Religion and Politics

The Catholic Church in Minnesota recently mailed out 400,000 DVDs to its parishioners in the state, asking them to accept the church’s belief that gay marriage is wrong for human beings. In fact, gay marriage is so bad for the rest of the world, the Catholic leadership wants lawmakers to pass a new law forbidding [...]

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Ode to The En Dash

Oh en dash! What would my writing life be without you? Sprinkled in and throughout my paragraphs – separating key thoughts from inane flotsam and jetsam – the concept of not having you at the whim of my fingertips saddens me. Your absence in my day worse than lack of caffeine or the inability to [...]

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Happy Birthday Mom!

Ninety-one years. I’m sorry you didn’t get to celebrate today with those who love you most. You are terribly missed and frequently thought of. The love you shared with me and all of your beloved family members will never be replaced, but I’ll always remember you for your kind words, thoughtfulness, huge heart and ability [...]

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Why I’m Not A Catholic: Reason #11

Today, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Minnesota’s Roman Catholic bishops will launch a new effort against same-sex marriage. Their plan? To mail out a DVD to parishioners across the state, which explains the church’s teaching on marriage and describes the possible effects of allowing same-sex marriage in Minnesota. Good luck with that. As Catholic [...]

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A New Friend

It took the 11 years and four treks, but I’ve made friends with the North Shore of Minnesota – a stretch of Lake Superior shoreline, highway, infamous landmarks, and seasonal resorts. Up until now, my travels that direction epitomized the word miserable. Few other places in the country boast about bad weather to attract tourists, [...]

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Health Care “On Us”

It’s an upward spiral that seemingly will not end any time soon. I’m talking about the cost of health insurance and specifically the cost that you and I – Joe and Jane consumer – get to bear to have adequate health plans that take care of our families. In this Wall Street Journal story, reporter [...]

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Safe at Work. Or Are We?

Is your company safe from angsty former employees or the militant nut job who has a bone to pick with your products or services? The recent hostage-taking-SWAT-team-shooting of James J. Lee at Discovery Channel headquarters in Silver Spring, Md. (see this article in the Washington Post), made me ask myself: How safe is any company [...]

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