Category Archives: Politics

Do revolutions eat their children?

Posted on December 18, 2017 by hessd

Usually, yes. They do. I don’t think it is unavoidable, though, and I’d like to think about it with you today. The “revolution” I have in mind today isn’t really a revolution in the strict sense; it is the women’s … Continue reading →

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Why the CHEB is so important

Posted on December 6, 2017 by hessd

CHEB is a flimsy response to an important issue. CHEB is a discipline I am going to try to follow as a way of referring to President Trump. [1] It stands for Current Head of the Executive Branch. I called … Continue reading →

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We are running out of umpires

Posted on November 13, 2017 by hessd

I first ran into what Rush Limbaugh calls “trans-partisan authorities” in the form of “trans-racial authorities.” In was in the late 1960s and a very angry black man was telling me how things really were. He said that segregation was … Continue reading →

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Albert Peterson’s Dilemma

Posted on September 28, 2017 by hessd

I want to introduce to you today a fictional businessman, Albert Peterson. [1] Peterson is a good guy in a bad situation. Peterson is the head of Personnel for a U. S. manufacturing firm, engaged in vicious competition with other … Continue reading →

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I know, but he’s OUR dotard

Posted on September 25, 2017 by hessd

I didn’t hear President Trump give this speech. I have a lot of trouble seeing him and hearing him. My dentist said just a small amount of nitrous oxide would help solve that problem, but he wasn’t allowed to give … Continue reading →

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What to say to the climate change deniers of Texas and Florida

Posted on September 14, 2017 by hessd

This is the prime moment for environmentalists who have been screaming their heads off about the urgency of the need to change our practices and begin to deal seriously with the global warming catastrophe. This is the time when they—“we” … Continue reading →

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The Descent into Tribalism

Posted on August 31, 2017 by hessd

David Brooks wrote a really good overview of the Trump and Comey controversy on June 9. I read it and valued it and filed it in my mind. But one small clip from that article has continued to float up … Continue reading →

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The Incredible Trump

Posted on August 29, 2017 by hessd

“Caught in the blast of gamma radiation, brilliant scientist Bruce Banner is cursed to transform in times of stress into the living engine of destruction known as THE INCREDIBLE HULK. “ With a start like that, you have every reason … Continue reading →

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Really bad political arguments

Posted on August 16, 2017 by hessd

In his column of August 12, which is an important contribution to today’s debates, Frank Bruni introduces Professor Mark Lilla, of Columbia University. Lilla comments that “classroom conversations that once might have begun, I think A, and here is my … Continue reading →

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A staff you can lean on

Posted on August 13, 2017 by hessd

Nobody ever accused President Jed Bartlet of being too candid as President over his seven years of presiding over The West Wing. On the contrary, the hits he took in public were about being too distant, too intellectual, too removed … Continue reading →

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