by admin | Mar 13, 2026 | Aging, Books, Careers, Chicago, Civil rights, Climate, Disaster, Disaster policy, Disaster Recovery, Emergency Management, Government, Hazard Mitigation, History, Hurricanes, Immigration, Minnesota, Natural Hazards, Personal history, Politics, Public policy, Public safety, Resilience, Social Equity, Texas, War, Wildfire
Given the almost comically corrupt nature of Kristi Noem’s administration of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as its Secretary, I half-expected that her inevitable meltdown after the most recent Senate hearing would lead to flying monkeys celebrating as...
by admin | Nov 25, 2025 | Activism, Blogging, Chicago, Christianity, Civil rights, Crime, Government, History, Identity, Immigration, Journalism, National security, Public policy, Public safety, Racism, Social Equity, Social Media, Volunteerism, Writing
Then the righteous will reply, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and fed you, or thirsty and gave you drink, a stranger and took you home, or naked and clothed you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and come to visit you?” And the king will answer, “I tell...
by admin | Mar 3, 2025 | Activism, Books, Chicago, Foreign policy, Government, Gratitude, History, National security, Politics, Public policy, Russia, Ukraine, War
When the nation and the world witness the sort of crude spectacle that was broadcast from the Oval Office last Friday, it should not be surprising that many Americans are embarrassed and upset at the behavior of the men holding the two highest offices in the land....
by admin | Feb 19, 2025 | Activism, Blogging, Books, Christianity, Civil rights, Government, History, Immigration, Movies, Personal history, Politics, Racism, Religion, Russia, Volunteerism, War, Writing
It is early in the morning as I begin to write this—too early in the view of most people I know. I awoke just before 5 a.m. in part because Tyson, our big Husky-German Shepherd mix, seemed to want to go outside in the bitter cold. (He did not; he merely wanted water,...
by admin | Dec 26, 2024 | Careers, Climate, Disaster, Disaster Recovery, Education, Floodplain management, Hazard Mitigation, History, Iowa, Natural Hazards, Personal history, Public policy, Resilience, Retirement, Texas, Urban Planning, Weather
About the time the rising Cedar River crested in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on June 13, 2008, a torrential downpour from an incoming thunderstorm joined forces with it to create the perfect flood. In the previous flood of record in the city, the river had reached 20...
by admin | Nov 5, 2024 | Activism, Books, Crime, Government, History, Immigration, Personal history, Political philosophy, Public policy, Public safety, Russia
Some time in 1997, I undertook a reading experiment I have never regretted, which was to begin to read, sequentially, biographies of U.S. presidents. I am not sure exactly when I picked up Cincinnatus: George Washington and the Enlightenment by Garry Wills, but it...
