"On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well."
Friday, October 31, 2025
Haiku Friday: At the door on Halloween
Ah, Halloween! And who is at the door? Princesses, ninjas, cowboys, football players, misc. Pokemen, and more! So let's haiku about that this week. Here, I will go first:
I am always glad
To see the very smallest
Hello, 'lil goblin!
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun!
Thursday, October 30, 2025
PMT: The Shutdown comes for Newark
Newark Airport, a United hub, has been struggling for a while but this week has been especially problematic. Because of staffing shortages, no flights were allowed in or out yesterday after 3:30 in the afternoon. As one might imagine, it wreaked havoc on the NYC travelsphere.
Restricted flights might be what get people's attention, but the cracks in society from the shutdown are felt most acutely by federal workers themselves. Going without pay is a serious problem for many of them-- they just don't have the reserves to get through to a resumption of pay. Over the long term it will decay (further) our federal workforce, and that is not good for those who use government resources-- and that is all of us.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Clemency Talk on NPR
I don't post here every time I talk to media, but yesterday I got to spend four minutes talking clemency with Ailsa Chang on NPR's "All Things Considered." She was a great interviewer, and I really enjoyed it. I'll always say yes to All Things Considered because I love the show and have such strong memories of my dad listening to it on every car trip...
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Football Craziness Update!
This has been a bad bad year for college football prognosticators! Above is the AP Top 20.... let's check in on how they are doing.
1. Texas Uh-oh. Now at #20 at 6-2
2. Penn State Double Uh-oh. Unranked and unraveling at 3-4
3. Ohio State Not bad-- currently unbeaten and #1!
4. Clemson Yikes! Unranked, and 3-4.
5. Georgia Right on-- still #5 at 6-1.
....
19. Texas A & M Undefeated and ranked # 3!
20. Indiana Undefeated and ranked #2
See also:
Unranked Georgia Tech: Currently #8 and undefeated
Unranked Vanderbilt: Currently #9 in the nation
Monday, October 27, 2025
On Pumpkins!
Perhaps this topic was a bit of a stretch, but you all still came through. There was this gem from my Mom:
Best pumpkin ever
Spike made a Donald Trumpkin
Wowed the neighborhood.
Spike made a Donald Trumpkin
Wowed the neighborhood.
Which had this anonymous response:
Scary Orange Trumpkin
He is that exact shade, huh?
Also, empty head.
He is that exact shade, huh?
Also, empty head.
And a winner from Craig:
Love the porch pumpkin
that survives indignities
of squirrels and kids.
that survives indignities
of squirrels and kids.
There were four anonymous entries, and I liked this one the best:
Wide pumpkin is best
If you want some scary teeth
He will bite you—rrrrr!
If you want some scary teeth
He will bite you—rrrrr!
And this one... I don't think I understood! Is a "Punk-een" a thing?
Punk-eens are not lean
They are fat-slatted,hatted,
And Green-stem’d grinners.
They are fat-slatted,hatted,
And Green-stem’d grinners.
This one I think I got:
You must be orange
And plump, to be kin of a
Pump—white ,green? Exit!
And plump, to be kin of a
Pump—white ,green? Exit!
Sunday, October 26, 2025
Sunday Reflection: Humility and Truth
Often, I come on here and quote from the Gospels and then construe it, pushing the text this way or that-- something I always feel somewhat ambivalent about, as I don't really know more than anyone else about what Jesus meant.
This week, though, I offer a passage from Luke 18 that really needs no analysis, because the meaning is clear, important, and a critique of us all (including the guy pictured above):
Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, `God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, `God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."
Saturday, October 25, 2025
Still missing Chris Farley.....
Friday, October 24, 2025
Haiku Friday: The perfect pumpkin
It's that week-- time to choose the perfect pumpkin. We all have our preferences-- let's haiku about that this week! Here, I will go first:
Long and tall pumpkin
Good for scary expressions
I get the long knife.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable formula and have some fun!
Thursday, October 23, 2025
PMT: East Wing Demolition at the White House
In what will be the biggest change to the White House since the 1940's, President Trump is having the entire East Wing demolished to accommodate a 999-seat ballroom (and, apparently, some new version of the East Wing itself. The ballroom's design is reported to be based on the ballroom at Mar-a-Lago, the President's home and club in Florida.
The East Wing was always the kinda-boring part of the White House, where tours came through and the First Lady had her offices, together with some ceremonial spaces and other offices. Still, it is the part of the People's House that actual people had regular access to, and many people have great memories of it.
The change is one of many made at the White House in this administration-- but probably the most significant.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Winter is Coming
There is a day, one day, that comes every year for Minnesotans: the first day that you feel cold. For me, that day came yesterday.
I was walking from my car to school. It was raining a little bit, and there were damp leaves under my feet. It reminded me of when I was kid being taken to the doctor, and feeling the damp and cold as I walked with my mom in a thin jacket. And then I was there, in full, feeling the fear a kid does in that moment, and the sense that winter was coming, had to come, because that is what winter does.
Over time, we talk ourselves out of that fear in a series of internal dialogues and public discussions, reassuring ourselves and others that really winter is not that bad and that none of us would freeze all the way through.
But on this day, that discussion has not yet begun....
Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Didn't see this coming!
It is midway through the college football season, and there are some surprises. Vanderbilt is in the top 10, having beaten LSU-- as the betting favorite going into the game. Florida, North Carolina, and Auburn are all winless in their conferences and in last place. Clemson is 3-4 overall. It's a bad time for everyone who picked one of those teams to go all the way to the playoffs.
And in the Big Ten:
-- Indiana is in first place
-- Penn State, Michigan State and Wisconsin are all in last place
at 0-4, and
-- Northwestern is right on the heels of Indiana at 3-1!
I worried that NIL money and the transfer portal would favor the same old blue bloods (ie, Clemson, Florida State, and Auburn), but that does not seem to be happening to the degree that I feared.
Monday, October 20, 2025
Meow
So, you all DO care about cats! And not just Pickles the Cat. I loved this one from my Mom (referring to my nephew Ben):
Favorite T shirt
Ben's "Cats Behaving Badly"
The cats are smoking.
Ben's "Cats Behaving Badly"
The cats are smoking.
And IPLawGuy (seen above at his Pod in Space) had two, neither of which were about the actual cats he has owned. First, this:
The song, Stray Cat Blues,
By the Rolling Stones, also
Not about a cat.
By the Rolling Stones, also
Not about a cat.
Then this:
Detroit's Ted Nugent
wrote the song Cat Scratch Fever
Not about a cat.
wrote the song Cat Scratch Fever
Not about a cat.
This anonymous entry (one of four) seems a little hyperbolic, though I do admire the use of the word "purrfect":
Elegant, Purrfect.
True. 'Cause EVERYONE says so.
Darling Taffy Anne.
True. 'Cause EVERYONE says so.
Darling Taffy Anne.
While this one seemed familiar:
Our family cat
Loved to unspool bath tissue
All over the house.
Loved to unspool bath tissue
All over the house.
I wonder about this cat!:
My son's hairless cat:
Dobby from Harry Potter
Scary but nice.
Dobby from Harry Potter
Scary but nice.
And a final anonymous entry (which contains an elegant use of "greenglow"):
Her eyes in the dark—
Greenglow moons staring into
Mine, I jump thin air.
Greenglow moons staring into
Mine, I jump thin air.
Sunday, October 19, 2025
Sunday Reflection: The Reunion
I have spent the weekend in New Haven for my law school reunion. It was a pretty remarkable time, reconnecting with people who have been very important in my life, in a lot of different ways. It's still surprising to me that I'm a part of this group, but the truth is that in a way I always fit in, in the ways that matter.
After talking to these friends who have gone on to do so many different things, it makes me think about vocation. Most-- but not all-- of us found a vocation, work that feeds our heart and meets the needs of the world. Some might still do that. Life is that way.
I was struck by how kind people were with each other at this point in life-- not something that necessarily marked the way we were in law school (unfortunately, I know that I was someone who was not always kind). It made me feel a lot of hope about what is to come.
Saturday, October 18, 2025
How it started (now that it is ending)
Friday, October 17, 2025
Haiku Friday: Cats
October is a month when our thoughts turn to cats. Halloween is focused on spooky things, and let's face it-- cats are kind of spooky. They see in the dark, they have mysterious unknown agendas, they are up all night. So let's haiku about them this week. Here, I will go first:
Our cat had some plans
Chuck would head out in morning
Come back with some wounds.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern, and have some fun!
Thursday, October 16, 2025
Legal Mayhem Thursday: The Threat of Sora
For the past twenty years, the criminal-law project of getting to truth has been aided by the ubiquity of video evidence. It's hard to do anything in public (or, sometimes, in private) without it appearing on a dash cam, a security cam, an ATM cam, body-worn police cams, etc etc etc. When I worked at the County a few years ago, I was shocked at the way video evidence had transformed the way cases are made-- and how much more reliable it was than eyewitness testimony.
That's all could go out the window soon as deepfake videos with remarkable realistic qualities undermine the worth of real videos. As the New York Times put it in a recent headline, "A.I. Video Generators Are Now So Good That You Can No Longer Trust Your Eyes."
The videos above are all fakes made with Sora 2, the leading-edge tool to make deepfakes.
The impact on both civil and criminal law could be significant. It is the job of attorneys to cast doubt on the evidence brought by the other side, and now authenticity will become almost impossible to establish. And that, my friends, could change everything as fewer truths are brought to the surface by institutions we count on to do just that.
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
D'Angelo
The legendary R & B singer D'Angelo died of cancer yesterday. He was a leading figure in the Neo-soul movement of the 1990's and early 2000's, and his own career peaked with his 2000 album, Voodoo, which was became a #1 seller.
After Voodoo came out, D'Angelo pretty much went silent for a decade. There is a lot of speculation about why, but the truth is that not living your life in public is a right that all of us have. Even when someone makes great and/or popular music (or other forms of entertainment and art), that doesn't give the society as a whole permission to examine their lives if they choose privacy.
D'Angelo was from Richmond, Virginia. Like Marvin Gaye, his father was a pentecostal minister and he became involved with music early in life.
You might not know his work, but maybe you should...
Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Diane Keaton
Even terrible drivers can be lovable. That's the lesson I took from this great scene in "Annie Hall" featuring Diane Keaton, who just passed away.
She was in a lot of movies, and I have seen only a fraction of them. I was always thrilled when she showed up, though, because there is a way that she could convey cluelessness (ie about her own driving in the clip above) but also intense self-awareness (as in The Godfather Pt. II, where her sense of not fitting in was palpable). Sometimes, too, she would switch between the two, which was magic.
Monday, October 13, 2025
The Best Shows
As it turns out, people have strong opinions about what the best TV shows are! Like Craig:
Love Masterpiece shows:
Downton Abbey, All Creatures,
And Unforgotten!
Downton Abbey, All Creatures,
And Unforgotten!
And Desiree:
Northern Exposure.
I want to live in chilly
Cicely, A-K.
I want to live in chilly
Cicely, A-K.
And Tim Nelson:
Too many to name
Everybody Loves Ray
Schitt's Creek and Fargo.
Everybody Loves Ray
Schitt's Creek and Fargo.
And IPLawGuy (a true Monty Python fan):
Watching PBS
with parents, boring, new show
starts: Monty Python!
with parents, boring, new show
starts: Monty Python!
And the Medievalist (with an observation I have made, too):
Tropical island,
The Minnow and Gilligan,
Fix the boat, people!
The Minnow and Gilligan,
Fix the boat, people!
And Amy:
It's the immersion--
Scottish accent in my head--
Binging Dept.Q.
Scottish accent in my head--
Binging Dept.Q.
And Christine:
The Fischer family
Quirky and a bit twisted
Twas Six Feet Under.
Quirky and a bit twisted
Twas Six Feet Under.
And an anonymous entry (about a show I don't know):
I got addicted
The gritty reality
The Pitt rivets me.
The gritty reality
The Pitt rivets me.
Sunday, October 12, 2025
Sunday Reflection: Be THAT Leper!
One of my favorite stories in the Gospels is this, from Luke 17:
There is such truth there! We (I) are so bad at recognizing the people whose shoulders we ride, the ones who raised us and educated us and inspired us. I wrote about this once, and that story still haunts me.
Sometimes when I talk to student groups, they will ask me "what can we do right now?" One of the things I urge them to do is to write notes to the people they see doing the work they admire. Those notes mean more than you might think-- it can get a beaten-down advocate through a hard day or a hard week, and that matters, too.
Saturday, October 11, 2025
Best lost pet poster ever
I love this poster very much. Could it have used some proofreading? Sure. Does the cat look like Dobbie the House Elf's demonic cousin? Also yes. But the sentiment is sweet and true.
Friday, October 10, 2025
Haiku Friday: Best TV Shows
We like in a very different time than thirty years ago, when watching a TV show was dictated by broadcast time. Now, we control the schedule. It does allow us to be more discerning, and only watch the good stuff. So let's haiku about that this week. Here, I will go first:
Sopranos binging
I couldn't stop watching that show
And it got better.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun!
Thursday, October 09, 2025
PMT: Where Newsome and Kennedy Agree
Robert Kennedy (Secretary of Health and Human Services) and Gavin Newsome (Governor of California) apparently agree on one important thing: that ultraprocessed foods don't belong in school lunches.
Apparently, Newsome is doing something about it. He just signed into law a set of rules that will greatly reduce kids' exposure to junk food at school. That could have an effect on the rest of us, too: companies may change their recipes to avoid the worst examples of dangerous ingredients to comply with California law, and the rest of us will benefit from the new formulation.
Kids can always bring their own Twinkies to lunch, I suppose-- but this measure will at least cut down on schools pushing the stuff directly onto lunch trays.
Wednesday, October 08, 2025
Oh, Canada....
President Trump seems to have cooled it with his demands that Canada accede to becoming the "51st State," much as he seems to have forgotten about Greenland. Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the White House yesterday, and it seemed to go pretty well.
Still, the relationship has changed and in the long run this will be to the detriment of the US. By all accounts, in the face of high tariffs and other obstacles Canada is seeking out (and finding) new trade relationships with more stable nations. Canadians as a whole are visiting the US much less, and this has become a real factor in places like Las Vegas, which has long relied on Canadian tourism.
As the press focuses on the latest inflammatory remark or created crisis, these larger stories are lost. But in truth the cost of the manufactured drama of late will only become apparent as years pass.
Tuesday, October 07, 2025
Football Update
We're six weeks into the season, and all my least favorite teams are doing great. Ugh.
#1 is all-time least favorite Ohio State the University
#2 is Miami, who have bugged me since the 80's
#3 is Oregon, whose only palatable feature is the Duck
Meanwhile, the teams I follow are ok-to-bad.
Michigan is #15, and has a pretty favorable schedule ahead. This weekends game at USC will tell us how good they are.
Minnesota is unranked and lost 400-3 to Ohio State last weekend. Which was painful in a lot of ways.
Northwestern is 3-2, but have only beaten Western Illinois, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, and Woeful UCLA. But... at least they didn't feel the pain of Penn State, who somehow lost to Woeful UCLA last Saturday.
And St. Thomas is really struggling-- they are in last place in the worst conference in Div. I-AA, the Pioneer. Sigh.
But, there is a lot of the season left to play!
Monday, October 06, 2025
On October
I love October, and I loved your poems about it! Welcome back to the Medievalist:
Summer is over,
Days are shorter, cool air
Beckons and lingers.
Days are shorter, cool air
Beckons and lingers.
And this one from Craig makes me wonder why he is still living in an oak tree outside of town:
October brings the
bombardment: raining acorns.
Bing, bang, boom, bing, bang!
bombardment: raining acorns.
Bing, bang, boom, bing, bang!
IPLawGuy has a point:
What's your deal Tenth Month?
Ancient Calendar Adjustment
But "Oct" still means Eight.
Ancient Calendar Adjustment
But "Oct" still means Eight.
While Christine has an observation:
Trees release, drifting...
Creating a new carpet
On the forest floor.
Creating a new carpet
On the forest floor.
I loved this anonymous entry:
Scent of fallen leaves
Crunchy sound when you rake them
Jump into the pile!
Crunchy sound when you rake them
Jump into the pile!
And Des-- I wish I were going to homecoming next week!:
HoCo in the ‘burg.
Fall leaves, Cheese shop, trying to
remember folks’ names.
Fall leaves, Cheese shop, trying to
remember folks’ names.
Sunday, October 05, 2025
Sunday Reflection: Telling God what to do
There is a story of lost faith I have heard many times. Someone's prayers were not answered, and that led them to think that there was no God, or at least not a God who was listening.
But... doesn't that pattern get it all backwards in terms of who is God and who am I? If I tell God what to do, aren't I putting myself in the role of the superior being? I'm telling God what to do, and now I will punish God for failing to obey.
Talk about setting yourself up for disappointment!
Saturday, October 04, 2025
Actual poster tweeted out by the US Department of Labor
I'm a fan of Soviet propaganda posters, but there is something that seems a little off here for the US in 2025.
Also, what is this guy's job? He has no safety equipment on, so it seems unlikely he is a construction worker. Hmmm.
Friday, October 03, 2025
Haiku Friday: October
This is my favorite month, and I wish it could go on for a while. But its fleeting nature is part of what makes it special. Let's haiku about October this week. Here, I will go first:
Sunday, Luce Line Trail
A path of dazzling colors
Cold cider awaits.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable formula and have some fun!
Thursday, October 02, 2025
PMT: The Shutdown
In late 1995 and early 1996, I was a federal employee during a 21-day shutdown of the government during the Clinton administration. As a federal prosecutor, I was an essential worker and continued doing my job, though we were not paid until after the shutdown ended. It was an odd time, but not too much of a hardship (for people like me, anyways); it came over the holidays when many people weren't at work anyways and our work didn't stop.
I have a hunch this shutdown could be much more calamitous. There is the prospect of permanent changes being done to employment and workplaces while the government mechanisms are shut down, and federal workers are already under much more stress-- from layoffs, buyouts, losing union protections, and more-- than existed under Clinton.
Democrats have almost no other leverage right now, and have a strong incentive to maintain that leverage. Republicans are unlikely to make concessions anytime soon.
The shutdown will create shadows, and bad things happen in the shadows.
Wednesday, October 01, 2025
Wise words from Craig A.
Sometimes, there is a comment to my post that is better than my original post. And often that comment is from my mentor and friend Craig who, despite his odd and misguided choices in sports fandom, often brings great clarity to a situation. Here was his comment:
Mark, the more I read about this story the worse it gets … and the further this decision by “the powers to be” at Baylor and in the conservative wing of the Baptist tradition walks away from the core of the Gospel. So sad. So misguided.
Matthew 22:
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[c] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
In my reading, there are no qualifiers, no asterisks.
From the NASW Code of Ethics (as your sister knows):
The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. Social workers promote social justice and social change with and on behalf of clients.
Sounds very resonate with the core of Jesus’s teachings.
Matthew 22:
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[c] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
In my reading, there are no qualifiers, no asterisks.
From the NASW Code of Ethics (as your sister knows):
The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. Social workers promote social justice and social change with and on behalf of clients.
Sounds very resonate with the core of Jesus’s teachings.
It echoes what I have been thinking about in the past few days-- that Christianity takes a a bad turn when it turns away from those two Great Commandments of Christ and towards judgment and correction of others. And Christian institutions seem to do that a lot lately.
