The Texas State Board of Education approved a new statewide curriculum that makes Bible reading mandatory. This goes against the 1st amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It presumes this nation and its public schools are and should be Christian (Christian Nationalism). Public Schools should teach youth about all religions, not teach what they should believe. The board also approved a curriculum that glosses over racism and the history of slavery in the United States. This is not God's chosen, perfect nation. We need to recognize our flaws. We need to respect all people.

Moon in June

The moon in June shines brightly in the sky. 

Central Gardens

 A trip to Central Gardens, Clear Lake, Iowa. Beautiful and refreshing.

Visits from grads

 What a joy and privilege to have recent visits from Wartburg Seminary graduates who have been faithfully serving for many years. Rev. Kathy Gerking and husband Andy.  Rev. Carolyn Pflibsen and Rev. Dr. Troy Pflibsen. 

Father's Day 2026

I give thanks for my husband, Burton who has been and continues to be a great dad--and granddad. Oldest son Mark (in Phoenix) with daughter Aimee, Next Joel (in Mason City) , father to Jennaya and Jackson, and youngest son, Kirk (Dennison, Texas) pictured with taking a picture of the family. 

 

Obama Presidential Center Opening

Yes, there was music at the Grand Opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center. There were thousands of people, ordinary people from the neighborhood. I also saw Angela Merkel from Germany and Justin Trudeau from Canada. I heard wonderful speeches by Valerie Jarrett, Michelle Obama and Barack Obama himself. I appreciated the focus on the South Side of Chicago where Michelle grew up and Barack was a community organizer.  Years earlier Burton and I had our first urban street experience canvassing on the South Side of Chicago. Everyone in this diverse country needs to feel welcome.

June 18 and 19

 June 18 is the celebration of the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, a place where new generations will be empowered to find their own voice. June 19 is Juneteenth, the Federal Holiday celebration when the Emancipation Proclamation which set enslaved people in Confederal states free finally reach Galveston, Texas 2 1/2 years after it was issued by President Abraham Lincoln. 

Flag Day

 It's Flag Day, a time to recognize the stars and stripes, adopted in 1777. (I remember when we changed from 48 stars to 50). There are also hundreds of people having birthdays today. Most important, the U.S. flag belongs to everyone. We dare not be separated over the flag as we were during the Viet Nam War. We dare not wrap the flag around a cross; we reject Christian nationalism. We honor the flags of all nations. 

 An eight-year-old girl in Topeka had already understood intuitively from the school bus window — that the message sent to a child by telling her she cannot attend the school four blocks from her home is not a neutral administrative decision. It is a statement about her worth.

The unanimous ruling of Brown vs. the Board of Education overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, the 1896 decision that had enshrined "separate but equal" as constitutional law for 58 years. It was one of the most significant legal decisions in American history — a turning point not just for education but for the entire Civil Rights Movement that would follow.

Linda Brown grew up to become a teacher and educational consultant. She spent her adult life working on school integration and equal education — continuing the fight that had begun with her father walking her to a school four blocks away.

"Looking back on Brown v. Board of Education," she said in an interview, "it has made an impact in all facets of life for minorities throughout the land. I really think of it in terms of what it has done for our young people, in taking away that feeling of second-class citizenship."

She was born on this day in 1943.

She passed away in 2018.

In between, she gave her name — without ever choosing to — to the case that told every child in America that the school four blocks away was theirs too.

Climate crisis

 "Severe Storms" "Tornado Warning" Those words trail across our TV screen.  Have we become used to floods, tornados, record heat and cold? Former Vice President Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" was written 20 years ago. King Charles was concerned about the environment decades before.  We rarely hear words about "Climate change" anymore. We should be working on the "Climate CRISIS" all the time. The current administration doesn't care. When will be a "convenient" time to be concerned?

Votes in California

Donald Trump is saying the voting in California was rigged.  No rigging, no fraud.  It simply takes time to count all those votes when so many people vote by mail.  Don't fall for Trump's false claims.  We need to encourage all people to vote. We need to save "vote by mail." We need to help people register to vote in the remaining primaries and in November. 

Jennaya voting

 Jennaya Everist, recent college graduate, was interviewed by the press as she voted in the Iowa Democratic Primary June 2.  Years ago, when the national press was covering the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucuses, Jennaya, then 3 1/2, was interviewed by a New York reporter. Jennaya said she was for "Obama." Whatever age, we need to be ready to speak about our views.