A prayer for Minneapolis

Another week, another murder in Minneapolis by ICE agents after the murder of Renee Good. Today at Mass, one of our songs had a verse that was especially appropriate for the situation in Minneapolis and our country:

In the midst of persecution, Lord, stand by me

When my enemies surround me, Lord, stand by me

When the tyrant wields his terror and the armies wage their might

When the darkness overwhelms me, Lord, stand by me

Title: Stand By Me, words and music Copyright 2001 Tom Kendzia, published by Oregon Catholic Press (lyrics) (performance)

Remembrance of the 5th anniversary of the January 6th Insurrection

Here we are, five years later…some people would say that the insurrectionists won (Trump is back in office, Jan6 insurrectionists were pardoned). We still have a democracy, but it is heading towards authoritarianism. I hope the results will eventually head back towards democracy.

Previously on this weblog:

Other coverage:

Update on the Portland Protest News site

I got behind on posting when I was on a long business trip, but kept collecting links, and now Portland Protest News is now current again. The media coverage of protests at the ICE building in Portland has slacked off (last protest on local news media was for Veterans Day, over two weeks ago). It is possible that protests are on-going, but not getting coverage, or that protests have slacked off (this occurred in 2020 when the weather change to the regular cold/rainy fall started). The current state of the court review is that a local district judge banned National Guard deployment in Portland, but this is now under review with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

ICE has definitely increased its activity within the state of Oregon. The media focus has shifted to mass arrests by ICE, arrests of US citizens, cities passing “state of emergency” proclamations, and federal contractor moves indicating ICE interest in creating a detention center in Newport, Oregon. Portland Protest News will continue to cover the activities of ICE, and further court activity.