Randy Rapp.

Sue Rekenthaler.

Julie Contreras.

Note: Thanks to the stellar service of ATT, cursed be their corporate person hood, internet service at the World Wide Headquarters of Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout has been down a week.   Allegedly a repair technician will arrive to solve the problem late Tuesday afternoon.   But as I type this, I am still bereft of modern communications and research capacity. Because of the miracle of the World Wide Web a writer now has at his or her fingertips pretty much the accumulated knowledge, wisdom, lore, and artistic production of human kind as long as he/she can figure out the right search term in Google.   This has made writing a regular blog immeasurably easier.   I can do at least a cursory research of any topic and generally put tog...

In 2012, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Woodstock moved to the current location in McHenry and became Tree of Life. We brought with us ...

All nine faith tradition windows are displayed a top this gazebo like structure in the Tree of Life Fellowship room. The Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 5603 Bull Valley Road in McHenry will re-dedicate 9 windows representing the faith traditions that inspire the congregation at a special service this Sunday September 16 at 10 am’ In 2012, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Woodstock moved to the current location in McHenry and became Tree of Life.   We brought with us our interfaith stained glass windows originally installed in the old church and dedicated at the centennial celebration for that building in 2006.    “From the time of the move the Congregation has looked forward to having the windows insta...

The fourth annual Labor Day Celebration on Woodstock Square got under way despite threatening clouds.  One of several photos I will use here by Steve Stukenberg since my cell phone camera shots turned out crappy again. I walked home from my overnight shift at the gas station in Crystal Lake in a light rain yesterday.   I checked the weather on line and found conflicting predictions for rain during our Labor Day Celebration on Woodstock Square later that morning.   As the rain outside picked up, some sites were predicting severe thunderstorms would wash us out.   Organizer scrambled for alternatives—or faced the real possibility of scrubbing the program.   Before I lay down for a short nap, Stage Left, the coffee house venue next t...

Note:   This is excerpted from the prepared text for my keynote speech at the Celebrate Labor Day event on Woodstock Square in 2016.   While some references may be dated—this was before the 2016 election which threw us all into crisis and resistance mode—it remains relevant as we celebrate again today at the same place at 11 am.   Come hear what I have to say today, along with a slew of more worthy speakers.     This Labor Day I want to commend to you the working class virtue of solidarity even if you have never considered yourself a worker.   First we need to consider what solidarity is not…. Solidarity is not sympathy.   Sympathy is a passive emotion.   It also implies a separation from the object of sympathy and can tee...

James Gordon Bennett, the cross-eyed publisher in 1851. James Gordon Bennett, Sr. , born this day in 1795 in Newmill, Banffshire, Scotland, was so cross-eyed that one acquaintance said, “when he looked at me with one eye, he looked out at the City Hall with the other.”   Yet he saw far enough to revolutionize American journalism in several ways. Bennet was born into a prosperous Catholic family which was devout enough to give him a good education in hopes that he would enter the priesthood.    He entered a seminary in Aberdeen at age 15 and remained there for four years.   But the restless lad was not cut out for the restraints of the cloth.   He undertook a series of rambles about Scotland while reading voraciously just about a...

Lauren Underwood , candidate for Congress from the 14th District; Andrew “Drew” Georgi, candidate for McHenry County Clerk; Suzanne Ness District 2 County Board candidate and Larry Spaeth, District 6 County Board candidate will join the lineup of speakers at the fourth annual Labor Day Celebration on Woodstock Squarethis Monday, September 3 from 11am-2pm.   Lauren Underwood, candidate for Congress from the 14th District shown here in the Crystal Lake Independence Day Parade, will be a featured speaker at the Celebrate Labor Day event in Woodstock The traditional rally with speakers and music will highlight the origins and traditions of Labor Day, Woodstock’s own connectionthrough Eugene V. Debs and the aftermath of the Pullman Str... Lauren Underwood , candidate for Congress from the 14th District; Andrew “Drew” Georgi, candidate for McHenry County Clerk; Suzanne Ness District 2 County Board candidate and Larry Spaeth, District 6 County Board candidate will join the lineup of speakers at the fourth annual Labor Day Celebration on Woodstock Squarethis Monday, September 3 from 11am-2pm.   Lauren Underwood, candidate for Congress from the 14th District shown here in the Crystal Lake Independence Day Parade, will be a featured speaker at the Celebrate Labor Day event in Woodstock The traditional rally with speakers and music will highlight the origins and traditions of Labor Day, Woodstock’s own connectionthrough Eugene V. Debs and the aftermath of the Pullman Str...