Screen shot from MSNBC, Feb. 16, 2024 We begin the season of Lent with the execution of an innocent man, a man like Jesus, who gave his life for his people.  Say his name: Alexei Navalny. Both spoke truth to power, and both were executed. Like Martin Luther King Jr.  Like Mahatma Gandhi, Jamal Khashoggi, and so many others. CNN re-aired a documentary about the 2020 poisoning of Navalny by Vladimir Putin. Here's a timeline of Navalny's recent actions: Aug. 20, 2020 - Nalvalny is poisoned on a flight within Russia. Sept. - Nov. 2020 - Team of researchers discovers who particip ..read more

We live in a different world since last Saturday, October 7. Guest essay by Nir Avishai Cohen, NYT The world mourns--well, some distract themselves with football or the nearing World Series. The best commentary I've seen is by a major in the reserves for the Israeli Defense Forces, Nir Avishai Cohen in today's New York Times. But all of us have witnessed yet another instance of willingness to massacre civilians.  This began on a large scale during World War 2 and climaxed with Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Then Putin began it again in Ukraine, and now Hamas has waged war on babies ..read more

What a fate--to be the talented sister of two famous brothers!  Katharine Wright, sister of Orville and Wilbur, is in the news this week because her correspondence with other men of her era was being auctioned by Christie's, the renowned art appraiser and seller. Katharine Wright Haskell photo from Wikipedia Thank you to book and manuscript specialist Heather Pisani for her review of the Katharine's letters and her sketch of the life of this influential woman.  Thanks also to my brother Jim, who sent me this link: https://www.christies.com/features/Katharine-Wright-Avia ..read more

Shireen Abu Akleh photo by Al Jezeera Media Network What's more important, the coronation of King Charles III or the one-year anniversary of the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh?  The pageantry of the coronation on May 7 is a fairy tale, a relic of the past.  We all want to live in this fantasy world where princesses ride in coaches, kings are crowned, and the poor are happy. But May 11, 2023, one year after Israeli soldiers shot Shireen, is a reminder of Palestinian suffering. She was reporting on the military raid of Israeli soldiers on Jen ..read more

How is it possible that women are still being killed by men claiming they are witches? Read this report in the Daily Mail on December 5. A Boko Haram commander in northern Nigeria claimed that witches caused the deaths of his children. Women were rounded up.  On November 15, about 26 of them were murdered. This kind of murder is common enough that a citizens' group in Nigeria has been founded: Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW).  The group called on Nigeria's president to do more to protect women. On the website SaharaReporters.com, AfAW explains that accusations happen when people ..read more

My kids say I'm sexist, that I hate men--but they don't get it. Projections still favor GOP to take House I favor women until a woman proves herself against women, against democracy, against loving your neighbor.  Or until a man turns out to be sympatico, a kindred spirit, as many men are. My commitment to Jesus requires me to vote against a hater and liar, whatever the gender, so I oppose Lauren Boebert in the 2022 election.  I support Adam Frisch. This week is a nail biter, as last week was.  The Colorado Secretary of State's Office reports today that by Wednesda ..read more

  A month after 19 kids and 2 teachers were killed in Uvalde, 13 US Senators voted against Senate Bill 2938, the plan to support the gun control bill just passed by the House of Representatives. The Senate had already removed from the bill a ban on assault-style rifles and a ban on high-capacity magazines, but 13 Senators still couldn't support what was left: a background checks on buyers convicted of domestic violence a background check on buyers convicted of crimes when they were under 18 yrs. old.  The bill still passed in the Senate because 50 Democrats, 13 Republicans, and 2 I ..read more

   In 2022, celebration of the Fourth of July was  difficult. 7 people went to a town parade in Highland Park, Illinois, and were shot dead by a sniper with an assault rifle.  35 or so others were shot but survived.  Hundreds of others escaped with psychological wounds only. The rest of us tried to carry on, but how do you enjoy a barbecue or parade or fireworks while your cell phone and television are reporting on the manhunt in Illinois for a killer still on the loose? Between updates on the parade massacre, we watched newly-released video of the murder of Jayland ..read more

LA's March for Our Lives today filled 10-15 blocks. Speakers before the march included survivors of mass shootings and people who had lost a parent or friend to gun violence. Like the march in 2018, today's marches around the nation were student-led, and many of those doing the planning and speaking were high school students. Four years ago, one month after the mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, students led the first March for Our Lives. After the Buffalo NY and Uvalde TX massacres, students organized another #MarchforOurLives. Play a slide show of ..read more

My friend Andre Berthou in France sent me this political cartoon. It changes a "Masks required" sign near a school to "Helmets required." The kid is wearing a helmet and a backpack. I'm not sure what's sticking out of the backpack--a slide rule? I hope it's not a gun. Andre reminds me that from 110 to 119 people die every day from guns in the US. "It's enormous... So many painful deaths," he writes. "We are very sad looking at pictures of children who have died." This is the USA that people around the world are seeing. They can't believe we don't have basic gun laws. He adds, "Countries with ..read more