This image is an advertizement I found in the January 7th, 1957 edition of the Jamestown Sun. See the huge station wagon? It got 32 miles to the gallon. How much does your car get today, 50 YEARS later?

In 2006, the army raised the enlistment age to 42 (see http://www.army.com/news/item/2076). Also, it has long been a policy of the U.S. armed forces to admit non-citizens.

So, I would like to encourage those friends and acquaintances of mine who support John McCain in the coming election and who support the continuation of the U.S. presence in Iraq to act on their convictions and join the war effort. The Army would value your experience in the Bundeswehr, your skill set, life experience and your commitment to the war. Additionally, it might be a path to U.S. citizenship!

Wie schon berichtet wird der 500. Geburtstag des slowenischen Nationalhelden und Derendinger Pfarrers Primus Truber mit einem Theaterstück gefeiert.

Die Aufführungen des Theaterstücks „Primus Truber – der Dolmetscher Gottes“ sind am

Freitag, 27. Juni (Uraufführung)
Samstag, 28. Juni
Freitag, 4. Juli
Samstag, 5. Juli
Sonntag, 6. Juli

jeweils um 20 Uhr im Primus Truber-Haus in Tübingen-Derendingen, Heinlenstraße 40 (Ecke Primus-Truber-Straße). Karten zum Preis von acht (ermäßigt fünf) Euro sind ab Mittwoch, 7. Mai beim Tübinger Bürger- und Verkehrsverein an der Neckarbrücke erhältlich. An der Abendkasse kosten die Karten jeweils einen Euro mehr.

Ferner bietet der Autor und Regisseur des Stückes Roland Brutscher Stadtführungen zum Thema "Auf den Spuren von Primus Truber" in Tübingen an. Termine:

Sonntag, den 25. Mai, 15:30 Uhr
Sonntag, den 22. Juni, 15:00 Uhr
Sonntag, den 24 August, 15:00 Uhr

Der Treffpunkt ist jeweils am Marktbrunnen. Interessierte können sich jeweils bis Donnerstag im Evangelischen Gemeindebüro Derendingen (07071-74380) oder per e-mail melden: roland_brutscher - at - web.de.

Liebe Dialogteilnehmer,

Vielen Dank für die Beiträge vom Herzen zu unsrem Irakabend letzten Monat-- wír wurden alle von Muna, Abeer, Hathal, David, Gus, Barig, Harold und Evelyn berührt als sie gesprochen und gesungen haben. Danke auch für die überlegte Diskussion.

Der Irak bleibt unser Thema für den kommenden Dialogabend:

am Mittwoch, den 16. April, 20.00 Uhr, d.a.i. Saal.

Wir freuen uns auf die Fortsetzung der aktuellen Themen aus dem Irak (die Wahl in die USA? die Flüchtlinge nach Deutschland? die Waffenlieferungen und die unaufhörliche Gewalt?............)

I have made my first substantive contribution to the blog of the Historians Against the War. See

http://www.historiansagainstwar.org/blog/2008/03/islamo-fascism-in-history-classroom.html

a report on my classroom discussions of the term "Islamo-Fascism".

Fünf Jahre Irakkrieg--Fünf Jahre Zu Viel

Im März 2003 ist der Irakkrieg ausgebrochen . Der monatliche Arabisch-Amerikanische Dialogabend im Deutsch-Amerikanischem Institut ist am Donnerstag, dem 19. März, 20.15 Uhr, dem Irakkrieg gewidmet. Mehrere irakische und amerikanische Teilnehmer werden berichten, was für eine Wirkung der Krieg auf sie persönlich und auf ihre Länder gehabt hat. Dazwischen gibt es irakische und amerikanische Musik. Es folgt eine Runde für Reaktionen und Diskussion. Der Abend wird durch den Verein Arabischer Studenten und Akademiker und das d.a.i. in Zusammenarbeit mit der Bürgergruppe Tübingen Progressive Americans gestaltet und ist Teil einer Reihe von Veranstaltungen:

Arabisch-Amerikanischer Dialogabend am Mittwoch 19. März, 20.15 h im d.a.i. , Karlstraße 3 Eintritt frei

Radiosendung Fünf Jahre Irakkrieg, am Donnerstag, 20.März, 14.00 Uhr, Wüste Welle, von den Tübingen Progressive Americans produziert, mit Interviews von Irakern, einem ehemaligen U.S. Soldat gegen den Krieg, und Musik

Demonstration und Kundgebung , auch am Donnerstag, 20. März, 17.00 Uhr (in Zusammenarbeit mit Friedensplenum/Antikriegsbündnis Tübingen), Treffpunkt vor dem d.a.i. und Kundgebung auf dem Holzmarkt Tübingen--Schwerpunkt Stop Militarisierung.

RednerInnen: Muna Al Ani--Irakerin, Chris Capps--Irak Veterans against the War, Heike Hensel-- Bundestagabgeordneterin

Wir freuen uns auf den Irakabend, Penny und Mohannad

I'll be speaking at the American Monthly Luncheon in Stuttgart on May 9th. Here's the blurb as it went out to the regular attendees:

War Memorials in Europe and America

Issues of memory and public remembrance are continually in the German media and flare up occasionally in the United States. The 9th of May marks the anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe, a date which has become a political tension point between some countries, especially Russia and its smaller neighbors. The presentation will address some of these issues while focusing primarily on physical manifestations of political and collective memory - war memorials. Examples will be taken from Germany, the United States, and other countries, and will include local memorials from the Stuttgart/Karlsruhe region.

Mark R. Hatlie is the creator of the < http://sites-of-memory.de > webpage and is currently researching the history of memorials in Riga, Latvia. He recently published an overview of military memorials in Germany: "Über den Tod des Staatsbürgers für die Nation" (Bundeswehr-Journal, November 2007, pages 12-15).

Ein Leserbrief von mir hat's nicht in das Tagblatt geschafft, erscheint aber dafür auf der Webseite des Tagblatts. Es geht um das Kinderbuch "Wo bitte, geht's zu Gott?" vom Alibri-Verlag. Seit Wochen tobt auf der Leserbriefseite des Tagblatts eine Leserbriefschlacht um Gottesbilder, Atheismus und Glauben - alles wegen dem Buch, dass kaum noch erwähnt wird.

Frustrated with the need to thoroughly document a paper, a student of mine recently wrote to me to talk about citations. An example of something the student didn't want to cite was his/her opinion that Hinduism makes believers docile through the belief in reincarnation. The latest e-mail is in italics, my responses in normal print:

Hmmm, no offense meant towards you professor, but it sounds like when in doubt, cite a source, and I really hate that.

I mean, why aren't my opinions valid? Why do I have to find something someone else wrote and note that next to everything I say? Maybe my parents are Hindu, and I just know things that seem like common knowledge to me, or maybe I was very well-educated...

Education is not about opinions, but informed understanding. Opinions are "valid" if they are based on real information. Then they become informed understanding. What you think is in and of itself of little interest. What you show, demonstrate and argue are of great interest.

Why can't I state opinion born of 100 resources that I read over the course of growing up and thus, don't need to go look anything up...

If you have 100 resources that you read while growing up, then you know the material quite well. Tracing your information back or finding that information should be no problem.


I mean, if I were writing that 1+2 = 3, do I have to cite a math book? If I write a really long equation that most people wouldn't understand, do I have to cite where I went to high school and who my math teacher was?

Mathematical equations are manifestly true or false. They _are themselves_ the proof of their own validity. The underlying assumptions would need to be ironed out and cited if that is what the paper is about, of course.


I just think it's kind of offensive and counter-productive to learning. It seems to encourage a copy-and-paste attitude. Like my opinions aren't worth anything, but if someone wrote a book on something, they must be experts, so my paper has to be a collage of quotes by other people. Where's the original thought? The proof that you learned something and found your own opinion and no longer need the books to rant on and on about a subject?


Again, you are not learning to voice an opinion. We can do that on internet forums and talk shows. Nobody needs to go to college to learn that. You are learning to research and formulate informed understanding.

Your original thoughts are fine. You don't need to cite them. But there is of course a line somewhere. You need to find the level where the expected reader is. If the paper is so basic that the reader is not even assumed to know that Hinduism is predominantly in India, then you will be footnoting rather banal stuff. If you are writing on subtle doctrines hidden within the Vedic texts, you do not need to cite the claim that "Hinduism is the dominant religion of India". On the other hand, it might then be an issue of why such a claim is in such a paper.

So cite:

- ideas and conclusions you borrow
- facts that are not based on direct observation on your part

Claims such as "Hinduism makes people docile" will either be anecdotal and hence highly suspect or based on a broad study. Cite the study or take the hit for spouting anecdotal evidence to make broad assertions.

There is, of course, little difference between your opinion and just any other person's opinion. Just because someone wrote a book or a webpage on something does not mean that their opinion is somehow better. On that we agree. Just citing any old book or webpage is not much better than not citing. That is why we university profs insist on scholarly sources. That means sources which allow the reader to trace the information directly or by way of several steps back to the raw data at the basis of the "opinion."

Without specific examples it is hard to make a general case for what to cite and what not to cite. Do not get all hung up on footnoting. If it is banal and obvious, just connect it to a general history (the textbook, an encyclopedia, a general history of the topic) or don't cite it. But a conclusion about something - that Hinduism makes people docile, for example - is not of that nature.

There are, of course, times when it really does slow things down. I had the issue recently with an article I submitted. It was on a subject I know well (my dissertation). But the editor sent it back saying I need to better document some of my claims on the last several pages. I had to go back to my files and anchor what was for me "knowledge" to the sources (primary and secondary). It was tedious, but that's the way it works.

That is what differentiates the "opinions" of some (like the rants of Bill O'Reilly) from the "informed understanding" of scholars.

You know all those profs over at Rate Your Students who bitch and whine about the stuff their students do? The students come to class in their pajamas. They are hung over. They are stupid as buckets of nails. And the excuses their students have for not turning in their best work or not being in class are simply tedious: relatives dying, traffic jams, girlfriend issues. What can I say? Yawn.

Where I teach, the students have made other life decisions and are facing other issues. These are both e-mails I got today:

Exhibit A:

It is my duty to inform you that I have had a pretty bad stroke of luck. As of last night my foot was nearly ripped free of my leg. It looks like I won't be walking for a long time, in two months they will do a surgery that may change that but until then I am bedridden and I cannot drive or do much of anything for myself. I am writing because I am having a brief moment of lucidity. The painkillers I am taking seem to be affecting everything EXCEPT my pain.. It sucks big time, my whole body won't quit hurting. I believe I will be able to continue our courses though, and this Sunday I should be able to submit the usual discussions.

Just wanted to give you all a heads up in case something happens.


Exhibit B:


I just wanted to let you know that I just got back from a mission that had me "outside the wire" for a couple days. I am in charge of a sniper team so we occasionally have to be out for days at a time. I am going to get some sleep and do my best to catch up with what i missed. I know taking these classes will be a challenge with my particular job but I am sincere about this and I will always catch up whatever i miss. ...

So your students are drunk? Mine are "outside the wire." Your students are hung over? Mine wear Purple Hearts. As it turns out, that student with a torn foot did not step on a landmine or get acquainted with an IED or get run over by a tank. It was a civilian accident. But where I teach, the first assumption is _violence_. He was an Iraq War veteran, but got hurt playing volley ball!

One of my students got behind in class because his tent in Kuwait burned down and destroyed his laptop. He is doing his college education from a _tent_ in 100-degree and higher heat! I had a student whose final exam went missing. We couldn't track it down for a while because the location he had taken the test in no longer existed: It was a "Forward Operating Base" in Pakistan! Take that problem to your "Bible College of the Prairie" or "Big State Football University"!

Check out the photos of some of these people - including the torched tent - at http://hatlie.de/teaching/teaching-studentsallover.html.

My grandmother, Sylvia Hatlie, died yesterday two days shy of her 96th birthday.

Here is the text of the obituary at the Jamestown Sun and the Fargo Forum:


Sylvia L. Hatlie, 95, of Fargo, ND, former long-time resident of Jamestown, ND, died Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 2:00AM at Elim Care Center, Fargo. Sylvia Louise Hauser was born on February 14, 1912 in Fargo, the daughter of John C. Hauser, Jr. and Hulda Isabel (Grohmann) Hauser. Her grandfather established the Hauser Pickling Co. in the 1880’s and, as a little girl, Sylvia picked cucumbers for her grandfather’s business. Later, while growing up in the Fargo/Moorhead area, her father and uncle, Charles Hauser, transitioned from pickle production to meat processing, establishing Hauser’s Market - Fargo’s oldest meat market on the corner of old Front St. and 8th Street So. Sylvia graduated from Moorhead High School in 1930, a member of the National Honor Society.

She attended Dakota Business College in Fargo and worked as a bookkeeper and stenographer for Ford Motor Co., Fargo Glass & Paint, and Fargo Motor Supply. Sylvia married Lyell N. “Speed” Hatlie on February 14, 1941 in Seattle, WA. They moved to Jamestown in 1946 where her husband was proprietor of Jamestown Motor Supply until his death on February 29, 1964 and Sylvia was the bookkeeper. Sylvia was the Ladies’ City Golf Champion in 1953 and the Jamestown Country Club Ladies’ Champion in 1964. She was a life member of the American Legion Auxiliary, and a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church and Sons of Norway.

Sylvia is survived by one son, Guy (Judy) Hatlie, Manhattan Beach, CA; one grandson, Mark (Susanne) Hatlie, Tuebingen, Germany; one granddaughter, Erica (Greg) Shankle, Redondo Beach, CA; four great grandchildren, Katharina & Niklas Hatlie, Tuebingen, Germany and Ivy & Bryn Shankle, Redondo Beach, CA. She was preceded in death by her husband; parents; and one sister, Carmen Johnson.

Memorial Service: To be held at a later date at Trinity Lutheran Church, Jamestown, ND.

Arrangements by Eddy Funeral Home, Jamestown. Share memories or sign online guestbook at www.eddyfuneralhome.com.


My earliest memories of her go back to our family visits to Jamestown, North Dakota in about 1970 and later and her visits to our home. Visit dates to Jamestown I am sure of start later: the summers of 1973 and 1975, winter 77, and the summers 79, 81, and 83. I also lived with her and my mom during 1967-1968 while my father was in Vietnam.

Sylvia travelled to visit relatives in Norway in 1939 and was in Europe when World War Two broke out, but returned to the United States before Norway was invaded. She visited again in the late 1960s. In 1976 or 1977 she took a tour of the Far East. Souvenirs from these trips decorated her small home in Jamestown for decades after.

I remember trips to the Country Club to play golf or swim in the pool, going up to see the "Buffalo" at Frontier Village, playing with my father's ancient toys in her basement, eating orange slices with sugar on them, riding a little scooter out on her driveway, getting money to walk down to the Blue Jay Inn for ice cream, visiting her friends the Murphys across the street, playing with the Grabinger kids who lived nearby and tried to teach me to ride a bike, planting a tree in her back yard (later moved to the front). Later, in 2000, her home on Fifth Ave SE is where Katharina took some of her first steps.

Until about three years ago, about the time she moved to the home in Fargo, she kept in touch regularly with type-written letters.

The last time I saw her was at the Elim Home in Fargo in June of 2006 and at my parent's summer home in nearby Detroit Lakes. She got to meet Niklas then as well.

Comments and memories are welcome here. Just click on "add comment" below this entry.