Tuesday, February 03, 2026
More singing....
I just think this is so beautiful-- my neighbors taking on injustice through mass singing. My nephew mentioned that this happened as Estonia broke from the Soviet Union; most of the population showed up to sing for their freedom.
Monday, February 02, 2026
Bruuuuuuce!
Such good haiku about Springsteen this week! We had these two from Des:
Hot take— best line in
a song: “You ain’t a beauty
but, hey you’re alright”
a song: “You ain’t a beauty
but, hey you’re alright”
The River makes me
tear up every time. Such sad
quiet hopelessness.
tear up every time. Such sad
quiet hopelessness.
And IPLawGuy chimed in:
Nor really a fan
Until I saw Springsteen live
HIgh crowd energy!
Until I saw Springsteen live
HIgh crowd energy!
Darkness on the Edge
A bitter album I love
Spoke to me when young.
A bitter album I love
Spoke to me when young.
And then, on a more current note, this anonymous poem:
Who have we become
When "Dude I'm not mad at you"
Is a death sentence.
When "Dude I'm not mad at you"
Is a death sentence.
And more from IPLawGuy:
Music with messages
In our country's DNA
Listen, think and act.
In our country's DNA
Listen, think and act.
kids will remember
Those who stood up and spoke up
Repressors will fade.
Those who stood up and spoke up
Repressors will fade.
And from Anonymous:
Soft bunny ear hat
And his Spiderman backpack
Return sweet Liam.
And his Spiderman backpack
Return sweet Liam.
And finally, and just right, is this from CraigA:
The Boss: Giving voice
and song to wounds, the wounded,
and victims of hate.
and song to wounds, the wounded,
and victims of hate.
Sunday, February 01, 2026
Sunday Reflection: My very own faculty statement
One thing academics have struggled with is coming up with statements in their individual capacity about what is going on. Institutions are fearful of making bold statements because they fear retribution (including for their students). We professors, though, shouldn't have that same fear. I wrote a statement on my own behalf, which is set out below. I thought it was important to both name the harm and call for an end to that harm.
An Open Letter to those who have eyes to see or ears to hear:
I write in my individual capacity as a member of the faculty of the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, Minnesota to address the wrongs that I see as a teacher, a scholar, a neighbor and as a Christian. My objection to the realities of “Operation Metro Surge” in our city are rooted in my chosen vocation, which directs me to care deeply about our students, to engage with and support our neighbors, and to search for and value the truth. As a Catholic institution, our focus on human dignity means that we cannot turn a blind eye to the degradation and harm done to people in our midst.
St. Thomas Law was founded on and animated by the idea of community. The value of supporting one another, even when we disagree, is a core ethic here. That means that we cannot stay silent when members of our community are threatened and harmed. I condemn the actions of the federal government that have terrified and harmed people in our community because of the color of their skin, the accent in their voice, or their expression of fundamental First Amendment rights. It seems that all in our community are at the very least adjacent—by blood, love, faith, or friendship—to someone who has a been harmed in some way by the actions of ICE and the federal agents working with them. There has been too much blood on the snow, too many people forced into hiding, and too much carelessness in the enforcement of our laws.
As a scholar, I am appalled by not only the assault on human dignity that has been at the center of Operation Metro Surge, but the assault on truth. With each death and lesser tragedy, those in power have made claims that are facially false and brutally offensive to those who have suffered. People who understand the normal mechanisms of a rational criminal law system are united in calling for a vigorous truth-seeking investigation into potential crimes committed by federal agents, and vigorous prosecution where those truths reveal a crime.
Not all moments are equal, and this one is extraordinary for our community, for our state, and for our nation. Operation Metro Surge must end now.
Saturday, January 31, 2026
So... has anyone seen the Melania movie?
Friday, January 30, 2026
Haiku Friday: The Boss
We've never haiku'd about Bruce Springsteen before, so this is the time. It can be about the song/video above, or anything else you might want to address! Here, I will go first:
He gets it, I think
The song is not about ICE
It is about us.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern, and have some fun!
Thursday, January 29, 2026
PMT: Rampaging over human dignity
Not long ago, I posted about 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, who was detained and sent to Texas from his home here in Minnesota. His blue bunny hat has become a symbol for people here; many are being knit by fireplaces across Minnesota for events this coming weekend. Part of Liam's name is Conejo, which is Spanish for rabbit. According to the family's lawyer, his father had no criminal record and an active asylum case.
Yesterday, two members of Congress visited Liam at a detention center in Texas. They said he was "lethargic," and that he asked about his bunny hat and Spiderman backpack, which apparently were taken from him.
There are more gruesome stories from all this mess, of course-- involving actual death-- but there is something about a little kid having not only his home and much of his family but his bunny hat taken away that makes the whole thing seem all the more outrageous and wrong.
A part of Operation Metro Surge's operating orders seems designed to strip human dignity from those who are targeted. We are told, for example, that the people swept up are "the worst of the worst," when that very clearly is not true in the vast majority of cases, and those who are detained have too often been treated brutally. The entire project rests on a false dichotomy between "us" and "them," with "us" being protected from "them"-- a group that, apparently, includes a little kid who wonders what happened to his blue bunny hat.
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
People who give us hope: Singers of Minneapolis
Yesterday I heard a remarkable story from the Dean of the University of Minnesota school of music. He lives in South Minneapolis, the part of town where both Alex Pretti and Renee Good were killed by federal agents.
On Saturday, the night Pretti was killed, a call went out for every neighborhood to have a candlelight vigil in his memory. As he described it, in his neighborhood there were several, and the same thing happened at each as people stood around a firepit in a driveway or holding candles at a street corner-- they began to sing. So he went from one group to the next, joining them in songs sent out into the dark night.
That really epitomizes the spirit of the people here, who have somehow combined kindness and caring with a deep resolve to do what is right.
Not long ago, I wrote that this past weekend felt like it marked a turning point towards the good, and it is beginning to feel more and more that way.
Genesis describes a world that was sung into existence, and perhaps it will be preserved in that same way.
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
How Can I Help?
Over the past few weeks, many people from outside of Minnesota have asked me how they can help. Below is my list of opportunities, which goes beyond “call your Senator” (though that can be important).
Truth-Telling
Much of what ICE is doing in Minnesota rests on a bed of falsehoods that are being endlessly repeated by Trump-affiliated politicians. Other than Trump and a few high-level cabinet members, they rarely get called on it. So, if your member of Congress or state legislator is saying that ICE is focused on the “worst of the worst,” or that Alex Pretti was a “paid agitator,” post on social media and elsewhere the evidence that this is not true. Start a web site cataloguing those lies by a particular individual. Go to their social media feeds and correct the falsehoods one by one and link to sources. They are living in a bubble of misinformation. Let’s burst it.
Donating
Yes, there are a lot of good organizations doing great work here. Many of them are catalogued at https://www.standwithminnesota.com/
A knowledgeable observer particularly recommends Manarca (https://monarcamn.org/) and MIRAC (https://www.miracmn.com/)
Encouraging
There are some real heroes here. If you read about someone doing something good, find their email or socials and give them encouragement. You would not believe how much that has meant to me and others—to hear from people outside of this mess that we are seen. I realize that many people on the internet read a lot but don’t interact. Usually that’s fine, but if you really care, give someone a shot of love (especially if you don’t know them).
Visiting
Many people have asked if they should come here to help, and I’m urging caution. After the murder of George Floyd, people from other states came here for looting and violence (it worked), and that has made some people very wary of outsiders. However, if you are going to work on a specific project or join in a big public daytime march, you will probably be welcome. Wear mittens. Also a hat. And long underwear.
Tipping
Finally, wherever you are there are scared immigrants, documented and not, who are working for you in places you do not see—in kitchens making your food, or cleaning your hotel room. They aren’t murdering and raping. They are making your life better. Be generous.
Please, please, please—this is not an exhaustive list! Put your own ideas in the comments. Stay safe. Be brave.
Monday, January 26, 2026
On winter ice
We had a great batch of haiku this week on the ambiguous topic of winter weather! There was this from CraigA:
Bracing for big storm:
Shovels, brooms, window scrapers,
Lanterns, and blankets.
Shovels, brooms, window scrapers,
Lanterns, and blankets.
And I always love to hear from Sleepy Walleye:
For now, we have ice.
Long may it linger. I dread.
A summer of ICE.
Long may it linger. I dread.
A summer of ICE.
IPLawGuy got the ambiguity, too:
I see what you did
Yes, those thugs are invasive!
And fragile snowflakes.
Yes, those thugs are invasive!
And fragile snowflakes.
Then he had two more to explain why his first one was listed as "anonymous":
Forgot to sign in
Yes, that’s me, IPlawGuy
Not anonymous.
Yes, that’s me, IPlawGuy
Not anonymous.
Did it work this time?
It should be easier to
Sign in on a phone.
It should be easier to
Sign in on a phone.
This was a good anonymous entry:
Ice is for skating
Cooling a good drink, ice packs
Not for spreading fear.
Cooling a good drink, ice packs
Not for spreading fear.
Christine had the storm down South to worry about:
Calm before the storm
Hoping we don't lose power
Inevitable.
Hoping we don't lose power
Inevitable.
And this one might have been talking about the trees in our Minneapolis forest:
The branches are bare
But the forest holds itself
Tall, for each tree stands.
But the forest holds itself
Tall, for each tree stands.
Sunday, January 25, 2026
Sunday Reflection: I'm ok. Our country is not.
Yesterday I was getting ready to go to the gym and listening to reports about the killing of Alex Pretti, a VA nurse, by federal agents who held him down and then shot him several times.
It made me mad, something that had been building in me-- a righteous anger at what is being done to my city. I decided to go down to the scene of the killing and observe what was happening.
The federal agents had blocked off an intersection at 26th and Nicollet and were massed at the far end. At the other end protesters were chanting and waving signs behind police tape. I walked past several police officers to get there on the sidewalk and wasn't stopped-- I did not cross a perimeter or anything, and there was no apparent effort to clear that area.
About a minute after I arrived and as I stood towards the back of that crowd, a canister of tear gas/chemical irritant landed very close to me and a toxic cloud enveloped me and those around me. Everyone began to run to get out from the cloud. I could barely see and couldn't breathe, which made it hard to run. It was like drowning. I finally turned a corner and fell into a snowbank to recover as people ran past.
It was a peaceful protest, taking place on the other side of the line that the authorities had established. The ICE officers were dozens of yards away, on the other side of the intersection.
The gas was terrifying, but I suffered nothing compared to many others.
But... how is this not a spiritual crisis, not about the way we treat our neighbors?
And the original, with lyrics:
Saturday, January 24, 2026
In the cold
Yesterday was the coldest one I can remember in Minnesota as it got down to -23 and no higher than -8. And that is COLD, real hair-freezing, car-killing cold. And yet, this:
Friday, January 23, 2026
Haiku Friday: The Heart of Winter
Winter is coming hard all over the country. It is well below zero here, which should keep the ICE out, ironically. But winter here is a good thing, especially this deepest part-- it keeps the invasive species away, so that the ecosystem doesn't have a destructive jolt. It's purifying.
So let's haiku about any of it this week-- here, I will go first:
Don't walk outside now
If your hair is wet (or at all)
That sting is a smack.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern, and have some fun!
Thursday, January 22, 2026
PMT: Brave Brave Men of ICE!
Here in Minneapolis, things are looking pretty bleak. Restaurants are closing, kids are staying home from school, and residents, regardless of immigration status are being assaulted or, you know, shot in the face.
The point can be made, of course, that this is the cost of identifying and removing from our country the "worst of the worst"-- those murderers and rapists that the brave, brave men of ICE are working hard to take down and deport. For example, they finally managed to collar and ship out Liam Conejo Ramos, pictured here:
And the men of ICE are not only brave but resourceful! They used Ramos, whose family was described by a school official as here with legal status on an asylum case, as bait to catch other members of his family, according to MPR. And with the Eighth Circuit's decision to stay a District Court judge's limits on ICE tactics, I'm sure we can look forward to even more such resourcefulness in the future.
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
People who give us hope: Liz Oyer
On Wednesdays, I am profiling people that give us hope in these troubling times.
Back in 2022 when things seemed relatively boring, I knew Liz Oyer as the very-well-qualified US Pardon Attorney. She was excellent at that job: she hired great people and re-populated the office, pushed forward hundreds of good cases, and spoke publicly (and even in prisons) about the realities of the clemency process. I got to know her fairly well-- I introduced her at a DC hearing, met with her several times, and even had her speak to my clinic students.
Sadly, her good efforts and those of her staff were eventually undermined by the Biden administration, which too often ignored her recommendations and at the end went completely off the edge with pardons to friends and family and group grants that were poorly vetted within the White House. Trump turned out to be worse, and Liz was fired after refusing to quickly approve a restoration of Mel Gibson's gun rights.
Then, something brave happened. Instead of backing into the shrubbery like most of the people leaving DOJ she spoke out-- and continues to speak out-- about the legal disasters the DOJ is creating. The risk to her is real, but she has been undeterred. Not only that, she is unfailingly calm and correct, two things missing from administration statements these days.
We need a lot more Liz Oyers, but I am glad that at least we have this one.
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Indiana-- Wow!
Last night's championship D1 football game was held at Miami's home field-- the Orange Bowl-- but it sure looked like an Indiana home game in there with a sea of red. Indiana fans must have spent a lot of money to get in those seats, but they have been waiting a LONG time.
Indiana won the national championship over Miami 27-21, after beating Ohio State and demolishing Alabama and Oregon over the previous three games. They finished 16-0, the first time that has been done since Yale in 1894 (really).
I grew up and have remained a fan of the Big 10, and Indiana did not seem a likely subject for this particular ending. They have been terrible for decades-- actually, for over 100 years-- and were the team that others tried to schedule for homecoming. Last year they broke through and made the playoff, and this year they began the season ranked #21-- a rare appearance in the AP rankings. Which, as it turned out, was 20 spots too low.
As a midwesterner and Big 10 fan still, I'm thrilled to see this win-- and to have 3 different Big 10 teams win the championship over the last three years.
Monday, January 19, 2026
MLK Jr. and our challenges today
Usually I use Mondays to recap the haiku from the previous Friday. There were some great ones last week, and I invite you to go back and read them-- but right now, I am going to turn to something else.
Several years ago, on the 50th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I wrote a piece for the Memphis Law Review titled "Short of the Mountaintop." You can read that here. A thesis of that article was that despite the claims of Trump (first term) officials, the dream of racial equality and equity had not been achieved in the United States.
Now, it seems we are even further away from that mountaintop, as in my city people are stopped and detained because of their race and ethnicity in "Kavanaugh stops," and DEI is demonized and the very mention of it scrubbed from official documents in the federal system.
The memory of MLK raises this question: Who will be the leader to take us from this rolling tragedy?
Sunday, January 18, 2026
Sunday Reflection: Violence and State Power
Jesus lived in a place that was occupied by a military force from a far-away capital, which oppressed and controlled the people the with aid of some local collaborators (such as Herod). The Roman occupation is an important context to the Gospels, and to the individual and human dignity Jesus saw and championed in the oppressed people.
Right now, many people here in Minnesota feel as if they are in an occupied place where a militarized force restricts their movement and freedoms. Make no mistake-- there are people, American citizens and legal residents included, who will not go to church this morning because they are afraid that armed, masked men will assault them in the street or drag them out of their cars, beat, and detain them. Perhaps even kill them-- and that fear is rational.
Think about that for a moment, the reason for that empty seat in church. That's where we are.
This isn't really about immigration, this massing and deployment of a huge militarized force. Look at the chart above-- Minnesota has a tiny fraction of the immigrant population compared to places like Texas and Florida. It's about a President who does not like the people who live and govern here, does not like that he lost this state three times, who becomes enraged at a woman in a hijab among our representatives, and wants to inflict pain.
If you don't think this is a spiritual issue, I wonder about your spirit.
Saturday, January 17, 2026
Awkward, but heartwarming
Friday, January 16, 2026
Haiku Friday: Siblings
One of the best things in my life is the relationship with my brother and sister, who constantly inspire me. We're different from each other, but that's part of what makes it good. Let's haiku about siblings this week-- here, I'll go first:
I may be oldest
But no way am I the best
Those two amaze me.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun!
Thursday, January 15, 2026
PMT: Jesse Ventura re-emerges....
Things have been pretty weird in Minnesota lately. And, of course, that summoned former governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura, who is considering another run. If you aren't familiar with the backstory:
-- From 1969-1975, he was in the US Navy, serving as an underwater demolition expert.
-- In the late '70's he served as a bodyguard for The Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead.
-- In 1979, he began wrestling in the Minnesota-based American Wrestling Association.
-- From 1981 to 1987 or so, he wrestled in the WWF (later the WWE)
-- After that, he was a commentator on wrestling shows
-- He also turned to acting, and was the co-star (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) in the original Predator film.
-- In 1990, he ran to be the Mayor of Brooklyn Park, a Minneapolis suburb. He won, and served until 1995.
-- Then, in 1998, he beat the Republican (Norm Coleman) and Democrat (Skip Humphrey) as the Reform Party candidate for governor. He chose not to run for a second term.
-- Most recently, he successfully pushed for the legalization of recreational marijuana in Minnesota.
Ventura went to Roosevelt High in Minneapolis, which has been the scene of at least one high-profile ICE take-down. He is (like most people here) upset about what is going on, and told columnist Leonard Greene this anecdote:
“I was in the Philippines the day Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and went under dictatorship. We went from nobody to a guy with a machine gun on every corner. That’s what happens in a dictatorship. In comes the military. That’s what’s happening here, and people better wake up to it.”
Given the political actors in power in DC, we shouldn't be surprised that wrestlers can make more sense than they do.
