More of a regular news check in...

Happy, sunny thoughts may remain, but the news marches on. Here are some of the other pieces that I wanted to share.

A little text piece from NPR on dad's and finding life/work balance. It seems that it is a two-way street in our crazy world when it comes to carving out time for family in an increasingly demanding work world.

A slightly bittersweet story about the Lummis' Southwest Museum... bittersweet because it leaves out a big piece of the story: no one is asking the Native's how they feel about how the artifacts should be housed, shown or if they should be returned. I have been learning first hand about what it is like to understand people in their own time as well as to unpack the meanings of their acts from a contemporary viewpoint. I know it is hard to focus on that part of the story. It is really the story of how the author (who I admire and whose work I have shared many times) wants to save the museum and not merge it with the Autry...

NPR, Frontline and ProPublica have been doing a long series of pieces on child abuse/infant death and the wrongly accused called Post Mortem (in case you didn't get what it would be about). It is heavy stuff, but interesting information that needs to see the light of day. I could only take it in small spurts, but I offer you the page with all the links, stomach what you can.

To balance that heaviness some, here is the NPR report on the shuttering of Illinois' death row. Perhaps there is hope for humanity after all.

This one is also offered for balance. It is the story of the Unabomber's brother and his quest to find a way to make amends for his brother's actions.

Interesting piece on using the arts to confront violence in Mexico. It's gotta happen some way.

And if it is possible to feel hopeful about our country's troubled relationship with immigration, this story is it. I am not sure why it made me happy and smile because it is only a beginning. But perhaps there is optimism left in me after all.