March 9, 2015 · 12:02 pm

From Selma to the ‘fierce urgency of now’

Reverend Dr. Barbara Holmes, now president of United Theological Seminary in Minnesota

Reverend Dr. Barbara Holmes, now president of United Theological Seminary in Minnesota

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends inexorably toward justice.” So preached Martin Luther King, Jr. and abolitionist Unitarian minister Theodore Parker before him. The Selma anniversary celebrations this weekend showed both the importance of activism in moving the arc over the past 50 years and of the urgency of continuing protest and pressure. Diane Nash’s protest was inspiring,President Obama’s speech was eloquent, and Rev. Barbara Holmes brought home her personal story and continuing witness.  Continue reading →

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March 3, 2015 · 6:55 pm

Foster care: Yes, you could

When I was in my twenties, I hung out with a bad crowd — nuns, priests, social workers, probation officers, lots of left wing activists. Newly graduated from law school, I had a job and a two-bedroom apartment, which made me feel rich for the first time in my life, and also made me easy prey for the plea to become a foster parent. Continue reading →

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March 1, 2015 · 6:46 pm

St. Paul Notes: Grand Goodwill and Ordway openings

Ordway Center doormanNever mind the Minneapolis Miracle — St. Paul had it all this weekend, with grand openings for the Ordway’s new concert hall and the new Goodwill store on University Avenue. Admittedly, I visit Goodwill far more often than the Ordway, but I did get to the free open house on Sunday afternoon, and the new Ordway is just as impressive as the old. Of course, any place that has a gentleman in a top hat and caped coat opening the door for me is pretty darned impressive. Continue reading →

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February 28, 2015 · 9:11 am

What happened on National Adjunct Walkout Day?

National Adjunct Walkout Day drew attention to the situation of the majority of U.S. college professors, two-thirds of whom work as adjuncts, at lower pay and mostly without benefits. The Washington Post reported that the day raised awareness, “more often by word of mouth than by people actually refusing to teach a class.”

Scroll down for reports from around the country, and further for links to information about adjunct faculty and organizing. Continue reading →

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February 24, 2015 · 7:33 pm

Walking out of work: National Adjunct Walkout Day

Dudas y preguntas

© Manuel Carmona – Fotolia.com

Adjunct teaching horror stories started circulating after the death of Margaret Mary Votjko in 2013. She died at age 83, alone, sick, penniless, almost homeless, after being let go from her 25-year job teaching French at Duquesne University. Daniel Kovalik’s moving column in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explained that for years, “Margaret Mary worked on a contract basis from semester to semester, with no job security, no benefits and with a salary of between $3,000 and just over $3,500 per three-credit course.”

Wednesday, February 25 is National Adjunct Walkout Day, a day organized to draw attention to adjunct professors and to efforts to unionize and gain better wages and working conditions. Equity for adjuncts is an urgent issue, for faculty and students alike.  Continue reading →

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February 23, 2015 · 9:22 am

Kids pay the price: Turning foster care into a billion dollar business

Screen Shot 2015-02-23 at 9.19.16 AMThe Facebook post linked to charges of “deaths, sex abuse, and blunders in screening, training, and overseeing foster parents at the nation’s largest for-profit foster care company.” My first reaction was disbelief: a for-profit foster care company? I remember my own days as a foster parent of teenagers, and the financial and emotional challenges of caring for them. How could a company make money on foster care? And why would anyone think it’s a good idea to place kids with a company whose purpose is to make money from them? Continue reading →

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February 18, 2015 · 4:06 pm

No change, no hope, says Texas judge — but he doesn’t have the final word on immigration

© dule964 - Fotolia.com gavel

© dule964 – Fotolia.com gavel

On February 17, Texas federal district court judge Andrew Hanen issued a preliminary injunction to stop immigration changes. That’s an order saying the government may not proceed with expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Legal Permanent Residents (DAPA). The order is one of the very early steps in the lawsuit against the federal government by 26 states. These states want to overturn President Obama’s executive orders on immigration. Continue reading →

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February 17, 2015 · 6:51 am

Minnesota’s endangered state butterfly: Millions of Monarchs gone

Minnesota’s state butterfly, the dazzling orange-and-black Monarch, is a treasure that we share with the world during its multi-generation migration between Minnesota and Mexico. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service warns that, “Unless we act now to help the Monarch, this amazing animal could disappear in our lifetime.” According to the Washington Post, “what’s happening to monarch butterflies is nothing short of a massacre.” The Center for Biological Diversity is petitioning for endangered species protection for the monarch, citing a 90 percent decline in the population over the past 20 years. Continue reading →

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February 15, 2015 · 1:35 pm

Why you should read Bluestem Prairie

Photo by Justin Meissen, published under Creative Commons license.

Photo by Justin Meissen, published under Creative Commons license.

Sally Jo Sorensen calls out all kind of nonsense in her Bluestem Prairie blog, especially in the legislature, and especially on rural issues. As Republicans flex their new majority muscle in the MN legislature, one of their first targets is the Citizen Advisory Board of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Sally Jo skewers this vendetta, which is triggered by the one-and-only decision to require a mega-farm to produce an Environmental Impact Statement as part of the permit process. Continue reading →

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February 8, 2015 · 4:54 pm

How is preschool for all like a snowball fight?

Photo by D. Sharon Pruitt, published under Creative Commons license

Photo by D. Sharon Pruitt, published under Creative Commons license

What if success at school was like a snowball fight? The kids with thin, raggedy mittens or no mittens at all are at a distinct disadvantage. They’ll be much better able to compete on an equal basis if they have good mittens, so let’s give all kids the same warm, water-repellent mittens. Continue reading →

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