Category Archives: Essays

London Lonely Girls Club gains thousands of new members

Thanks to Pam P. By Jess Warren – BBC News Almost 20,000 women living in London have joined a club tackling loneliness since pandemic restrictions ended. Holly Cooke founded The London Lonely Girls Club on Facebook in 2018 after moving … Continue reading

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Recyclable? Try Refillable. The Quest For a Greener Cleaner

By Susan Shain in the NYT — Thanks to Mike C. Every week, Angela Espinoza Pierson looked at her recycling bin — filled with detergent jugs, shampoo bottles and clamshell containers that once held strawberries — with mixed feelings. Sure, it … Continue reading

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Why Do We Change the Clocks, Anyway?

The twice-yearly ritual has roots in cost-cutting strategies of the late 19th century. A bill to make daylight saving time permanent has re-emerged in Congress. By Alan Yuhas in the NYT Hello. You may be here to learn when is daylight … Continue reading

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When do the privileged feel like victims? When others seek equality

Thanks to Marilyn W.  By Naomi Ishisaka Seattle Times columnist It seems whenever I write about structural power and privilege, people who benefit most from those systems respond that they are now victims of an unfairly stacked deck. A few weeks … Continue reading

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The Battle Hymn of the Republic

Notes from Heather Cox Richardson (thanks to Pam P.)

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Thoughts about heroes

by Heather Cox Richardson You hear sometimes that, now that we know the sordid details of the lives of some of our leading figures, America has no heroes left. When I was writing a book about the Wounded Knee Massacre, … Continue reading

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Shakespeare, lost socks and the laundromat

Being curious about the coming availability of artificial intelligence (AI), I logged in and signed up to use ChatGPT. It’s a forerunner demonstrating some of the possibilities of massive databases that can be put to use – both good and … Continue reading

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Being a woman

For more commentary, please read Erma Bombeck’s book, “Motherhood the Second Oldest Profession.”

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WHY THE PAST 10 YEARS OF AMERICAN LIFE HAVE BEEN UNIQUELY STUPID

It’s not just a phase.By Jonathan Haidt in The Atlantic What would it have been like to live in Babel in the days after its destruction? In the Book of Genesis, we are told that the descendants of Noah built a great … Continue reading

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What Should You Do When the Bear Is Cinnamon?

Scientists have uncovered a genetic mutation that makes it dangerously difficult to distinguish a black bear from a grizzly. By Sam Jones in the NYT Black bears have black fur, right? It’s there in the name. “In the eastern part of … Continue reading

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Why Is It So Hard for Men to Make Close Friends?

By Catherine Pearson in the NYT Ed note: I’m wondering just how vulnerable a man needs to be. Here’s one published comment on the article below: “I have different male friends that I DO different activities with. We do not need … Continue reading

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Why are Republicans telling voters they want to cut Social Security by a third?

By Alicia H. Munnell Improving benefits for the low paid is a noble goal, but all but the very wealthy need the benefits in current law. Why in the world would Republicans put out a plan to dramatically cut Social Security? … Continue reading

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What GOP candidate recruitment says about the GOP

[Here is my posting on https://medium.com/will-howard-on-trumpian-politics/what-gop-candidate-recruitment-says-about-the-gop-6af4e793ffed.] I aim to raise questions about candidates for higher office who are so inexperienced that, if they won, they might be in constant need of advice from their sponsors, likely to supply an unelected … Continue reading

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The Machine Stops by Oliver Sachs

Oliver Sacks, who died in 2015, was the author of many books, including “Musicophilia,” “Gratitude,” and “The River of Consciousness.” A final collection of his essays is titled, “Everything in Its Place,” My favorite aunt, Auntie Len, when she was … Continue reading

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Holocaust survivor Francine Christophe shares her story

Thanks to Pam P. In this video interview with Francine Christophe, a Holocaust survivor, you will learn about her experience as an eight-year-old Jewish girl at Bergen-Belsen camp. You’ll be amazed to learn about her selfless act, and the great reward that she … Continue reading

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The future of Social Security – in perspective

by Heather Cox Richardson

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Wonder about the impact of your daily cup of coffee on the planet? Here’s the bitter truth

Thanks to Gordon G. Whatever your preference, if you’re reading this story, chances are, drinking coffee is among your daily rituals. Everyday, people drink more than two billion cups worldwide, and experts predict that demand for it could triple by mid-century. Coffee consumption … Continue reading

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Commentary: Prosecute Trump? Merrick Garland is investigating aggressively but prosecuting cautiously

by journalist Doyle McManus The House committee on the Jan. 6, 2021, insurgency, whose hearings resume this week, has produced impressive evidence that could allow prosecutors to argue that former President Donald Trump committed crimes as he tried to overturn … Continue reading

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July 4th by Heather Cox Richardson

And on July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that … Continue reading

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Essay on the future – read forward and in reverse

Thanks to Yvonne P.

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Ten Things That Will Disappear In Our Lifetime (maybe)

                    Not news to some of us, but still a little unsettling. Thanks to Sybil-Ann 1. The Post Office– Get ready to imagine a world without the post office.  They are so deeply in … Continue reading

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The Greatest Life Hacks in the World (for Now)

By David Brooks Opinion Columnist in the NYT We here at Opinion Headquarters don’t merely offer you controversial opinions on world events, we offer priceless life hacks to help you float effortlessly through the miasma of modern existence. These are the … Continue reading

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The Arrow in America’s Heart

Thanks to Diana C. Relentless mass shootings, a million dead from Covid — How much do we value a single life? A memorial in Uvalde, Texas.Credit…Christopher Lee for The New York Times By Elizabeth Dias in the NYT Two days after … Continue reading

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Trust the teachers with guns but not curriculum!

Thanks to Donna D. To those in the general public screaming “Arm the teachers! Give the teachers guns!”…let me get this straight… You don’t trust us to teach our content – there are so many bills going to state legislatures … Continue reading

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Thought for the day

Ed Note: Please send me your “Thought for the Day” from your favorite writer or even a thought of your own. One that you’d like to share, that seems to have some universal appeal and that is non-political. “Every smallest … Continue reading

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