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Wednesday, November 06, 2024

Election Day ~ 2024

 American voters wanted a dictator— and they got what they wanted. 

Monday, September 30, 2024

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Monday, August 26, 2024

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Ailing Guest ~

 We buried a sparrow today that came to our terrace in the summer heat to die.

Thursday, June 06, 2024

D-Day ~ 80th Anniversary Tribute

Normandy

June 6, 1944

She was standing on the porch
that day in June
watching her youngest
come running up the steps
then across the lawn
when it happened
on a beach called Omaha
where her eldest lay now,
face down
no longer clawing
at wet sand.

She stood there, quiet,
holding him close,
fingering his hair.



Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Helene Z. Hill ~ Courageous Woman

Monk's Progress

Dear Charles Cingolani,

I am 95 years old and one of the first female scientists who fought against scientific fraud as a whistleblower. Being a woman scientist back then was practically unheard of. Women were looked down on intellectually, expected to raise children and run a home. . .

                                                Prof. Hill's story.

Friday, March 08, 2024

How Germany reacts to the Far Right ~




















Anti-fascist protest in Hamburg.
When will this happen in the USA? 

Photo: Fridays For Future Germany

Friday, March 01, 2024

She Carries on the Struggle ~ In spite of Threats


 Alexei Navalny's wife, Julia
before the European Parliament.
Photo: The Parliament Magazine

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Man of Courage ~ Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny

       † Feb.16, 2024
 He was a patriot. He loved Russia, but a different one than Putin's.
                                                     Photo: AEJ

Saturday, January 06, 2024

Remembering January 6, 2021

 Most Americans still wince when thinking back to this day. 

Photo: AL.com

Monday, September 11, 2023

Remembering the Day ~

 Nine Eleven


On September eleven
when it happened
while we watched
we could not help thinking about
our own thin brick walls
left standing around us
here, in the heartland.

Walled in between
panic and gratitude
we sat gaping,
not noticing
how our helpless tears
would not stop falling.

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

A Nation of Maimed Men ~

For all our ingenuity, where is the inventor of a device to let landmines explode before courageous Ukrainians pass over. 

Thursday, July 20, 2023

A Weighty Choice~

It is much easier to live with an illusion than with reality, . . . with a belief than with a fact. 

Saturday, July 01, 2023

Bolsonaro ~

                                                                                                       Wikipedia
Brazil's answer:  Not allowed to run for office until 2030.
                                                                        

Wisdom ~

Only the man who is able to stand alone can see reality as it is, free from the opinion of others.   


Friday, June 16, 2023

Boris Johnson ~ Made to Resign

                                                                           BBC
 Will the USA follow suit?

Monday, April 24, 2023

A ReliableTest ~

 To assess a person's refinement: watch him while eating. 

Saturday, March 25, 2023

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Learning to Cope ~

 The most important dialog is the one between me and myself.


Saturday, March 04, 2023

Protesting in Russia ~ 2023

The father of a 12-year-old girl who drew this antiwar picture in her elementary school art class in Russia is facing criminal charges and a potential three-year prison sentence, and his daughter has been placed temporarily in an orphanage.                            The Washington Post

BBC

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Opposing Adolf Hitler ~ February 22, 1943


Hans and Sophie Scholl were students who distributed flyers in the main foyer of the University of Munich protesting the War and Hitler's dictatorship. A janitor took note and called in the Gestapo. They were hauled into court and four days later were beheaded.        Photo: dpa

Monday, February 06, 2023

In the Cold of Winter ~

Photo: Brigitte Nake-Mann

Snowdrops in January, Grosser Tiergarten, Berlin 
 

Last Night's Dream ~

He was just a young kid who had come back from Vietnam and he was telling me how deathly afraid he was when out on patrol at night opposing the Viet Cong . . . 

Saturday, December 24, 2022

Friday, November 11, 2022

Sunday, October 30, 2022

The Autumn Leaves ~

The leaves seem to be hanging on a little longer this year, just to give us some colorful cheer in these dreadful times. 

Sunday, September 11, 2022

The Extraordinary ~

We lost two great personages in one week:

Queen Elizabeth II

Mikhail Gorbachev

Monday, August 29, 2022

Sunday, July 17, 2022

A Nightly Visit ~

And there I was, in the old Bach choir again, not in the bass section but among the tenors now, singing away and reaching all the high notes.

Wednesday, July 06, 2022

Atmosphere~

cambridge.org

  When at the altar, you walk differently.  

Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Saturday, June 18, 2022

Scarlett S. ~ Sadness for Our Region

Suedkurier
Scarlett S.
 A girl hiking in the Black Forest who disappeared in October 2020 and, in spite of continued searching, has never been seen since. 

Friday, June 17, 2022

The Gift ~

Nasa
He created Earth, then turned it over to us.

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Symbolism ~

How appropriate, that Putin used half of Hitler's swastika  Z as his war emblem.

Monday, May 16, 2022

Thursday, May 12, 2022

No Questions Asked ~


Down around the corner from where we live in Germany, a vacant house has been made available for Ukrainian refugees who arrived here with little more than their backpacks. 

Sunday, May 01, 2022

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

How It is Done ~

 We stand by and watch Putin, singlehandedly, provoke World War III. 

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Thursday, March 31, 2022

Looking the Other Way ~

We gave so little consideration to a bolder attempt to stop Putin. We spent years pleading with him and threatened with sanctions. He scoffed at them.