Holidays Archives

MLK at a Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C.

Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Anyone who lives inside the U.S. can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds”

by Andrew VilleneuveJanuary 15th, 2018January 14th, 2018

Take a few moments today to read this excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther Kingr, Jr.‘s Letter from Birmingham Jail, in which he explains that no American can be considered to be an outsider within the boundaries of their own country.

Holidays

Banished Words for 2018

by Andrew VilleneuveDecember 30th, 2017

Read Lake Superior State University’s List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse, and General Uselessness for 2018, plus NPI’s additions. This year, we’re banishing “Alternative Facts”, “Thoughts and Prayers”, “Zero Sum Game”, “Hive Mind”, “Woke”, and “Not/Shouldn’t Be a Partisan Issue”.

The Declaration of Independence, by John Trumbull

Holidays

The Declaration of Independence, two hundred and forty-one years later

by Andrew VilleneuveJuly 4th, 2017July 4th, 2017

Take a few moments this July Fourth to read the Declaration of Independence.

Holidays

Happy Easter 2017!

by Andrew VilleneuveApril 16th, 2017April 4th, 2018

If you are observing the Easter holiday today, please accept best wishes from all of us at the Northwest Progressive Institute. Easter is the most significant holy day for Christianity’s many denominations, although not all of them are celebrating it today. Passages like the following excerpt from the Gospel of Matthew (28:1–10) are commonly read […]

Holidays

Banished Words for 2017

by Andrew VilleneuveDecember 31st, 2016December 30th, 2016

Every year since 1976, Michigan’s Lake Superior State University has released a thoughtful and humorous “List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness”. Here is the 2017 (and forty-second annual) edition, for your reading enjoyment on this New Year’s Eve: YOU, SIR — Hails from a more civilized era […]

Holidays

The Declaration of Independence, two hundred and forty years later

by Andrew VilleneuveJuly 4th, 2016July 4th, 2016

In accordance with tradition, we are reposting the text of the Declaration of Independence here on The Cascadia Advocate for your enjoyment. The Declaration was primarily authored by our third president, Thomas Jefferson, who drew heavily on the thinking of Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke to persuasively lay out the case for the independence […]

Stained glass window depicting Resurrection scene

Holidays

Happy Easter 2016!

by Andrew VilleneuveMarch 27th, 2016April 4th, 2018

Civil Liberties, Holidays, Policy Topics

Martin Luther King, Jr.: We have a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws

by Andrew VilleneuveJanuary 18th, 2016January 17th, 2016

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and like we do every year in honor of Dr. King’s memory, I’m posting an excerpt from his Letter From Birmingham Jail. In these passages, Dr. King is explaining that not all laws are created equal. Laws are made by humans, and humans unfortunately have a long history […]

Holidays

Banished Words for 2016

by Andrew VilleneuveDecember 31st, 2015December 31st, 2015

Every year since 1976, Michigan’s Lake Superior State University has released a thoughtful and humorous “List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness”. Here is the 2016 (and forty-first annual) edition, for your reading enjoyment on this New Year’s Eve: SO — So the word that received the most […]

Holidays

Happy Veterans Day 2015!

by Andrew VilleneuveNovember 11th, 2015

Today we pause to thank the many brave men and women who have valiantly served our country in the armed forces, defending this great nation so that the rest of us may go about our lives freely and peacefully. We at NPI are especially grateful for the service of our own Rick Hegdahl (U.S. Navy […]

Holidays

In memoriam, fourteen years later

by Andrew VilleneuveSeptember 11th, 2015September 10th, 2015

Today is the fourteenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, which destroyed New York’s World Trade Center, damaged the Pentagon, and claimed the lives of thousands of innocent Americans. In honor of those who died that day, we’re republishing a poem that we post annually here on The Cascadia Advocate. Two thousand one, nine eleven […]

Holidays

The Declaration of Independence, two hundred and thirty-nine years later

by Andrew VilleneuveJuly 4th, 2015July 4th, 2015

In accordance with tradition, we are posting the text of the Declaration of Independence here on The Cascadia Advocate for your enjoyment. The Declaration was primarily authored by our third president, Thomas Jefferson, who drew heavily on the thinking of Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke to persuasively lay out the case for the independence […]

Holidays, Policy Topics, Public Planning

This Independence Day, don’t get burned: Let the professionals set off the fireworks

by Andrew VilleneuveJuly 3rd, 2015July 6th, 2016

Independence Day is almost here, and as the celebration of America’s founding has inched closer, federal, state and local officials have become increasingly vocal about the dangers posed by setting off fireworks, particularly with conditions so dry this year. Authorities are emphatically urging people to go see a community sponsored, professionally run fireworks show instead […]

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large. On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’”

Holidays, Spirituality

Happy Easter 2015!

by Andrew VilleneuveApril 5th, 2015

For your reading pleasure on this joyous Easter Sunday, here is an account of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of Mark: When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. Very early when the sun had risen, on the first […]