Author Archives: hessd

The state of Louisiana intends to be at the forefront of a “growing national movement to create and interpret laws according to a particular conservative Christian worldview” according to journalists Rick Rojas, David Chen, and Elizabeth Dias. In a New … Continue reading →

When I got up this morning, I learned that Neil Goldschmidt had died. There will be stories now attempting to weigh his abuse of a young girl in the same scale as his imaginative and thrilling leadership in Oregon politics. … Continue reading →

The paragraph below is the final paragraph of Phil Klay’s Memorial Day column in the New York Times, The version I read had the headline”What Do I Owe the Dead of My Generation’s Mismanaged Wars?” “In the past when I’ve … Continue reading →

It is so easy to exaggerate the current antipathy between (some) men and (some) women in the U.S. today. Here is a political overview: For a growing percentage of young men, Cox [1] wrote: Feminism has less to do with … Continue reading →

A wonderful picture came into my mind this morning. I’m going to share it in the hope that you will enjoy it as much as I did. It will take a little setting up. I am listening to Jennifer Paxton’s … Continue reading →

I think I’ve passed a milestone of some kind. You’re never sure at the time, I suppose. I am basing this opinion on the fact that I find myself looking back at something that I have routinely looked ahead to … Continue reading →

I would like for you to stand with me on the sidelines of this conflict and try to determine what it is about. Let’s pursue the implicit football metaphor a little. As is true in many contested rulings, it is … Continue reading →

I have a thought about being possessed by demons. The thought I want to pursue isn’t all that scary, but it wouldn’t hurt to start with the only joke I know about demon possession. Question: What happens when you fall … Continue reading →

Why is that? What, exactly, have I done to “deserve” a break today? The thing I like best about etymology is not that it tells us what a word “really means.” [1] It is that it tells us how it … Continue reading →

I have not heard anything good about “black and white thinking” for a long time. In fact, I haven’t heard anything good about discrimination of any kind for a long time. The discrimination problem is easier to understand. It is … Continue reading →