Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
MAY 21, 2026 – To those of us who’ve been on the anti-Trump train since he’s been in the public eye, his multiple disorders have never been a mystery or a surprise. As we’ve seen for 11 years, with Trump, what you see is exactly what you get, which is appalling. For me personally, this …
MAY 18, 2026 – . . . North Korea! Or more precisely, Kim Jung-un. Or more accurately, the loser is . . . the United States and nuclear non-proliferation. Now that the Republicans have settled on a ratio existendi ex post facto for the war against Iran—namely, keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of …
MAY 17, 2026 – “Seventeenth of May.” Though I’m of Swedish heritage, I have no problem celebrating Syttende Mai—”Seventeenth of May”—in honor of the Norwegians’ Constitution Day (1814), which marked the country’s independence from Denmark. After all, though my wife’s paternal grandmother was Swedish, as was mine, her paternal grandfather was Norwegian, just as my …
MAY 12, 2026 – Today I inadvertently observed the Dear Leader’s press conference, so-called, before his departure for “Chi-EENa.” One more blather session such as that one and the country will need therapy along with remediation. In my jaundiced view, what was readily apparent in Trump’s interactions with reporters was how remarkably out of touch …
MAY 8, 2026 – In continuation of the pursuit of continuing legal education (“CLE”) credits, I’m in the middle of a six-hour webinar symposium on “Universal and Quality Health Care,” sponsored by the University of St. Thomas School of Law (St. Paul, MN). Again, along with a host of UST-sponsored CLE courses on constitutional law …
MAY 5, 2026 – Sooner or later it was bound to happen: the Teflon would suffer a big scratch. Heretofore . . . The “Access Hollywood tape”? Ancient history. The “perfect phone call”? No one remembers—or cares. January 6? A Democratic plot. DOGE butchery without accounting? Old news, forgotten pain. ICE? Same. Assaults on the …
MAY 1, 2026 – Long before the Trump Era, I used to muse that “In America one could find the best of life and the worst of life.” This observation was not particularly insightful. After all, we have a population of around 340 million living within 3.8 million square miles spread across 58 degrees of …
APRIL 30, 2026 – Today while I was striding along toward the end of my daily walk, with both hiking poles now in one hand, I heard a neighbor call out. M. was out walking her aging canine friend and approaching the quiet intersection I’d just crossed. I acknowledged her greeting, and since I was …
APRIL 18, 2026 – All the people who’ve died or will die in Africa because of the end of USAID? We’ll never get them back. All the people who will perish because funding of cancer research funded by the federal government was ripped into sawdust by the chainsaw of DOGE? We’ll never get them back. …
APRIL 16, 2026 – Whenever my wife and I get together with friends, conversation invariably touches three bases: 1. Health reports; 2. Shared political angst; and 3. Latest streaming favs. Oh yeah, and occasionally, as in always, we’ll talk kids and grandkids. Generally, I try to tune out the health reports, keeping my own to …
APRIL 15, 2026 – Though I’m not a veteran of the armed services, I have empathy for those who currently serve in the United States Army, Navy, Marines or Air Force, especially those who are among the 50,000 service members stationed in the Middle East. That empathy, however, is overshadowed by my support for a …
APRIL 8, 2026 – Despite bombs bursting over Beirut, now that the fuse to yesterday’s White House insanity has been cut below the shower of sparks, we the people of short attention spans can turn to other challenges; problems with slightly longer fuses and less prominent dazzle—at least by the measure of “clicks” in our …
APRIL 7, 2026 – At the conclusion of an altogether satisfactory appointment this afternoon, the good doctor wished me well and added, “Let’s hope the world doesn’t end this evening.” The implicit reference underlying his apocryphal statement, of course, was to Trump’s 8:00 EDT deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. Not since …
APRIL 4, 2026 – I have a very distinct memory of war. No, it didn’t feature bombs going off or people screaming death cries. The setting of my war story was our mostly quiet little town of Anoka, Minnesota, which straddled the Rum River at its confluence with the lazy Mississippi about 20 miles upstream …
APRIL 1, 2026 – With the title of today’s post, I’ve taken obvious liberties with the famous expression, “Nero fiddled while Rome burned.” I’d intended to add to the unrelenting Democratic outrage and confounding Republican sycophancy over the Emperor’s obsession with Sharpie pens, The Ballroom, and Florsheim shoes while the black smoke from his impulsivity …
MARCH 30, 2026 – Participation in Saturday’s flagship “No Kings!” rally in St. Paul bolstered my faith in humanity—at least the local on-site version of it, where I could rub elbows with fellow Minnesotans who’d endured the most severe winter in collective memory, and I’m not referencing the weather. Today, however, when I read a …
MARCH 28, 2026 – Fortunately, half a century ago Bruce Springsteen’s band-buddies back in Asbury Park, New Jersey started calling him “the boss” (in reflection of his dual role as music and band finance director) and not “the king.” Lots of Americans have a boss, but no American should have a king. Springsteen’s famous moniker …
MARCH 25, 2026 – This morning, I drove to Buerkle Hyundai on the east side of town to have my car serviced. After checking in my Sonata, the service rep ushered me into the well-appointed customer waiting area well-stocked with edibles and beverages. I resisted temptation driven by my addictions to sugar, sodium and caffeine …
MARCH 23, 2026 – I often recall from the first Trump Era protest I ever attended (October 2018). My favorite protest sign, a sign of the times—then and since—read, “WHERE DO I START?” As if in a game of spin-the-bottle, for today’s topic I landed on . . . the “SAVE America Act[1]” Yesterday while …
MARCH 20, 2026 – In the all-too predictable Orwellian-speak of the Charlatan in Chief, today, just days into what could well be another endless war, he told us that he thought the economic impact of his “excursion” against Iran would have been worse than it’s turned out to be. Think about it: at the political …
MARCH 17, 2026 – I was a fourth-grader—our granddaughter’s age—when the famous St. Patrick’s Day Blizzard slammed Minnesota. School was canceled, mostly on account of the travel hazards facing school buses that ferried all the “farm kids” (whether they lived on actual farms or not) to and from schools in town. We who lived inside …
MARCH 11, 2026 – I remember watching/listening to portions of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing conducted by the Senate Judiciary Committee back in 2022. She gave a credible account of herself—erudite, respectful, genuine, articulate, and a methodical thinker. Based on her C.V. and on what I observed, I thought—Yes, she seems well qualified to …
MARCH 8, 2026 – Much ado has been made online—wholly appropriately—of the Commander in Chief’s wearing a baseball cap during the ceremony at Dover Air Force Base to receive the remains of the six dead American servicemen. I haven’t talked to any soldiers, sailors or airwomen/men or veterans about this, but of MAGA members among …
MARCH 5, 2026 – I really feel as if I’m a passenger on one of those gargantuan cruise ships with 23 decks, 25 dining rooms, 18 swimming pools, and enough poker chips to sink the ship if they all slid off the poker tables at the same time. (Eh, eh. That’s a joke.) The cruise …
MARCH 4, 2026 – Yesterday in a regular chat with a close college friend, we talked politics—as usual. After venting our spleens over the latest outrage—war against Iran—my good friend asked me, “Where do you think America will be a year from now? What’s your prediction?” After answering his question, I asked him, in turn, …