Wade Rathke:

New Orleans      Continuing to look for silver lining in the clouds of pandemic, a note in the paper caught my eye.  Because schools have been shut down around the country, the US has  now gone without any school shooting incidents for more than a month for the first time in quite a long time.  […]

New Orleans       One thing leads to another.  Easy to say, but hard to endure, especially when it comes to the economic damage that keeps spreading from the pandemic shutdowns.  This is the real trickledown economics, and it’s not a good thing. In this case, I’m talking about remittances from migrant workers and immigrant families […]

Pearl River     There’s no consensus among the middle class and professionals.  Do they like working remotely from home or are they suffering from cabin fever?   One story after another in the media argues different sides of the case.  On the one hand there are suggestions of movies, live streamed shows, YouTube presentations, books, and so […]

Pearl River     As the economic numbers become more stark, and the economy teeters towards something closer to a depression than a recession, the impact on workers and the poor that has been hidden in plain sight for years is now almost impossible to ignore.  Researchers, pundits, reporters, and others are now stating the obvious about […]

Little Rock      There were several parts of the stimulus in the CARE Act that were supposed to protect both smaller businesses and their workers.  One was to be administered by the Small Business Administration and the other, the Paycheck Protection plan was designed to be processed directly through banks.  More than a month into the […]

Little Rock      These are times like we have never seen before in the United States.  The government is actually giving almost all of us some money up to $1200.  If we’re among the eighteen million and rising “vast army of the unemployed,” we can get our check plus $600 per week for a time.  I […]

Little Rock      Give it to Donald Trump.  He took his best shot.  He grabbed for the golden ring and declared himself King of America.  It didn’t last long, but mark the date from April 13th until reality set in fully on April 14th, Trump made himself King for a Day. In what will be one […]

New Orleans     The reports of pandemic deaths of essential workers are harrowing.  A lot of attention, deservedly, has been given to healthcare workers of all kinds who are living and breathing the virus in emergency rooms and intensive care units.  Others are also falling like flies.  A South Dakota Smithfield meatpacking plant was shut […]

Pearl River     For some years when he was still going to the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church where he was raised, and where he raised my brother and me, my dad would act as an usher at the Sunrise Service on Easter along Lake Ponchartrain near the seawall.  Several times I went with him.  I liked […]

Pearl River     Trump is in trouble, and it’s getting worse.  Reportedly, top Republicans and their political strategists are trying to tell him that his daily press meanderings are hurting him, and that he needs to step aside and let the health experts handle the news.  He can’t seem to stop.  He’s addicted to the ratings, […]