Category Archives: Communication

Fools, Friends, and the Media

Posted on January 28, 2017 by hessd

I was in a discussion recently where the ability of comics who use politics as their medium was celebrated. There were kind memories of Jon Stewart on the Daily Show, of Stephen Colbert, and of the current cast of characters … Continue reading →

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Look like what you mean

Posted on October 13, 2016 by hessd

The great thing about fighting a war with intercontinental ballistic missiles is that you don’t have to know a lot about your enemies. You load up a barrel full of destruction and heave it off to “do bad things” to … Continue reading →

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Civil Discourse is our “Commons”

Posted on August 29, 2016 by hessd

Did you ever have that terrific feeling when you pick up an article that makes brilliantly, the case you have been making poorly for years? I just had that feeling. How I missed “The Coddling of the American Mind” by … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Politics, Sustainability, Words | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

A Failed Conversation at Starbucks

Posted on July 10, 2016 by hessd

I experienced one of the few failures of conversation I have ever had in our Starbucks group last week. I had a position I wanted to sell. It is position the group almost certainly accepts in general, but they didn’t … Continue reading →

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Arguing with Trump voters

Posted on July 5, 2016 by hessd

I’m not recommending it. I’m just thinking about how I would go about it. The argument from self-interest is the best there is in electoral politics. And although we celebrate elected representatives who can sacrifice their own good for the … Continue reading →

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Generosity and the Discipline of the Market

Posted on June 12, 2016 by hessd

This is another celebration of a remarkable Starbucks discussion. That is why I chose such an academic-sounding title for it; all that formality sounds like a celebration to me.  It was the kind of discussion from which the participants leave … Continue reading →

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A Bad Moment at a Good Party

Posted on May 12, 2016 by hessd

Luke Timothy Johnson has recently written a book about the Apostles Creed.[1] The first job of any writer is to give potential readers a reason to read the book. I think Johnson does a terrific job of that. Here is … Continue reading →

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Terrified of Muslims: A Liberal Rant

Posted on November 28, 2015 by hessd

My son Dan posted a piece by Andy McClure on Facebook. I think it originally appeared on http://www.dailykos.com, but it got so popular so fast that I’m not really sure. Like a lot of ideological rants, it is really funny … Continue reading →

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