Should you be worried about losing the vote if you don't have an ID card? Not unless you are terminally stupid.

On November 4^th, 2025, the New York City voters, citizens or not, elected Vohran Mamdani as the mayor of their city. This was their choice in an open and free election. I asked myself, a third-generation citizen, “How could this happen?”

Can AI be trusted? Can the result of an AI inquiry be biased and not neutral? Can an AI  inquiry requesting an answer involving differing opinions be neutral?

We stand in awe of this procession and try to link it with some precedent, some historical event, some memory of things past. Nothing fits, certainly not in US history

Years ago my dear brother-in-law Bill began that long and slow passage to the hereafter. First assisted living with my sister, Judy. Then transfer to the memory care unit with its doors locked to keep the residents from wandering off to a hazy place known only to a fading memory. Then what some call “graduation” – the last stop on life’s passage. I watched this wonderful man and friend decline as we shared long-ago memories of good times. The inevitability of this senseless but sure passage urged me to write the following.

We are, at our core, remembering and story making creatures, and stories are one of the chief ways we find meaning in the flow of events. 

It is a beautiful spring day at Notre Dame University. The main quadrangle is alive with young green leaves and grass. The huge and beautiful magnolia tree in front of the Golden Dome is in full pink, white, and muted red bloom. The sun, the cloudless sky, and the gentle morning breeze hint at a beautiful day. God is in his heaven and certainly at Catholic ND.