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.

A Poor Use of Good Hyssop

Posted on August 29, 2015 by hessd

There is a very helpful biblical resource called a “harmony of the gospels.” The idea is that the accounts given by the different gospels can be “harmonized.” It is clear, in fact, that the gospel accounts are not always harmonious. … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Deathbed Confessions

Posted on August 26, 2015 by hessd

I want to think about “deathbed confessions” today. I am going to imagine for today’s purposes that they are fraudulent. The reasons for starting there will become clearer as we go. In order to use that frame of reference with … Continue reading →

Posted in Society, Theology | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Conflict in the Second Temple Period

Posted on August 23, 2015 by hessd

I’ve been listening to some lectures by Professor Isaiah Gafney [1] and I got to a place this morning that raises a broader question for me. Gafney offers a historical perspective on the early years of the Second Temple period … Continue reading →

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Victim Blaming and Claire McCaskill

Posted on August 22, 2015 by hessd

This is going to look like a reflection about dress codes. It isn’t really. Or, on the other side, about sexual harassment. It isn’t that either. It is an extended plea for an understanding of communication as communication actually happens. … Continue reading →

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Proud of Who I Am

Posted on August 18, 2015 by hessd

This could provoke a fevered search for “true identity,: I suppose. That’s not what I have in mind. I am thinking of being proud of “who I am—today” as opposed to “who I was—yesterday.” To make this work right, we … Continue reading →

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Giving One To the Team

Posted on August 14, 2015 by hessd

I want to provide a rationale for paying some attention to how one looks to others. I will want to say there there are some contexts where looking “better” [to be defined soon] is a service people can provide to … Continue reading →

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It’s Even Worse Than It Looks

Posted on August 13, 2015 by hessd

“We know the Republicans are evil! We’ve known it for years.” That line was not a slip of the tongue, nor was it fortuitously overheard by a passing graduate student. It was a frequently-used assessment by one of the professors … Continue reading →

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A Parent is a Teacher, not a Concierge

Posted on August 9, 2015 by hessd

I am going to look at that bold title through the lives of Walter Possum and Frances the Badger. Or, rather, through their parents, whom I admire almost more than I can say. These wonderful parents come to us from … Continue reading →

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Trump: Not So Much a Candidate as a Tantrum

Posted on August 7, 2015 by hessd

I have ranted in one setting or another recently about the movie Inside Out, which nearly everyone has found to be delightful and which no one, myself excepted, has found to be dangerously subversive. Today, I would like to make … Continue reading →

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Getting Over It

Posted on August 6, 2015 by hessd

Day 1 My version of the truth is that I came to “causal attribution” as a tool for doctoral study for perfectly good academic reasons. [1] Bette thinks I turned to that kind of research because I was a natural … Continue reading →

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