Author Archives: hessd

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About hessd

Here is all you need to know to follow this blog. I am an old man and I love to think about why we say the things we do. I've taught at the elementary, secondary, collegiate, and doctoral levels. I don't think one is easier than another. They are hard in different ways. I have taught political science for a long time and have practiced politics in and around the Oregon Legislature. I don't think one is easier than another. They are hard in different ways. You'll be seeing a lot about my favorite topics here. There will be religious reflections (I'm a Christian) and political reflections (I'm a Democrat) and a good deal of whimsy. I'm a dilettante.

White women are vicious. Hm.

Posted on June 16, 2020 by hessd

A recent column by Charles Blow, a columnist for the New York Times, is one of the worst I have seen anywhere. It stands out particularly in the Times, where the columns written by people who work for the paper … Continue reading →

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Why does President Trump lie?

Posted on June 14, 2020 by hessd

My father had a drive toward being a cultured gentleman. I see, as I look back, that it was much more powerful than I thought as I was growing up, but even then, I noticed it. He was raised on … Continue reading →

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A “Permission Structure” for Republicans

Posted on June 9, 2020 by hessd

Let’s start with this paragraph from Jonathan Martin in the New York Times. Yet it would be a sharp rebuke for former Trump administration officials and well-known Republicans to buck their own standard-bearer. Individually, they may not sway many votes … Continue reading →

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Strategic cockroach

Posted on June 8, 2020 by hessd

Yesterday, my husband thought he saw a cockroach in the kitchen. He sprayed everything down and cleaned thoroughly. Today, I’m putting the cockroach in the bathroom. That’s one of the cute little reports included in a paper called Funnies, which … Continue reading →

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Feeling no pain

Posted on June 1, 2020 by hessd

Mostly, I’ve heard that phrase as another way to say that someone was drunk.  “He was feelin’ no pain,” someone will say, rolling his eyes meaningfully.  I want to use the phrase a little differently.  This will sound like a … Continue reading →

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The First 10 Years: Part III

Posted on May 27, 2020 by hessd

Tomorrow I am going to celebrate the tenth anniversary of this blog.  I’ve been working up to it by reflecting back over the last ten years.  This is the third and last of those essays. It doesn’t seem all that … Continue reading →

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The First Ten Years, Part II

Posted on May 25, 2020 by hessd

The first pass I made over my first ten years of blogging considered the foundational questions. Why blogging? Why the “dilettante” theme? Today I want to review what the political arc of the first decade has been. You wouldn’t think I … Continue reading →

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Strong women

Posted on May 12, 2020 by hessd

Where I live, people want women to be “strong.”  That is the official sentiment, at any rate.  That seems to me to be asking for too little.  Maybe I can introduce my concern by coming at it from the other … Continue reading →

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Rhetorical mastery

Posted on May 6, 2020 by hessd

We have gotten accustomed to the kind of rhetoric we hear from Henry V before the battle of Agincourt.  It is gorgeous!  It is so stimulating that it is hard to pay attention to just how it works, but I … Continue reading →

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Below the surface of Genesis

Posted on May 4, 2020 by hessd

I’ve been spending a fair amount of time recently reading scholarly analyses of the first three chapters of Genesis. I will leave until later the question of whether this is the best use of virus-generated free time. What I would … Continue reading →

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