Charlie Dittmeier's Home Page
When I got my new e-bike—a top end Trek model—I didn’t pay much attention to any of the labels on it. But then a day or two later, I noticed it was made in Cambodia! I knew bicycles are becoming a major export from Cambodia but didn’t know they were making high-end models and I certainly never thought that I’d end up buying one of them in Louisville!
“…In some host countries, migration causes fear and alarm, often fomented and exploited for political purposes. This can lead to a xenophobic mentality, as people close in on themselves, and it needs to be addressed decisively”. [40] Migrants are not seen as entitled like others to participate in the life of society, and it is forgotten that they possess the same intrinsic dignity as any person. Hence they ought to be “agents in their own redemption”. [41] No one will ever openly deny that they are human beings, yet in practice, by our decisions and the way we treat them, we can show that we consider them less worthy, less important, less human. For Christians, this way of thinking and acting is unacceptable, since it sets certain political preferences above deep convictions of our faith: the inalienable dignity of each human person regardless of origin, race or religion, and the supreme law of fraternal love.
Pope Francis
Today Charlie’s Angels came to Nazareth Home for a visit. These are women who decades ago began working with deaf people, especially in sign language interpreting. Several of them were students in classes I taught at Angela Merici High School. There were five Angels originally but two have returned to heaven.
“Now more than ever, humanity cries out and pleads for peace…. War does not solve problems. On the contrary, it amplifies them and causes deep wounds in the history of peoples—wounds that take generations to heal. No military victory can ever compensate for a mother’s pain, a child’s fear, or a stolen future.”
Pope Leo XIV
Today six of us alumni from the former St. Thomas Seminary met for lunch at Kingfish in Louisville. I really appreciate these gatherings. For two decades or so, my return from Hong Kong or Cambodia would be the opportunity to get together with good friends. Today it was noted this is the last time we would celebrate my return from mission in Asia.
These people are important. If it were not for my family and friends, I would not have returned from Cambodia. Life would be much simpler and easier living in Cambodia than it will be here in the United States.
Sunday I took a bike ride in Indiana where they have some wonderful biking and walking trails. The photo shows the Big Four pedestrian bridge on the right. Now closed to traffic, it is busy, especially on weekends, with many bikers and walkers, including whole families, enjoying the sunshine and beautiful views of both sides of the Ohio River.
Yesterday the Angela Merici Class of 1975 had their 50-year reunion. It was held at Incarnation Church and was a fun and joyous event. I felt honored to be invited because I spent thirteen years at A.M. and was one of the teachers of these women in their senior year.
We are living in difficult, tumultuous, important times. If you believe our government and way of life as a nation is seriously threatened, as I do, I encourage you to learn about the demonstrations for true democracy set for October 18th, and to participate in a huge peaceful demonstration in support of the values and beliefs on which our country was founded.
With better wording than I am capable of, I post here part of a recent e-mail from MoveOn. I am most interested in your becoming aware of what is happening and hopefully joining the resistance. This is from a MoveOn request for financial support, but I seek not so much your money but your participation on October 18. MoveOn is sending the e-mail asking members to donate. If you can do that, I’ve left the last paragraphs, about donations, on the e-mail.
Dear MoveOn member,
On June 14, we did what many claimed was impossible.
In partnership with hundreds of organizations, we peacefully mobilized more than 5 million people to take to the streets in every corner of the country and declare with one voice: America has no kings. It was one of the largest single days of nonviolent mass protest in U.S. history—and it mattered.
The world saw the power of the people. Donald Trump’s outrageous birthday military parade was drowned out by protests in every state and across the globe. His attempt to turn June 14 into a coronation collapsed, and the story became the strength of a movement rising against his authoritarian power grabs.
But Trump has doubled down since. And he has teetered our country into authoritarianism, causing grave harm to many people already and threatening the safety of all of us.
His administration is sending masked agents into our streets, terrorizing our communities. They’re targeting immigrant families, profiling, arresting, and detaining people without warrants. They’re threatening to undermine free and fair elections. Gutting health care, environmental protections, and education. Rigging maps to silence voters. Ignoring mass shootings at our schools. Driving up the cost of living while handing out massive giveaways to billionaires, as families struggle.
Trump thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don’t have kings—and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty.
That’s why we’re coming together for No Kings Day on Saturday, October 18, the next nationwide day of protest and defiance.
As Trump escalates his authoritarian power grab, the No Kings nonviolent movement continues to rise stronger. On October 18, we’ll unite once again to make crystal clear: America has no kings. The power belongs to the people.
But organizing a nonviolent mobilization of this scale—bringing together millions of Americans in cities and towns nationwide—takes significant resources. We need to support thousands of local organizers, provide materials for protests, ensure safety and security, coordinate across all 50 states, and ensure the protests are plastered everywhere in the media.
I’m slowly accumulating the things I need for living in Nazareth Home and Louisville. Some items are major, like an e-bike for getting around. Others are more utilitarian like a toilet brush. Today I got a wooden executive-type filing cabinet. I was going to get the usual metal two- or four-drawer file cabinet but my sister saw the wooden unit above in a consignment shop and took me to see it. The price in such a shop drops regularly according to how long it stays in the shop. The nice wooden cabinet had been marked at $100 but was in the bargain room when I saw it, and I was able to get it for $20. My sister Mary and her husband Mike picked it up today and brought it to me. Thanks! Now all the papers on the couch can be filed away!