Category Archives: events

Waiting For Names

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It is early on a Friday morning.  No longer dark and not quite light and I have been driven to my keyboard by a brief conversation with an unidentified friend that came to my mind in that strange time between sleep and wakefulness.

The cats have been fed to keep them at bay while I sit here in pajamas and robe to write this before it fades away into the day’s life.

I have told Nancy from time to time that writers sometimes must write when the muse demands no matter when it is.

A friend (I’m sure it was a friend although I recall no face, just a voice) in that in-between time this morning asked me a question and I am motivated to answer it here.

“I want to name my son Jesus,” he said. “What do you think?”

He pronounced it with the “J.”

I answered,  “Sure, go ahead.  But think about pronouncing it “Hay-soos.”

And a few seconds later, I thought, “Wouldn’t it be interesting to give him the middle name of Nguyen?”

I am fascinated by names and what they say about our national culture.  As I was talking to myself, or maybe with my dream friend, I began to wonder how many babies might be born to White families like mine (where the children have good white names such as Robert and Elizabeth) in Minneapolis this year with first names such as Abdi, Bashir, Dahir, or Wasame—-popular Somali surnames meaning, in order, servant or worshiper, bringer of good news, light or sun, and glad tidings.

It is not uncommon for names to be tied to events or to challenging times that highlight parts of our cultural stew.

(I prefer “stew” to a reference to our cultural soup that suggests we all blend together into a single entity.  Stews are made of different elements that retrain their identities —carrots, potatoes, meat, and sometimes little bitty onions and peas—to provide a tasty flavor.)

Jesus Nguyen Jones.   Lara Solis Smith (Mexican surnames for a place of laurel trees and sunny).

Names of African-Americans such as James Washington that stem from the slave era, are giving way to some wonderful and fascinating new names—-just look at the wide variety of names on the back of some sports uniforms for examples.

I am waiting for the first white athlete named Jamar.

What is happening seems to this observer to be a quiet but growing form of new cultural recognition  that in time will create a nutritious national stew.  The elements are becoming more self-identified. But with time, we will see the Jesus Nguyens and the Lara Solises, and the Robert Jamals and Elizabeth Githinjis (Kenyan for “one who is blessed or fortunate”).

A century from now, the face and faces of America are most likely to be much different from today’s American culture and, we hope, the irrational fears of “others” will be relegated to history. We do not fear that time for it speaks of a recognition that all are children of a creator known by different names in different places within a single world.

(Picture Credit: The Golden Rule, Norman Rockwell Museum)

Sports: Two clutch wins; a boost from Minnesota; Super Bowl Rings and baseball is back.

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By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor

(SUPERMO)—Several football players from Missouri were in the Super Bowl Sunday and some will be wearing the big rings. The starting center for Seattle was Jalen Sundell, a Maryville native who played collegiately at North Dakota State.

Running back Jacardia Wright played three of his five years of collegiate football at Missouri State, where he rushed for more than 3500 yards and scored 33 touchdowns. He joined the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent.  He carried the ball five times for 20 yards in the ‘Hawks win over New Orleans in week three but was injured and finished the season in injured reserve.

Drew Lock is the clipboard quarterback behind Sam Darnold for the second year. He got into five games this year and  threw three passes.

Mason Richman was a Blue Valley High School grad who went to Iowa for college. He’s a lineman who got into two games this year for Seattle.

Yasir Durant, an offensive tackle from Mizzou, was with the Chiefs and the Patriots before becoming a Seahawk.  He was on injured reserve all season.

The Patriots had Mizzou’s Marcus Bryant as their number two right tackle/  Bryant, a seventh round draft pick, was in a dozen games for New England this season.

(MIZZBB)—Every game is a “must” for Missouri from here on out as they come off of two important victories, one on the road. They remain on the NCAA tournament bubble as we head into the final weeks of the season.  Missouri’s win against South Carolina ups their conference record to 6-4 and their overall record to 16-7 with eleven regular season games to go.

Next up is Texas A&M, the top team in the conference at 7-1. The Aggies’ overall record is only slightly better than Missouri’s at 17-5. A&M was 25th in the coaches poll last week but is off the list this week.

(MIZZMIN)—Minnesota has helped Missouri in its run to the tournament. The Tigers beat Minnesota 73-60 early in the season. Minnesota gained stature by beating 10th ranked Michigan last week, and the elevation of Minnesota brings Missouri along with it. We could try to explain it, but to be honest, we don’t quite grasp the Quad thing.

(MIZZBAMA)—-If the Alabama Crimson Tide meets Missouri in the SEC tournament, the Tide will be without Charles Bediako, the 7-foot center who was allowed to play after spending time with an NBA G League.  An Alabama circuit judge denied Bediako’s motion for a preliminary injunction that would let him keep playing. Bediako scored 14 points in ‘Bama’s 90-74 win last month.

(Bills)—The St. Louis Billikens have cracked the top 20 in the AP sportswriters poll. The Bills, 23-1, are 18th among sportswriters and 19th among coaches. Mizzou got zero votes in both polls. They’re in the top 20 for the first time since they reached as high as tenth in 2013-14.  Their sixteen straight wins are the longest streak since the 2013-14 team reeled off 19 straight. The scoring margin of plus 23.3 is the best in the country. They’re fifth in scoring average—91.3. Their seven games ato100 or more is tied for the national league. They have an NCAA-best 31.2 defensive rebounds per game. Six players have double-figure scoring averages, one of three teams in the NCAA Division 1.

(BASEBALL)—Spring training is starting with Royals pitchers and catchers reporting tomorrow and the Cardinals pitchers and catchers due incamp on Thursday. Position players are due in camp Monday.

Fast Stuff—-

(NASCAR)—NASCAR’s biggest race will kick off the season Sunday afternoon at Daytona, weather permitting. Forty-five drivers/teams are entered but four will not be in the starting field.  Qualifying to set the first two starting positions will be tomorrow with two short races Thursday that will set positions for the rest of the starting field. The green flag drops on the season at 1:30 our time Sunday.

Brad Keselowski’s broken leg, injured in a December 18 skiing incident, has healed enough that he’ll be able to start the race. His only win at Daytona was in the July race in 2016.  He was NASCAR’s champion in 2012.

Five days out, the weather is iffy—41% chance of rain during the race’s scheduled time.

(INDYCAR)—–Mick Shumacher has finished his first test on an oval and says “one of the weird parts” was keeping his foot down when approaching a corner. The test was done at Homestead-Miami Speedway, a former racing site in the series.

 

Schumacher is the son of 7-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher, who won five F1 races on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. He drives for the team owned by Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal and television personality David Letterman.

Pre-season testing for most of the other teams started yesterday on the Sebring road course with 23 IndyCar drivers turning laps. Marcus Armstrong had the fastest lap by a whisker over Scott McLaughlin. Alex Palou had the fastest lap of the day, running the course in a morning session.

The season starts March 1 with a race through the streets of St. Petersburg. Florida.

(photo credit—Rahal Letterman Lanigan racing).

 

Three Celebration 

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A few days ago we had a joint celebration at Lincoln University, the school on the hill at Lafayette and Dunklin Streets in Jefferson City.  The combination Black History Month observance, the celebration of the school’s 160th birthday, and the observance of our nation’s 250th birth anniversary also created a unique moment for local author Michelle Brooks.

Michelle has become a prolific author of nine books about Jefferson City’s history, including he one that debuted that evening, February 5 (another anniversary: the 115th of the burning of the Capitol that led to the construction of the magnificent building we have today). First to Freedom; Cole County U.S. Colored Troops, is a tribute to several of the Jefferson City black soldiers who were in the 62nd and 65th Colored Infancy of the Union Army whose financial contributions led to the creation of Lincoln.

One of the officers of the 62nd noted in his farewell speech that 99 of the 4312 men had learned to “read, write and cipher.”  In all, he noted “200 read and write understandingly, 284 can read, 377 can spell in words of two syllables and are learning to read.”

Jefferson City offered a ramshackle school building for the new institution. Classes began in the fall of 1866, nineteen year after Missouri passed a law making it illegal for black people to be taught to read and write.

I was asked to emcee the event that included an Abraham Lincoln reenactor reading the “Proposition 95—Regrading the status of slaves in states engaged in rebellion against the United States.”  Most people speak of it as the Emancipation Proclamation—which I believe should be pronounced with emphasis on the first word: EMANCIPATION proclamation—and another reenactor portraying Robert Foster, the founding officer. Missouri became the first slave state to have its own EMANCIPATION Proclamation. By the end of the war, one-in-ten Union soldiers was black—179-thousand in the army and another 19-thousand in the Navy.

Part of my remarks between presentations and to end the evening said:

“We have many great statues and bronze tableaus in and at our Capitol, but I think the finest, and most inspirational one in Jefferson City is just up the hill, the “Soldier’s Memorial Plaza” tableau.  It recalls the sacrifices made by members of the 62nd and 65th United States Colored Infantries, men who knew full well a way of life they fought to leave behind.

“They are symbolized in bronze now.  But they were symbols FOR millions of people in their time and remain in bronze as symbols of hope for all of us today and tomorrow—-life and freedom are only a hand-grasp away, and they are a reminder that an open hand  is always better than a closed fist in maintaining the nation whose 250th birth anniversary we celebrate this year.

“The first slaves were brought to Missouri to help mine lead in the 1720s.

“When Lewis and Clark went upstream past the bluff that is now the site of our city, a black man named York was part of the group, the slave of William Clark. When they came back from the Pacific Ocean in 1806, a black man was part of the explorers. His name was York. York was William Clark’s slave. He endured with them all of the dangerous times, saw all of the glories of the great mountains, and was the equal of all on that perilous trip. He  believed he would become a free man on the return and could not adjust to being nothing more than a slave again.   Eventually Clark shipped him off to Louisville Kentucky where he was reunited with his enslaved wife.

“If York and his wife had children, they would have been part of the freedom movement after the Civil War.  We don’t know what happened to him. History seems to have obscured him. But the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment gave his descendants the freedom he dreamed of.

“When the first black member of the legislature, Representative Walthall Moore of St. Louis took office in 1921, almost sixty years after the proclamation, he had to room in Jefferson City with a black family, had to eat at a black restaurant, travel in black-owned taxis, and drink from water fountains for the colored.

“But it was Moore who got the half-million dollar appropriation that transformed Lincoln Institute into Lincoln University. .

“Forty-seven years later, I watched as the Jefferson City council, in 1968, passed an ordinance that said black legislators no loner had to stay in Lincoln University dormitory rooms and private homes, and that black people could live anywhere in the city where they could afford to live.

“One-hundred-and-sixty years after the founding of Lincoln University, many people of color still struggle to be considered “people” and there are those who judge some to be unequal only because of their color, their faith, their identities—-and the country where they were born.

“In this year when we celebrate the 250th anniversary of a document that proclaimed that all men are created equal, we again find ourselves wondering meaning the meaning of those words. Some interpreters believe Jefferson meant that all of us are BORN equal in nature.  It is in nurture that divisions are made, distrust develops, and hate can take hold.

“We learn these lessons through the honest study of history and if we are free to learn that history, we can be the ones who bend the arc of the moral universe a little more toward justice.

“Let us go forth from this good evening in the hope that history gives us for peace.”

The event concluded with a fine prayer from Rev. Dr. Adrian Hendricks II of the Joshua House Church in Jefferson City.

Heavenly Father: Tonight as we take a moment and pause to celebrate the history of African Americans, we pause to celebrate American history, giving you thanks and praise, O God, for this nation; giving you thanks and praise or i’s foundation and for its forefathers and for its Declaration to uphold the high ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

And yet In this hour, even as this nation struggles to uphold its identity, we give you thanks and praise for its potential, a potential that still has the opportunity to demonstrate love for our fellow man, a potential that still has the opportunity to pick up the poor and stabilize the impoverished, a potential that still has the opportunity to right historical wrongs, heal historical wounds, and to be the first global power that’s unafraid to let freedom ring!

Lord, go before us, as WE navigate a new pathway. Stand beside us, as we rediscover our moral compass and move within us as we continue to define what it means to be an American.

It’s in your mighty and matchless name that we pray,

Hallelujah & AMEN!

Amen, in deed.

(Photo credits: Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau; Lincoln University)

Sports: Donovan Finally Traded For Switch Pitcher; Pasquantino Locked In; Missouri Playing Itself into NIT Contention; Race Cars and National Monuments (2/3/26)

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By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor

(BASEBALL)—By the time we file our next entry, pitchers and catchers will be playing catch in Arizona and Florida.

(CARDINALS)—It appears, as we go to press, that the Cardinals have finally traded Brendan Donovan.  USA Today reports Donovan is going to Seattle, which has lusted after him since November as a key man in a three-way trade also involving the Tampa Rays. The Redbirds pick up another prized pitching prospect in Jurrangelo Cijntje and minor league outfielder Tai Peete. The Rays get no Cardinals but the Cardinals get minor league outfielder Colton Ledbetter.

Ledbetter hit .265 with seven homers and 37 steals in 123 games in Double-A last year. He’s considered a candidate to move up to Memphis, in Triple-A, for 2026.

Peete was a first round draft pick for Seattle in 2023. MLB.com says he’s a “premium athlete,” bats left, has “immense raw power and showed flashes of it in 2024.”  But he struck out 31% of the time. MLB projects him as a utility player if he makes it to the big leagues.

All of the trades depend on all of the players passing physicals.

(ROYALS)—The Royals have Vinnie Pasquantino through next year after signing him to an $11 million deal. He gets $4.2 million this year and $6.9 million in ’27. He had a career years last year with 32 homers and 113 RBIs. GM J. J. Picollo calls him “a premier run producer and someone our fans have really connected with.”

(MIZBB)—The problem with the Missouri Tiger basketball team this year is that nobody knows which team will show up for a game—one that simply cannot be beaten or, a few days later, one that has no chance.

Saturday, it was the focused Tigers that beat Mississippi State 84-79, running their home record to 13-1 this year. The Tigers are only 2-6 on the road or on neutral courts. They stayed above .500 by beating a team they were supposed to beat; State is 11-11 this year.

Missouri led by fifteen at one point in the second half but let Mississippi State get within one possession but didn’t fold in the closing minutes. Mark Mitchell finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists.  T. O. Barrett continued to be an offensive spark with 16-8-4. Trent Pierce and Jayden Stone also were in double figures.

The game against Alabama was a total reversal from the two buzzer-beaters game a few days earlier. Missouri couldn’t hit from outside the arc or from the free throw line—4/21 from outside and only 8/23 from the free throw circle.

Last Tuesday night, blown out at Alabama. Couldn’t hit the trey or the free throw…4/21 from outside and 8/23 from the line. Missouri got forty of its 84 points from inside the paint.  Alabama outscored Missouri 45-12 from outside. But much of the credit for the win as from the free throw line from where one of the worst free throw teams in the SEC his 25 of 33.  Despite the long-range game, Alabama out-assisted Missouri 19-10 and stole the ball 10 times to Missouri’s three. Missouri had 13 turnovers. Alabama had 7. Missouri’s largest lead was three points. Alabama’s larges lead was 29.

Alabama is a top 25 team.  Missouri, before that game, had been considered  one of the next four out of the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers are off until Saturday when they take on South Carolina on Saturday. South Carolina is another 11-11 team, 2-7 in the conference.

(SPEAKING OF TOP 25 TEAMS)—St. Louis University is 21 and 22 in the polls after demolishing Dayton 102-71 in an Atlantic 10 game, running their season record to 21=1 and their winning streak to 15. They play Davidson tonight.

(CHIEFS)—The Kansas City Chiefs have added backup quarterback Jake Haener from the New Orleans Saints to their roster. Haener announced the signing of the reserve/future contract on his Instagram page. He spent most of the last season on the Saints’ practice squad, got into nine games last season, starting one, was 18/39 passing for 226 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He was sacked six times for 55 yards in losses.

He’s kind of insurance for KC. Gardner Minshew, the first string backup last season will be a free agent soon. Haener will compete with Chris Oladukin for the number two slot.

Going in circles, sometimes:

(INDYCAR)—President Trump has tossed a big plum IndyCar’s way by signing an executive order creating a race around the monuments in Washington, DC in August. It will be the 18 race of the year for IndyCar. The “Freedom 250,” part of the national celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, would be run on August 23 with pre-race events on the 21st and 22nd.

Trump and IndyCar owner Roger Penske have known one another for sometime. The President gave Penske a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019, calling Penske a man who has “built a team and legacy that will endure forever.”

The route of the race is to be determined by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

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It’s kind of a family reunion for the Penske racing family. Tim Cindric, fired last May as President of Penske Racing, is back in the fold as a strategist for Penske driver Scott McLaughlin. Cindric had been part of Penske racing for 25 years , twenty of them as team president.

In his quarter-century with the Penske, the team racked up ten Indianapolis 500 wins, more than 400 victories overall and 31 championships across various racing series.

(NASCAR)—NASCAR has had trouble getting its season started. Historic snowfall in North Carolina caused postponements of exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston Salem during the weekend. Plans to hold the race on last night fizzled and the latest word is that the race will be run tomorrow night. Weather permitting.

The real stuff begins next week at Daytona with practice starting next Wednesday, qualifying that nails down the first two starting positions, and two races on Thursday that will determine the other starters. The Daytona 500 is slated to start at 1:30 our time on Sunday, the 15th.

(Photo credit: Penske/Trump: ESPN)

 

Tiananmen Square in Minnesota

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When will President Trump send in the tanks?   He has 1500 soldiers trained in Arctic warfare on alert in Alaska, ready to make an increasingly tragic confrontation in Minneapolis even worse. He’s obsessed with the Insurrection Act and is ready to pull the string on it at almost any moment—probably with an overnight eruption on his unsocial media site.

(Missouri is safe from anything like this. We have insurance.  We have a Republican Governor.)

But a little soul-searching might be good for us here in safe Missouri. Suppose the ICE goons showed up in St. Louis or Kansas City and started “maintaining order” and cleansing those cities of immigrant populations—a lot of Bosnians in St. Louis and Kansas Cityhas its own Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

The situation in Minneapolis shows no signs of easing, even as to-us intolerable weather conditions prevail. When people are angry enough to take to the streets in these conditions, it is easy to fear the confrontations will become more likely.  A Kent State waiting to happen, perhaps.  Or perhaps an American Tiananmen Square.

Is Minneapolis going to be America’s Tiananmen Square, a place where courageous people stand up to blunt force authority?

Thirty-seven years ago this June, more than two months of protests took place in Beijing, China. Negotiations between protestors and the Chinese government to reach a peaceful solution broke down, leading the government to send troops to occupy the square. The occupation turned into a massacre that is reported to have taken hundreds of lives.

The next day one man refused to get out of the way of the tanks. Who he was or what happened to him is buried in the secret government files.

Courage can be one man in front of a tank and it can be many citizens in front of an American agency unmatched in modern memory for its recklessness, cruelty, and lack of respect for freedom. From day one it seems to have gone far beyond our President’s announcement that it would seek out only the “worst of the worst.”  What is happening among the protestors in Minneapolis is part of the American character.  What is happening with ICE in Minneapolis is contrary to every principle of our founders that has guided us, albeit imperfectly at times, for 250 years.

We are likely to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our free country strikingly less free as a whole than at any time in our lifetimes. The thought that we would celebrate this significant anniversary under these continuing circumstances is beyond depressing.

There are only losers in America’s Tiananmen Square in frigid Minnesota today. But this is the United States of America.  The people will win.

We turn to the words of the great author, William Faulkner and his Nobel Laureate address in 1950 in which he spoke of the lasting power of the writer, of the poet. I believe what he said, not only about poets, but about the lasting power of a free people.

“I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures but because he has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet’s, the writer’s, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet’s voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.”

The defiance of the people of Minneapolis should remind all of us of “the courage, and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of (our) past.”  I believe the people of Minneapolis, and the people of this nation, will prevail against those who ignore all of those basic values that have sustained us as a nation.

A New Phase Has Begun

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We haven’t heard anything like this since the Vietnam era protest songs.  Bruce Springsteen wrote a powerful protest song last weekend, recorded it at the start of this week, and it might be taking the Minnesota experience into a new socio-political realm.  It is hard for provocateurs to regain control when the public mood becomes part of a nation’s popular music culture, for music can be one of the greatest indicators of a generational shift in national attitude.

The song has the feel of the 60s because the momentum of the public mood in an increasing number of places is starting to be reminiscent of the early days of the Vietnam protests and the Civil Rights movement, a volatile combination that rewrote our country’s self-image. Will this song be the first of many protests songs of this generation?

Those who lived through those days can recognize that possibility. Today’s demonstrators are the children and the grandchildren of those who in the 1960s opposed military interventionism and advocated civil rights.

April will be the 61st anniversary of the first major antiwar rally, in Washington. It was there that Judy Collins sang a Bob Dylan song, “The Times They are A-Changin,’” followed by Joan Baez’s rendition of “We Shall Overcome,” the song considered the civil rights movement’s anthem.

English poet William Congreve wrote in 1697 that “Music can soothe the soul of the savage beast.”  It can. it also can motivate those standing against a savage beast.

For those who think Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” no longer fits the times, listen to Bruce Springsteen and “Streets of Minneapolis” the first major protest song or our times.

Bruce Springsteen – Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)

If you want to sing along, here are the lyrics. We apologize if they do not translate from our edit page to the post in proper verse order; our computer does odd things we don’t understand.  But you will be able to follow the lyrics as you sing along

[Verse 1]
Through the winter’s ice and cold  Down Nicolett Avenue A city aflame fought fire and ice ‘Neath an occupier’s boots  King Trump’s private army from the DHS Guns belted to their coats  Came to Minneapolis to enforce the law Or so their story goes

[Verse 2]
Against smoke and rubber bullets  In the dawn’s early light  Citizens stood for Justice Their voices ringing through the night
And there were bloody footprints
Where mercy should have stood
And two dead, left to die on snow-filled streets  Alex Pretti and Renee Good

[Chorus]
Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Singing through the bloody mist
We’ll take our stand for this land  And the stranger in our midst  Here in our home, they killed and roamed In the winter of ’26    We’ll remember the names of those who died  On the Streets of Minneapolis

[Verse 3]
Trump’s federal thugs beat up on
His face and his chest Then we heard the gunshots   And Alex Pretti lay in the snow dead. Their claim was self-defense, sir
Just don’t believe your eyes  It’s our blood and bones   And these whistles and phones  Against Miller and Noem’s dirty lies

[Chorus]
Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Crying through the bloody mist
We’ll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis

[Bridge]
Now they say they’re here to uphold the law
But they trample on our rights
If your skin is black or brown, my friend
You can be questioned or deported on sight
In our chants of “ICE out now”    Our city’s heart and soul persists  Through broken glass and bloody tears On the Streets of Minneapolis.

[Chorus]
Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Singing through the bloody mist
Here in our home, they killed and roamed
In the winter of ’26    We’ll take our stand for this land   And the stranger in our midst
We’ll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis
We’ll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis

[Outro]
ICE out (ICE out)
ICE out (ICE out)
ICE out (ICE out)
ICE out (ICE out)
ICE out (ICE out)
ICE out

(llyrics from genius.com)

From the Front Lines in Minneapolis—III

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Our friends in Minneapolis who are among the thousands who are not on the streets, but who are deeply involved in resisting Trump’s war on the city, have shared a letter being circulated in their neighborhood from David McNally, an internationally known motivational speaker and author of six books. He’s Australian although he was bornin east end London.

This is the life we don’t see on television:

Dear Friends,

I am compelled to write to you after listening to the president of Risen Christ School, Michael Rogers, speak at the 9am mass this morning at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in South Minneapolis. The purpose of Michael being invited was to bring parishioners up to date with the impact of the unrest in Minneapolis specifically related to the behavior of federal agents. I bring this information to you fully aware that our politics may differ, but what we do have in common for many on this list, is our support over the years of Risen Christ both financially and through volunteering. On that note, if you ever attended a Risen Christ fundraiser you will never forget people paying thousands of dollars to have the inimitable Father Forliti host them for one of his famous Italian dinners.

As you know, and for those who don’t know, the school caters mostly to the poorer members of the Latino community.  96% of the student tuition is subsidized. Yet Risen Christ is an amazing success story. Historically, the school has 92% daily attendance, a100% high school graduation rate, 100% of the students speak both English and Spanish, and 81% enroll in college.

Here then are the current “conditions on the ground” if I may use that term.

  1. The approximately 300 students now live in fear. This is not an exaggeration. Let us be clear-we are talking about innocent children who are afraid.
  2. For this reason, an average of 50 students a day are now not turning up for class. This has never happened before in the history of Risen Christ.
  3. Several students have had a parent disappear with no knowledge of where they are and no resource to find out.
  4. Families are not leaving their homes even to buy food. The fear is real.
  5. Risen Christ teachers who come from Spanish speaking countries are living in fear even though their documents are in order. They do not trust the federal agents because of what they have witnessed.  They are being picked up at their homes and taken to work by their white colleagues. The statement that if you are in the United States legally you have nothing to fear is being proven wrong every day.
  6. St Joan of Arc parishioners are picking up children and taking them to Risen Christ so that they can continue their studies. They are then picked up and taken home.
  7. St Joan of Arc parishioners are also delivering food to those families who are afraid to leave their homes. This ministry is one for which I have now volunteered.

When I became an American citizen in 2019, it was with significant pride. I gave a brief speech following the ceremony in which I stated that the United States was the most amazing human experiment in history. That so many people from so many cultures could live in relative harmony was incredible. I proudly pled my allegiance. I still believe what I said. The situation at Risen Christ, however, clearly demonstrates that something is radically wrong. A child or adult who is doing no harm should not live in fear. Dignity for all is a value with which we should all be aligned.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
— Matthew 25:40 (NIV)

David McNally

E-mail: david@davidmcnally.com
http://www.davidmcnally.com

In sending me this letter from David, our friend Denny added: Most of our friends are ferrying food and supplies to our brown friends and neighbors. My cleaning team, a Mexican family of 5 (I have degenerative spinal disease), who help me once/month, will be here Wed. I’ve asked for a list of needs, especially feminine products, of which is a seriously underrated international need in times of crisis. That was first on her list…3 of her workers are teen girls…all are women. Last month when she was here she informed them they are not allowed to leave their apartments except for work.

Jeff stayed late at his church yesterday to take training guided by the Handbook for Constitutional Observers produced by the Immigrant Defense Network (www.copalm.org). His church sponsors a Latino school across their street and sits in the eye of this storm.

This is how we now roll…please tell your world.

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To conclude, and in response to those who think these entries represent Trump Derangement Syndrome, we wonder—-as we ponder David’s Bible verse—which side do you think the Disciple Matthew would be on in Minneapolis today—the followers, or tools, of Trump or those serving and protecting his potential victims?

To which we add one our favorite verses and one that a dear friend lived by until his last day a few months ago, from the Old Testament book of Micah:

And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly[a] with your God.

If being on the side of Matthew and Micah, and the Dennys and Davids and Jeffs of Minneapolis is Trump Derangement Syndrome, I joyously plead guilty.

(We’ll have a bonus entry Friday)

An Epic Game; Kansas Questions; A Chiefs Shuffle

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by Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor

(MIZBB)—When they make a list of greatest Missouri basketball games, Saturday’s 88-87 double overtime win against Oklahoma will be on a short list. Neither team could build a lead greater than six. There were ten ties and 22 lead changes.

Missouri, one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the SEC, went 24 of 33 (73%) from the stripe. They were only 6 for 21 from the three-point line. But the last two were historic, the ball ripping through the net as the red light around the backboard flashed on to show the time left at 0:00.

Oklahoma was up by three with 5.6 seconds left when Missouri inbounded the ball in regulation and fed it to Trent Pierce, who had missed five threes in the game finally hit one from the top of the key as time expired in regulation to tie the game.

Oklahoma was up by two with four seconds left in overtime and Missouri inbounding the ball under the sooner basket. Mark Mitchell took the pass, dribbled just past half court and fired the 37-footer that will make the all-time Tiger highlight reel.

The Tigers made up for poor shooting from outside by outscoring Oklahoma 40-12 inside and outrebounding the Sooners 41=29.

Oklahoma took its sixth loss in a row. Missouri might have kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive after a couple of tough losses. They’re now 4-3 in the conference and in the top half of the standings. But the road ahead is hard starting with a road game against 17th-ranked Alabama Tuesday night.

Three guys scored 66 of Missouri’s 88 points—Mitchell with 25 (and 10 rebounds), T. O. Barrett, making his first start, had 21 and Jayden Stone had 20.

(LOOK WHO’S IN THE TOP 25)—-The St. Louis Billikens are 19-1, lead the Atlantic 10, and are 23rd and 24th in the polls. They hammered St. Bonaventure 97-62 Saturday for their thirteenth win in a row.  Their only loss was by one point, 78=71, to Stanford. The Billikens have six players averaging 10-12.7 points per game and a seventh player who’s averaging more than nine.

(BEARS)—-Missouri State forward Michael Osei-Bonsu is the school’s first Conference USA Basketball Player of the Week.  The Bears beat UTEP and New Mexico State last week with Osei-Bonsu hitting 14 of his 22 field goals, averaging 19 points, nine rebounds and a couple of assists. He hit the game-winning shot att UTEP with 12 seconds left. Bonsu, a 6-4 forward, has the best shooting average in the conference and ranks 29th in the country. He’s majoring in psychology.

Missouri State  (12-8) is in sole possession of second place in the conference, at 6-3.  Liberty, undefeated in nine games, leads.
(CHIEFS1)—It appears the Kansas City Chiefs’ move to Kansas is hardly a done deal. The big hangup is a big question:

Who would own the stadium?

Arrowhead Stadium is owned by the Jackson County Sports Authority and is leased by the Chiefs, who want the same kind of deal with Kansas. The Chiefs made that clear in a recent Kansas legislative committee hearing.

It has to do with taxes. Abhishek Sachin Sandikar, writing for Yahoo Sports on Google, says the issue is how money from the Kansas STAR (Sales Tax Revenue) Bonds would be used for a three-billion-dollar stadium.

The Chiefs do not want to own the stadium; they want it owned by a public entity as Arrowhead Stadium is owned by the Jackson County Sports Authority and is leased to the team through 2031. The Chiefs operate and maintain the stadium. The bonds used to built both stadiums in the Jackson County Sports Complex have been financed by a 3/8 cent sales tax. But last April, Jackson County voters went 58% against a new 3/8 sales tax to pay for renovations of Arrowhead and a downtown stadium for the Royals. The Chiefs found Kansas a willing suitor and the Royals are still looking at something on this side of the border although Kansas is courting them, too.

Chiefs lawyer Korb Maxwell says the Kansas stadium proposal does not make sense for the Chiefs unless a public entity owns the stadium. He argues that providing bond money for a privately-owned stadium would mean the funding would not be on a tax-exempt status and 45 percent of those dollars would be taken in federal taxes, thereby killing the project.

While the Kansas governor and the team have announced the move, the Kansas legislature has not yet approved the issuance of the STAR bonds—and the Chiefs don’t want to be their own landlord.

The deal hasn’t fallen through but Missourians shouldn’t think that the Chiefs will stay on this side of the line after all, though.

(CHIEFS2)—The Chiefs hope Eric Bienemy can be magic again for them. He’s back as offensive coordinator, a job he held for five years when the Chiefs offense was high-powered and exciting in Patrick Mahomes’ younger days.

Bienemy was the running backs coach for the Bears in their just-finished season. The Bears were third in the NFL in rushing yards, led by D’Andre Swift’s 1,087 yards and in average yards per carry. He was the Chiefs running backs coach for five years before moving up the OC.

Bienemy’s return has Travis Kelce sound more as if he’ll come back for another year. It’s just enthusiasm without commitment right now, though.

(ROOKIES)—The elimination of the Los Angeles Rams from the NFL playoffs allow us to look at the season three Tiger NFL rookies had.

Harrison Meavis emerged halfway through the year as the Rams’ place kicker and he showed he belongs in the NFL.  He hit all 39 of his extra points and was 12 of 13 in field goals.

Luther Burden III started five of the Bears’ 15 games, caught 47 passes out of 60 targets for 652 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Brady Cook finished the New York Jets’ season as the starting quarterback after two guys ahead of him went down within injuries. In four starts (and a fifth game he finished), Cook threw for two touchdowns but seven interceptions, 738 yards and a couple of touchdowns. He had a 55.43 rating.

(ROYALS)—The Royals continue to be quiet. They’ve signed several players to minor league contracts but have yet to sign a major free agent or make anything near a blockbuster trade. Speculation that former Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader would be a good fit for an outfield slot has been blown up by word that Bader has signed a two-year $20.5 million dollar deal with the Giants.

(CARDINALS)—The Redbird’s news is about who is still on the roster versus those who have left, those signed to minor league deals, or those who have/have not gone into arbitration.  Brendan Donovan and JoJo Romero are still on the roster although there’s more than enough speculation about St. Louis’ interest in trading them.

We’re two weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting.

Speeding along on track and in the court:

(DAYTONA)—The first major race of 2026 has lasted 24 hours at Daytona and ended with the winner just 1.5 seconds ahead of the runner up.

Roger Penske’s Porsche team has become the third team to win the race three years in a row, joining rival Chip Ganassi’s team and the Wayne Taylor team. Felipe Nasr has been the lead driver for all three of the wins. His co-drivers this year were Julien Landauer and Laurin Heinrich. Their car ran in the GTP class, the fastest of several classes in the race.

One of the drivers of the second-place Cadillac was NASCAR phenom Connor Zilisch. Indianapolis 500 winner Alex Palou was one of the drivers in the fifth place car. IndyCar driver Colton Herta was part of the team for the car in sixth. IndyCar’s Scott Dixon and NASCAR’s A. J. Allmendinger were half of the team that finished ninth.

IndyCar’s Nolan Siegel was part of the team that finished 12th overall and third in the LMP2 class. IndyCar’s Christian Rasmussen was part of the 5th place LMP2 team (14th overall). Kyffin Simpson, a driver for the Ganassi IndyCar team, was in the 17th place (8th in LMP2). Former 500 winner Will Power, driving in the GTD Pro class, helped his team to second in class and 20th overall. Former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe was in a Lamborghini that finished 24th overall, 6th in GTD.

(NASCAR)—It appears NASCAR might be losing one of its road courser races. The fall Charlotte race had been held on its “Roval” for several years—the road course that’s also part of the oval track—but NASCAR reportedly is ready to move it back to the oval.  The event would be one of the ten-race championship chase series.

(NASCARHOF)—Three new names have been added to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina—Kurt Busch, Harry Gant, and Ray Hendrick. Busch won the NASCAR Cup championship in 2004. Concussion problems after a 2022 Pocono crash sent him into retirement.

Busch ran the 2014 Indianapolis 500, a one-off event, and finished a solid sixth. His hopes of completing the 500 and the 600-mile race at Charlotte that same day ended when his car dropped out after 273 laps.

“Handsome Harry” Gant had 18 wins in the Cup series and 21 in the second tier series. He’s the oldest driver to win a Cup race (52) and the oldest driver to win his first Cup race (42). He won four in a row in 1991 and ran his last NASCAR race in 1994 at the age of 54.

Ray Hendrick only ran 17 Cup races but he raced modified stocks for 36 years and won 700 races. He was 51 when he died in 1990

(MCLAREN VS. PALOU)—The long-running breach of contract lawsuit by McLaren against IndyCar champion Alex Palou is a win for McLaren, but the company isn’t satisfied with the $12 million judgment against him. McLaren wants reimbursement of its legal expenses plus interest.

In 2022, Palou agreed to drive for the McLaren IndyCar team then backed out to rejoin Chip Ganassi Racing where he has won four IndyCar championships and last year’s Indianapolis 500. He says McLaren’s offer included a role as a reserve driver for the McLaren Formula 1 team with the possibility of moving F1 and driving for McLaren’s IndyCar team until then. But he said he later learned the Formula 1 opportunity would not materialize so he walked away from the signed contract to stay with Ganassi. Palou says he’s meeting with his advisors and is considering his options.

He will continue to drive for Ganassi in the IndyCar series.

(Photo credits:  Billikens—Amazon; Palou (shown at the Daytona 24 Hours), Michael L. Levitt/ Lumen via Getty Images; Kurt Busch at Indianapolis 2019—Bob Priddy)

 

 

Notes from the Minnesota War Zone II

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A warning—do not rise to the bait. Unfortunately, a lot of people didn’t get the memo.  They sent their own message.

This memo was sent to at least some state employees and people at the University of Minnesota last Thursday.

The Cedar Riverside area of Minneapolis is described as a historic “point of entry for immigrants since Swedes, Germans, and Bohemians began arriving in large numbers during the late 19th century.” Today it is sometimes called “Little Mogadishu” because it has become the largest concentration of Somali-born residents in the twin cities.

A key figure in the anti-Muslim protest was Jake Lang, a January 6th participant who served four years in prison before President Trump pardoned him. Some of his rally colleagues dragged him away from the scene at Minneapolis City Hall, bleeding from the back of his head.

Reports indicate he was leading the Americans Against Islamification’s “Crusader March on ‘Little Somalia.’” One report says he intended to burn a copy of the Quran during the rally. Lang was dragged away to safety by one of his group after about ninety minutes of yelling back and forth and when the chaos that he sought to stoke went after him.

Another report says a member of the group was chased into a parking garage and struck with a flagpole. During the chaos, one of those protesting the presence of Lang’s group noticed the man was bleeding from a head wound and was heard shouting into a megaphone, “This guy needs medical help. He needs mental help. The bleeding is natural for Nazis, but he needs mental help.” When another woman, a protestor, asked the man if he needed help, he replied, “No, I’m good. Thank you, though. I appreciate you.”

It’s not clear if the two reports are referring to Lang or if there was a second man. Later, Lang texted on X from a hospital that he “was just literally LYNCHED by anti-white mob of liberal and illegal immigrants…PRESIDENT TRUMP SEND IN THE NATIONAL GUARD They are lynching White Christian Americans!!!!!”

Some will say he asked for what he got. Some who have studied contemporary accounts of lynchings will say that what happened to him is nowhere near a lynching.  And some will question whether there is anything at all Christian in his words and actions and President Trump’s roundup up of Somalis there.   .

On one hand, the worst thing that can happen is for people to give the Langs of our country the attention and reaction they provoke. On the other hand, what happened at that rally is a clear statement that good people will not stand for Trump’s ongoing ethnic cleansing campaign.

We aren’t in Minneapolis but we all should wonder how we would react if it was OUR city and OUR state being put through these experiences because they didn’t vote for Trump and don’t kiss his political ring.

Sometime the best protest is a silent, glowering presence, bristling with danger for the provocateurs but not giving them the violence they want.

But it’s easy to say that when it’s not your city and it’s not your people, your neighbors, who are endangered by someone who is really, just a petty, pitiful vengeful little man who misguidedly believes he is more than just a President of the United States.

—when he is, in fact, so much less a President and a man, and a disgrace to the office.

On the Minneapolis Front Lines

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Minnesota—a state of Lutherans, loons, lutefisk, and Lake Wobegon—is suddenly a war zone.  To hear the Trump administration describe it, it is filled with dangerous Somali fraudsters, and as HHS Secretary Kristi Noem put it, a “domestic terrorist” got what she deserved, a woman that Vice-President Vance claimed was influenced by a vaporous “left wing network,” and that President Trump accused of “violently, willfully, and viciously” running over ICE agent Jonathan Ross—characterizations all quickly issued with absolutely no knowledge of what happened to Renee Nicole Good, a recent Kansas City resident who had moved to Minneapolis about a year ago. Her wife, Rebecca, said in a statement, “We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness.”

A recent editorial by the Wall Street Journal disputed the fulminations from Trump, Noem, Nance and their associates: “Minnesota’s Fraud Problem Isn’t Immigrants: It’s the vast size of the welfare state that corrupts them,” suggesting that generous benefits and numerous programs so large that comprehensive oversight is rendered impossible create opportunities for fraudsters. The Journal blamed both political parties for the situation.

When we were organizing the Missourinet in 1974, the first person I wanted on the my news staff was Jeff Smith who had worked with me at the now defunct KLIK radio station in Jefferson City right after he left Indiana University. Jeff was a terrific reporter whose career path took him into marketing and management. He and his wife Denny remain among our most cherished friends.

Jeff retired as a VP with Northwest Airlines and now is heavily engaged in non-profit work in Minneapolis. Among his colleagues are Somalis. Last week, just as the significance of the killing of Renee Good was starting to sink in, I asked Jeff and Denny to share some of their thoughts. Denny in particular has an interesting perspective on the immigrant situation, which became the focus of their comments.

Here is what they sent:

ICE Storm in Minnesota –

from Jeff and Denise (Denny) Smith

Four days ago, as we write this, Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Depending on which account you believe, she was either a hero or a domestic terrorist. There’s no doubt that the event sparked a storm of outrage on our cold, wet streets.

Unfortunately, we may never get a neutral account of what happened. The Federal government is acting as the sole investigator following its role as executioner. It’s the latest trauma our community has endured in the last seven months, including a fatal school shooting and the assassination of a State Representative.

Renee Good’s death is an outcome of the Trump administration’s decision to send more than 2,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents to Minnesota. Trump is clearly ratcheting up his determination to punish Minnesota for being blue.

As a white woman, born in the U.S., Renee Good wasn’t the chief target of these agents’ attention. Those would be people who are brown or black.

Minnesota has been home to us for forty years, since we migrated from Missouri for a career opportunity. Thank God we didn’t move from Mogadishu. If we had migrated from Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, we now would be labeled “garbage” by President Trump. If we wore a hijab or had brown skin, we would likely be afraid to leave our home, fearing an ICE agent’s impulsive imprisonment.

Somalis in Minnesota are neighbors and co-workers. They comprise the largest population outside of Mogadishu and our communities depend on them every day. Somali Americans have become integral parts of all aspects of a diverse Minnesota that ranks in the top ten states for health, education, our business environment and other measures.

Quoting the Sahan Journal, a local newspaper serving Somalis, “The vast majority of Somalis here and across the United States are U.S. citizens, and most who are not have legal permanent residency.” Among many professions, they provide needed services for people at Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. They care for older adults living in our communities for seniors. They work in our food processing plants. But, according to Trump, they’re not “legitimate” Americans.

By that definition, most likely, neither are you.

Only indigenous Americans have non-immigrant roots. The Twin Cities are home to more than 8,000 tribal members. But that population also does not feel safe. Last week, ICE detained four members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe because they could not provide proof of citizenship. They were unhoused and living under a bridge.

And they are not white.

Unless you are a Native American, you too are connected to an immigrant. Did your forebearers come from Poland, or Ireland, or Italy or, involuntarily, from Africa? If so, your ancestors knew what it’s like to be labeled “garbage,” or worse.

As a second-generation Sicilian, Denny’s grandparents and their families were vilified by white Americans as the new “Niggers” and were recruited to replace black cotton field workers during the great migration north by southern former slaves.

There’s always the “other” and they usually have dark skin.

We acknowledge that a few Somali Americans are at the center of the documented fraud in some Minnesota social service agencies. However, we trust that the fraudsters will receive swift justice and that the bureaucrats who allowed it will be held responsible.

We are alarmed by the Trump administration’s broad-brush judgements, especially of non-white Americans. We should not be so quick to judge entire populations. We should not be so quick to judge, period.

Our move introduced us to a region shaped by both harsh winters and remarkable cultural diversity.  Over the decades, we’ve witnessed how new waves of immigrants, from all corners of the globe, have been welcomed to the fabric of Minnesota, bringing fresh perspectives, food, traditions, and resilience. This blend of backgrounds has enriched our state and broadened our understanding of the world.

We’re glad we migrated to Minnesota and we pray for our city.

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For the record: Native Americans were not recognized as general citizens of this country, not even by the Fourteenth Amendment,  until June 2, 1924 but were not guaranteed the right to vote in every state until 1948.

It’s important to hear from people such as you and me in America’s occupied areas—-because ICE is among us, too. And so are immigrants.

The death of Renee Good is a case filled with complications and Minnesota authorities are not ceding the investigation and prosecution of the case to Trump’s FBI or any other federal agency whose trustworthiness is as limited as our President’s honesty.

But the basic point to remember is this:  The “domestic terrorists” in Minneapolis are the ones sent there by President Trump to punish a state that is not in his political column. His justification that people from those places he calls a “sh—hole countries” are committing massive fraud is a blatant slander of thousands of good people and a craven excuse for his abuse of power.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board disputes Trump’s singling out of Minnesota and its Somali immigrants: “Minnesota’s Fraud Problem Isn’t Immigrants: It’s the vast size of the welfare state that corrupts them—not immigrants or a particular culture.” Others have noted the billions of dollars poured into Pandemic relief programs have led to massive systemic nationwide fraud, suggesting that Trump’s singling out Minnesota and its Somali residents for military intervention is far beyond the limits of reality.

None of us deserves what is happening in Minneapolis and in too many other places in our country today. As Renee Good put it, “No matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness.”

Compassion and kindness are two of the many things grievously missing in our national dialogue and particularly from our national leadership.

Maybe we’ll ask Jeff and Denny to report from the front lines of our president’s war on his own country again as the ICE campaign and the killing of a 37-year old poet simmer in this frigid time.