Patric here at the news desk. I’ve just been handed breaking news: all of the Founding Fathers of our country are dead. James Madison, the last surviving Founding Father, passed away in 1836, a mere 184 years ago. Oh wait, that’s not actually news. It turns out the Founding Fathers have been dead for generations. Given that, I am baffled
Election results should be accepted
As Election Day is drawing ever closer, I’ve noticed an alarming trend of rhetoric emerging about the potential results. Recently, at their respective debates, both President Trump and Vice President Pence refused to definitely state they would accept the results of the November election and commit to a peaceful transition of power. Trump particularly has also made regular statements questioning
Yes, capitalize Blacks. And Whites too
For many years, I would wince when writing a sentence such as, for example: “There is a diverse population living in the Twin Cities area, including Latinos, Vietnamese, Somalians, blacks, Native Americans and whites. That sentence is like a smile with two missing teeth. Why shouldn’t whites and blacks be capitalized too, like the others in that list? It didn’t
Voting should always be important
By the time this column is published, our country will be just over a month away from an election that has been talked about for a very long time. Ever since Donald Trump’s win in the Presidential election of 2016, endless talk ensued about whether he would win another term or be defeated at the polls. Voters on both sides
It’s never been about the pay
Why do people want these jobs? We’ll soon be voting for a long list of candidates, with the presidency at the top of the ballot. Our elected leaders have tough jobs – especially now with a raging pandemic, a sinking economy, renewed attention to systemic racism, the West Coast in flames and hurricanes threatening the Gulf Coast. The biggest threat
For human harmony, let’s all learn about racism
Two young men sat in the auditorium and snickered as they exchanged a series of nasty jibes against Blacks, peppering their remarks with the “n” word. They were students in the Alexandria Technical College Law Enforcement program. On that day, nearly four decades ago, they were there in a class to learn how to be sensitive toward people of color.
Even presidential elections are local
We’ve heard for years that “all politics is local” – a phrase attributed to former Speaker of the House of Representatives Tip O’Neill. This year, we also need to remember that all elections are local. General election day is Nov. 3, the day the entire country votes for a president as well as a long ballot of other federal, state
Take safety seriously as schools return
I remember very clearly my last few days out at St. John’s this past spring before Covid-19 sent us all home. Spring Break had just finished, and midterms and papers loomed large on the schedule. The clubs I’m involved with were planning our end-of-year celebrations, and enjoying our beautiful campus was starting to become more possible with the weather beginning