PHC: Tell us a little about your professional life. DLG: I am a lawyer by trade – a solo private criminal defense practitioner, mostly representing indigent defendants as their appointed counsel in federal court. Directly after law school I spent some time investigating and documenting human rights abuses in the Mexican criminal justice system. I then clerked for […]
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I spent last week visiting my parents in Jasper, a small town in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. It was the first time since my 11 year old twins were born that I have been away from them for more than two days consecutively. It was also the first time in over 20 years that I
Those of you who have read these columns regularly have probably noticed that I like quoting songs, books, plays and anything else that strikes me. Yesterday I watched a clip from the Live Aid concert in 1985 and heard Nik Kershaw sing “Wouldn’t It Be Good.” I don’t know what he had in mind when
Wouldn’t it be Good? Yeah, But it Isn’t Read More »
Rob and Ed have been coming to Peace House Community for years. Ed started coming about the time PHC moved to its current building in 2013, but Rob is an old timer who knew Sister Rose Tillemans, PHC’s founder. He says he was only 16 when he first came through the door of what was
As you probably know, a Japanese Olympic official was fired on the eve of the opening ceremonies because of comments he made in a comedy routine about 20 years earlier. The comments were determined by his superiors to be racist, and so he was relieved of his duties. (I haven’t heard the comments so I
What Time for Forgiveness? Read More »
I recently started reading Ghost Rider, Neil Peart’s account of a 55,000 mile road trip he did by motorcycle to help him deal with personal tragedy. His 19 year old daughter died in a car accident, and ten months later his partner of 22 years died of cancer (although he claimed the real cause was
I stole the title for this column from Colin Hay, the lead singer from Men Without Hats. His song Pleased to Almost Meet You is a tongue in cheek commentary on how people these days tend to talk a lot about getting together without ever actually meeting. The song opens with the lines: I’m pleased
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For whatever reason, I’ve been wondering lately who’s in charge, or, to put it another way, who is the leader. If a space alien gave me the cliché, “Take me to your leader,” I’m not sure who I would take him to. Many years ago, one of my college instructors defined a leader as someone
Where are our “Leaders”? Read More »
I recently received a survey regarding racism in the Hennepin County homeless shelter system. The results of the survey will become the basis for a workgroup that will look for ways to eliminate racism from the shelters. Because of my work schedule I can’t attend the workgroup meetings, so I don’t know what outcomes to
It Might Be A Start Read More »
I’m writing this on February 5, during the first really cold spell we have had this winter. Yesterday was not a shining moment in my career of serving the homeless. One of our community members who has serious physical handicaps mentioned in passing that he needed to get his tent and belongings from another part
The Never Ending Tragedy Read More »