by Neal Lemery “It was February 28, 2006; the first Mardi Gras after Hurricane Katrina had wrecked New Orleans. The great city—The Big Easy—felt half-deserted and distinctly uneasy. More than half the population…
Category: Guest Column
MANY THINGS CONSIDERED: Trump’s White Nationalist Project
“One Homeland. One People. One Heritage” – U.S. Department of Labor social media message (and Nazi slogan) By Marc C. Johnson I am an admirer of the work of Princeton historian Kevin Kruse who…
BUTCH’S BLOG: Know Your Enemy
By Butch Freedman It’s time to stop pretending we can all get along. The divide has become too deep, and too mean. I’ve never been one to “turn the other cheek.” All…
I’VE BEEN THINKING… AI
By Jim Heffernan I’ve been thinking a lot about AI (Artificial Intelligence), and I just don’t trust it. I can’t shake the idea it will not benefit people like me and my…
BUTCH’S BLOG: Writing on the Inside
By Butch Freedman I knew I was being played. It was the journals they were after. The aim was to score a free notebook, not to be in a writing group. What…
MANY THINGS CONSIDERED: What’s wrong with our politics?
“Politics has become so expensive that it takes a lot of money even to be defeated.” – Will Rogers By Marc C. Johnson Susan Collins, the Republican senator from Maine, announced her re-election campaign…
BUTCH’S BLOG: It Can’t Happen Here – Or Can It?
By Butch Freedman I watched a “60 Minutes” episode last night about three 80-year-olds who were born in the death camps of the Nazis in 1945. It was a story of resilience…
CIVIL DISCOURSE: An Agenda of Joy
EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m asked a lot about what I read – and I read a lot – several dozen different publications and especially a lot of blogs on Substack. Here’s one of…
BUTCH’S BLOG: A Small Good Thing
By Butch Freedman I was not into it at first. Seemed overly friendly, even intrusive. I mean, you don’t do that with strangers, do you? My wife, Bev, did. She was fully…
WORDS OF WISDOM: A Stranger’s Story Gives Lesson in Listening
By Neal Lemery We were strangers, both stuck in limbo in a waiting room, with no place to go. He started talking, telling a story of moving here a month ago, enjoying…