International Workers’ Day. Walking. North Domingo Baca Multicultural Center Track.
The Migrant Worker – Jim Croce
Working Man – Imagine Dragons
Chain Gang – Sam Cooke
Joe Hill – Paul Roberson
9 To 5 – Dolly Parton
Day O – Harry Belafonte
The Hands That Built America – U2
Bracero – Phil Ochs
Plane Crash At Los Gatos (Deportee) – Lance Canales & The Flood
Three Miles Down – Gil Scott-Heron
Solidarity Forever – Pete Seeger
Mr. President (Have Pity On The Working Man) – Randy Newman
She Works Hard For the Money – Donna Summer
Woman’s Work – Tracy Chapman
Work For Your Money – Howlin’ Wolf
Worker’s Song – Dropkick Murphys
There is Power in a Union – Entertainment Workers IU 630, Utah Phillips
The Internationale – Billy Bragg
Working Class Hero – Green Day
Working On The Highway – Bruce Springsteen
Immigrants (We Get The Job Done) – K’naan, Snow Tha Product, Riz MC & Residente
More Than a Paycheck – Sweet Honey In the Rock
Gotta Work – Amerie
Category Archives: Current Events
1 May 2026
Filed under Music, Current Events, Antiracism, Exercise, playlist, Albuquerque
15 April 2026
Tax Day. Jackie Robinson Day.
Taxman – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Ain’t Got No Money – Justin Townes Earle
Money – Mary Fahl
Money – Cheryl K,, feat. Awkwafina
Money Song – Gracie’s Corner
She Works Hard For the Money – Donna Summer
Take The Money And Run – Crosby & Nash
Work For Your Money – Howlin’ Wolf
Cash Money Blues – Kaiser Clifton
After Taxes – Johnny Cash
Income Tax Blues – Ralph Willis
You Never Give Me Your Money – The Beatles
Jackie Robinson – Radio Call (1956) – Bob Wolff
Eulogy For Jackie Robinson (/Steal Away Piano) – Rev. Jesse Jackson
Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball? – Natalie Cole
Jackie Robinson – Mark Isham
Jackie Robinson – Troy Patterson
Jackie Robinson – Buddy Johnson and His Orchestra
Filed under Albuquerque, Antiracism, Baseball, Current Events, Exercise, Music, playlist
Pray for peace
I apologize for the lateness of this.
My friend, and former colleague, the Rev. Greg Allen Pickett posted on Facebook that he will be praying for peace tonight at 7pm Central Time at a park in Hastings, NE where he serves as a pastor. Greg noted that, “Anyone is welcome to join me.”
I can’t make it to Hastings but I can pray in Albuquerque at 6:00pm Mountain Time.
I invite you to join Greg and me if you are so inclined at 8:00pm Eastern Time or the equivalent time where you are. If you see this after that time and you are so inclined, you are invited to say a prayer or two or ten whenever you are able and wherever you are. Unity in prayer transcends all space and time.
Thank you, Greg, for this idea and for providingthis prayer to use.
Gracious and merciful God,
You are the source of all peace, the One who brings order out of chaos, light out of darkness, and hope out of despair. We come before you today with heavy hearts, lifting up the people of Iran and all who live in regions marked by tension, uncertainty, and fear.
God of every nation and every people, we pray for those whose daily lives are shaped by instability: families longing for safety, children yearning for a future free from violence, communities seeking dignity and justice. Surround them with your protection. Strengthen their spirits. Let your peace take root even in the most fragile places.
We also pray for leaders around the world whose words and actions carry great weight. In a time when messages can travel instantly and inflame quickly, grant wisdom, restraint, and humility. Soften hearts where there is anger. Temper speech where there is division. Guide all leaders to seek not power or posturing, but the well-being of all people and the preservation of peace.
Holy Spirit, move among us. Move across borders, across ideologies, across every line that divides. Where there is misunderstanding, bring clarity. Where there is fear, bring courage. Where there is hostility, plant seeds of reconciliation.
Make us instruments of your peace in our own lives as well: quick to listen, slow to speak, and always grounded in love. Remind us that every person, in Iran and beyond, is created in your image and held in your care.
We long for the day when swords are beaten into plowshares, when nations learn war no more, and when your peace reigns in every corner of creation.
Until that day, O God, hold us fast in your grace.
In the name of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, we pray.
Amen.
Filed under Current Events, Friends, Prayer
A verse of a song
Where has all the money gone? Through hands passing.
Where has all the money gone? We want to know.
Where has all the money gone? Gone to grifters every bit.
When will we ever learn? When we will ever learn?
Filed under Current Events, Music, Poem
A reflection and a rewritten hymn verse on a day when bombs fall and missiles fly
This happened today:
Family members, friends from St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Ghost Ranch, Rio Grande Food Project, the Presbytery of Santa Fe, and life its own self, gathered at St. Andrew to celebrate the life and faith and witness of the Rev. Carl Soderbergh today.
The streets around the church were parked full when I arrived, a few minutes late. I found a spot in the parking lot.
I stepped out of the car and, for no reason I could understand at the time, a hymn came to my mind. “Eternal Father, Strong to Save“. Those first words need some work, but the overall theme of God’s protection is profound. One of many themes appropriate for a memorial service.
The words played in my mind as long as I could remember them. When memory failed, I hummed the tune.
Alex greeted me and observed that the sanctuary was full and the service had started. He showed me to a seat in the narthex.
The first thing I heard was the pastor, son Eric, telling the congregation that a team from the Coast Guard would present honors in recognition of Carl’s service. Neither I nor the people sitting with me, knew that Carl had served. The hymn I “heard and hummed” on my way into church seemed appropriate for this particular memorial service.
The closing hymn? “Eternal Father, Strong to Save. Straining to see the screen where the words were projected, I mumbled and hummed along.
On my way home, the hymn remained an earworm. I quickly went to the computer and pulled up the lyrics
And I rewrote the hymn’s fourth verse into a prayer for Iran, Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudia Arabia, Iraq, the United States, and any other countries affected by the madness of this armed conflict – which may be most of the countries of the world.
O Trinity of love and pow’r,
All people shield in danger’s hour;
From bomb and missile, death and woe,
Protect all where-soe’er they go;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on land, in air, on sea.
Amen.
Filed under Albuquerque, Current Events, New Mexico, Prayer
25 February 2026
Black History Month.
Stretching.
Joe Hill – Paul Robeson
Back Up Offa Me – Talib Kweli
Little Light – Toshi Reagon
Dwedini – Miriam Makeba
State of the Nation – George Clinton
That’s What Friends Are For – Dionne Warwick with Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder
Galiku (Flag) – Gurrumul Djarimirri
Say Yes! – Sweet Honey In the Rock
Doubt – Mary J. Blige
Tarzan of Harlem – Cab Calloway
Black Man – Stevie Wonder
Mean Old World – Sam Cooke
Mississippi Goddam -Nina Simone
Only in My Dreams – Deidre McCalla
Watch Out for Lucy – Dobie Gray
Filed under Albuquerque, Antiracism, Current Events, Music, playlist
19 February 2026
Day of Remembrance of incarceration of Japanese Americans
Kenji – Fort Minor
Summer of ’42 – Kishi Bashi
Resist – Allegiance
Manzanar – Channel 3
Manzanar – Laurie Lewis
Manzanar – Tom Paxton & Anne Hills
How Can You Go? – Lea Salonga & Telly Leung
Wishes on the Wind – Lea Salonga & Telly Leung
Allegiance – Allegiance
Our Time Now – Allegiance
Stronger Than Before – Lea Salongs & Katie Rose Clark
Still a Chance – Allegiance
Sands of Manzanar – Yukiko Matsuyama & Hirotaka Ogawa
I Remember – Beth DeSombre
Asian American History – Jason Chu & Alan Z
We are the Children – Nobuko Miyanmoto, feat. Derek Najamoto
120,000 Stories – Nobuko Miyanmoto, feat. Mike Penny & George Abe
Filed under Antiracism, Current Events
01 February 2026
Black History Month.
Walking. Arroyo. La Cueva Neighborhood. Stretching.
Let America Be America Again – by Langston Hughes – James Earl Jones
Rise Up – Andra Day
You Don’t Have to Ride Jim Crow! – Bayard Rustin
Fight for Your Mind – Ben Harper
AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM – Beyoncé
That’s the Way God Planned It – Billy Preston
If I Could Help Somebody – The Blind Boys of Alabama
Hands Up – Blood Orange
History Repeats – Brittany Howard
Young, Gifted and Black – Aretha Franklin
This Is America – Childish Gambino
Black America Again – Common, feat. Stevie Wonder
Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) – Marvin Gaye
Woke Up This Morning – Fannie Lou Hamer
Wade In the Water – The Fisk Jubilee Singers
Everytime I Feel the Spirit -The Florida A&M University Concert Choir
Ain’t No New Thing – Gil Scott-Heron
Deep River – The Howard University Chamber Choir
Sloganize, Patronize, Realize, Revolutionize (Black Lives Matters) – Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra & Wynton Marsalis
People Gotta Be Free – Keb’ Mo’
Keep Your Hand On the Plow – Mahalia Jackson
Blood Done Sign My Name – Mary D Williams
Eyes on the Prize – Mavis Staples
Strange Fruit – Nina Simone
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child – Odetta
Go Down, Moses – Paul Robeson
We March – Prince
Oh Freedom – The Princely Players
We Rise – Rhiannon Giddens
Precious Lord – Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Beautiful Struggle – Talib Kweli
You’re Not Alone – Our Native Daughters
Step By Step – Sweet Honey In The Rock
A Change Is Gonna Come – Sam Cooke
God Bless the Child – Billie Holiday and Her Orchestra
I Know Where I’ve Been – Queen Latifah
Grandma’s Hands -Bill Withers
Respect – Otis Redding
What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
We Are Each Others Angels – African Children’s Choir
I’ve Got Dreams To Remember – Angélique Kidjo
What A Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
Lift Every Voice and Sing – The Boys Choir of Harlem
Filed under Albuquerque, Antiracism, Current Events, Friends, Music, playlist
A prayer in the time of ICE
God of justice,
God for all people,
after my daily calls are made,
and my morning emails sent,
I pause to give thanks
for all in Minnesota,
and Albuquerque,
and Maine,
and places I do not know
who
mourn and weep,
pray and meditate,
organize and strategize,
march and walk,
cogitate and agitate,
disrupt and interrupt,
blow whistles and whistleblow,
boycott and purchase,
stand up and speak out,
demonstrate and advocate,
write and illustrate,
knit and paint,
draw and create,
sing and play,
resist and act in ways
beyond my limited understanding
and pale imagination
for a society, a country, a world
where everyone is welcome,
everyone is included,
everyone is loved,
diversity is cherished,
equity is achieved,
and justice flows
for each person.
Keep them safe.
Grant them strength.
Guide their feet.
Bless their efforts.
I pray in Jesus’ name.
Amen
Filed under Current Events, Human Rights, Prayer
Credo del Inmigrante (The Immigrant’s Creed)
With profound thanks to the author, mi hermano he Rev. José Luis Casal.
December 18 is International Migrants Day. This seems an appropriate day to reflect upon Credo del Inmigrante (The Immigrant’s Creed) by the Rev. José Luis Casal.
“Credo del Inmigrante,” José Luis Casal
Creo en Dios Todopoderoso, quien guió a su pueblo durante el éxodo y en el exilio, el Dios de José en Egipto y de Daniel en Babilonia, el Dios de los extranjeros y los inmigrantes.
Creo en Jesucristo, el galileo desplazado, que nació lejos de su hogar y de su gente, que tuvo que huir de su país con sus padres porque su vida corría peligro, y cuando regresó del exilio, tuvo que sufrir la opresión del tirano Poncio Pilato, servidor de un imperio extranjero; que fue perseguido, injuriado y finalmente torturado; fue acusado y condenado a muerte en un juicio injusto. Sin embargo, al tercer día ese Jesús despreciado resucitó de la muerte, no como extranjero sino para ofrecernos la ciudadanía de los cielos.
Creo en el Espíritu Santo, el Inmigrante eterno del Reino de Dios entre nosotros, quien habla todas las lenguas, habita en todos los países y reúne a todas las razas.
Creo en la Iglesia como un hogar seguro para todo extranjero y creyente, donde hablamos un mismo idioma y tenemos el mismo propósito.
Creo que la Comunión de los Santos comienza cuando aceptamos la Diversidad de los Santos.
Creo en el perdón que nos hace a todos iguales, y en la reconciliación que nos identifica mucho más que la raza, el idioma o la nacionalidad.
Creo que Dios en la Resurrección nos reúne a todos como un solo pueblo en el que todos somos distintos, pero iguales al mismo tiempo.
Creo en la Vida Eterna más allá de este mundo, en la cual nadie será inmigrante, sino todos ciudadanos del Reino de Dios que no tendrá fin.
Amén
The Immigrant’s Creed – José Luis Casal
I believe in almighty God, who guided his people in exile and in exodus, the God of Joseph in Egypt and of Daniel in Babylon, the God of foreigners and immigrants.
I believe in Jesus Christ a displaced Galilean, who was born away from his people and his home, who fled his country with his parents when his life was in danger, and returning to his own country suffered the oppression of the tyrant Pontius Pilate, the servant of a foreign power. He was persecuted, beaten, and finally tortured, accused and condemned to death unjustly. But on the third day, this scorned Jesus rose from the dead, not as a foreigner but to offer us citizenship in heaven.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the eternal immigrant from God’s kingdom among us, who speaks all languages, lives in all countries, and reunites all races.
I believe that the church is the secure home for the foreigner and for all believers who constitute it, who speaks the same language and have the same purpose.
I believe that the communion of saints begins when we accept the diversity of the saints.
I believe in the forgiveness of sin, which makes us all equal, and in reconciliation, which identifies us more than does race, language or nationality.
I believe that in the resurrection, God will unite us as one people in which all are distinct, and all are alike at the same time.
Beyond this world, I believe in life eternal in which no one will be an immigrant, but all will be citizens of God’s Kingdom which will never end. Amen.
Along the Graybeard Trail 