As a constituent and resident of Watertown, and registered Democrat, I’m writing to express my opposition to your automated enforcement “red light camera” bill. Every place that I have seen or read about use of these technologies, it has been … Continue reading →
May 27, 2019 by jsproul | Comments Off on A Safe Place to Land: The song of our anguished era
For every era, there is a song that in historical retrospective epitomizes that era. I wonder if Sara Bareilles has written that song for the late teens of the new millennium, when America seems to dangle from the precipice of its principles.
When holding your breath is safer than breathing When letting go is braver than keeping When innocent words turn to lies And you can’t hide by closing your eyes
When the pain is all that they offer Like the kiss from the lips of monster You know the famine so well, you never met the feast And home is the belly of the beast
The ocean is wild and over your head And the boat beneath you is sinking Don’t need room for your bags Hope is all that you have So say the Lord’s prayer twice, hold your babies tight Surely someone will reach out a hand And show you a safe place to land
Imagine yourself in a building Up in flames being told to stand still The window’s wide open This leap is on faith You don’t know who will catch you Maybe somebody will
The ocean is wild and over your head And the boat beneath you is sinking Don’t need room for your bags Hope is all that you have So say the Lord’s prayer twice, hold your babies tight Surely someone will reach out a hand And show you a safe place to land
Be the hand of a hopeful stranger Little scared but you’re strong enough Be the light in the dark of this danger ‘Til the sun comes up
Be the hand of a hopeful stranger Little scared but you’re strong enough Be the light in the dark of this danger ‘Til the sun comes up
Be the hand of a hopeful stranger Little scared but you’re strong enough Be the light in the dark of this danger ‘Til the sun comes up
Be the hand of a hopeful stranger Little scared but you’re strong enough Be the light in the dark of this danger ‘Til the sun comes up ‘Til the sun comes up ‘Til the sun comes up
Donald campaigned against getting involved in foreign wars. Guess what? He lied. He won’t do it for (misguided) humanitarian reasons like Hillary, who he attacked in the campaign for being an interventionist hawk, but he will gladly do it to … Continue reading →
As I warned previously, Neil Gorsuch lives in a world of legal fantasy that is cerebral and lacks empathy, that treats people as objects rather than as people – i.e. a psychopath – and is incapable of executing the duties of his office to protect the fundamental rights of all citizens of the United States. He may pretend to be warm and folksy and kind. Psychopaths often do. Continue reading →
There are only two questions that we need to understand about Neil Gorsuch this week to determine whether to use the filibuster “nuclear option”. Continue reading →
Thomas Jefferson is no doubt tossing fitfully in his grave at what is becoming of his university. Efforts to cut back interactive humanities courses run counter to the purpose and value of liberal arts education. “Members of the board, steeped … Continue reading →
Jonah Lehrer takes to The New Yorker to discuss Thinking, Fast and Slow, the latest book from Daniel Kahneman, a psychologist who’s won the Nobel prize in economics. Lehrer discusses Kahneman’s contention that smart people are no less prone to … Continue reading →
David Brooks, in one of his more reasonable moods, explains what has gone wrong with the Republican party, as exemplified by Sarah Palin. To summarize, the strategists and the party insiders have allowed the ends to justify the means to … Continue reading →
According to a study published in 2000 by Dr. David A. Dunning of Cornell University, “most incompetent people do not know that they are incompetent… On the contrary. People who do things badly, Dr. Dunning has found in studies conducted … Continue reading →
If you haven’t seen the ultimate hypocrisy—gaudy magnetic yellow ribbons on an SUV—then either you haven’t been paying attention, or you need to leave your basement.