Author Archives: hessd

It’s hard to keep up with changes in the language. In the little language village where I live most of the time, it really doesn’t change that fast, but I know that there are places where it does and every … Continue reading →

Analogies are funny things. They are often said to provide insight into a less familiar object or relationship by comparing it to a more familiar one. But I wonder if it might not work as well to compare a less … Continue reading →

In grad school, I did a lot of reading about how we know what we know. I gained a great deal of wisdom from that literature—nearly all negative. If I were to begin a line of question with “How can … Continue reading →

“Every talented and qualified student deserves an opportunity to attend the college of their choice. Affirmative Action existed to support that notion. Legacy admissions exists  to undermine it.”  So says NAACP President Derrick Johnson, pictured below. I don’t think he … Continue reading →

Earlier in my blogging history, I looked around for some way to get as much forward motion as I could, now that my horsepower seemed to be declining.The model I finally settled on was “intelligent four wheel drive.” (I-4) [1] … Continue reading →

Thomas Edsall’s penultimate paragraph in his New York Times column this morning was this: “The belief that Donald Trump was denied the White House in 2020 because of Democratic Party fraud is arguably the greatest challenge to the legitimacy of … Continue reading →

I have had more simple enjoyment watching Netflix The Diplomat than I have had watching any show since The West Wing. It is not coincidental, really, since Deborah Cahn, who did a good deal of writing for The West Wing … Continue reading →

Since I first learned the etymology of the word “seduction,” I have been fascinated by what it says and what it doesn’t say. I am going to try to come at the new cars’ Lane Deviation Warning devices (LDW) from … Continue reading →

I met with a group of friends this week, some around the table and some by Zoom, and failed to resolve an issue. Again. I imagined, in preparing for the session, that I would have to push a little to … Continue reading →

Here is a line of dialogue from the Netflix show The Diplomat, which I enjoyed the first time I saw it and have enjoyed more every time since. This is a conversation between Kate Wyler, Ambassador to Great Britain (Keri … Continue reading →