not at all confident it will happen.

from Molly Oct 9: Good Morning, Dick, and yes, this is chilling stuff–and the depth this has reached in this country is horrifying. Indeed, that article [here] from the National Review that I sent a week or so ago about the decline in required classes in Civics or American Government nails, I think, a lot of the root cause of some of this garbage… Yes– that old saying “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” seems evidenced here, too…As does a lot of the writing of George Orwell…

from Norm Oct 9: Those folks are always out there as well as among us waiting for an opportunity to make a dramatic splash to be seen and to be hear and, in their eyes at least, to be feared and not ignored.

Unfortunately, Donnie has empowered them with his many words and actions as well as his too few words and actions to be bold and open about their intentions.

from Steve Oct 9: Really disturbing reading. A country as large as this one, with such freedom of mobility, and personal freedoms (a good thing, often taken advantage of, often misused or misunderstood) is vulnerable. Vigilance, personal responsibility, and a commitment from all of us to the purposes and aspirations of our government (of constitutional authority) is so important. We’ve often let trust and active discussion be clouded and assailed.

I hope we can weather this storm. The weather reports have been troubling.

from Fred Oct 9: Just read the article. It reminds me that the director of the FBI—name escapes at the moment—noted a couple of weeks ago that far right extremists and racists are currently the greatest danger we face. I see today that some of the men arrested were among those at the earlier protest at the state capitol. They were the guys carrying long guns.

There were informants operating inside the militia cell in question so that is encouraging. Commie (and constitution) Buster J. Edgar Hoover riddled the US Communist party with his agents and did the same with the KKK. One hopes that tradition is continuing with improved safe guards to prevent over-reach.

from Jermitt Oct 9: We will continue to be plagued with these individuals as long as trump is around, and beyond, I’m afraid. Michigan as well as a few other states have been havens for these criminals………open carry laws have been an issue as well.

from Peter Oct 9: Locally, my community’s school is falling apart from the relentless assault on education. But people don’t experience it as that, they look to themselves or others for the causes of their distress.

I think organized society is in serious danger of collapse long before the bad weather knocks us down. The collective version of “fight or flight” is not well understood, but it is extremely powerful.

from DH Oct 9: I wish the names of those involved with the Russian Hoax would be released before Nov 3. The documents of proof were recently unclassified so will be released soon. You will notbelieve the names because they are all prominent Democrats.

from Chuck: That article is amazing…in that nothing really changed…except for getting worse. That old saying… the only thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history…needs to be edited. We don’t remember what we should have learned for our own survival. One thing I question I want to ask white supremacist… “Do you know how monocultures work out?”

from Lillian Oct 10: [I] read this article on the militants. It is scary especially in light of the recent near Kidnapping attempt of the Michigan Governor. It seems so much of the news implies these hate groups are new or are here because of Trump. As evidenced by this article, they’ve been around for a long time. They are definitely bolder with Trump in the Whitehouse and probably adding to their numbers.

I am reading See No Stranger by Valarie Kaur. It talks of how to change in these days. For a quick listen, check out her speech at the National Moral Revival Watch Night. So inspiring. “What if this darkness is not the darkness of the tomb but the darkness of the womb”

from David Oct 9: Thanks for sending this. In 1967, when I was in college (U of M., Duluth), Norman Lincoln Rockwell, then head of the American Nazi Party, was invited to speak at the student center. There was a bit of protest about providing such a person a forum. In the end, he was allowed to speak. He showed up in his full Nazi regalia. There were a few hundred in the audience, mostly students who treated him as a clown, hooting and laughing throughout his speech. I felt that anyone who saw and heard this guy would immediately see him as a joke. However, had I a better sense of history, I would have known that Rockwell, and people like him, need to be treated seriously. Whether he believed his own “shtik,” plenty of others did, and still do.

Unlike 1967, people like Rockwell no longer communicate their message to hundreds at a time but now are able to reach millions with the tap of a keyboard. Their importance is exaggerated, but not their danger. The recently foiled plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor is just the latest example. Our president winks and nods while others take up arms and “stand by.”

from Leila: Thank you for the article and providing food for thought. It points to the fact all our troubles (racism, white supremacy, climate change, healthcare, etc and not to mention international contradictions) have been around longer than just the stress these past 4 years have created for the people . With all the wealth and power concentrated here, America acts like a backward country . I wonder when all this duality of setting high goals and then allowing it to be undermined began and why.