Category Archives: Uncategorized

Small Injuries

Posted on March 11, 2026 by hessd

Listen to the careful language here. This is Baya Voce [1] on Jonathan Haidt’s substack, After Babel, March 10, 2026 Here is what she says. One of the partners is in bed, their body “angled in that small wordless way … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

What to Say on Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 23, 2026 by hessd

Mitzi Sampson was quoted in an article on Valentine’s Days past as saying that today’s receiver doesn’t want “frills or grand proclamations, but an intimate knowledge of the receiver, and the simple recognition that says I know you, I see … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Loyd Center

Posted on January 18, 2026 by hessd

I live very near Sullivan’s Gulch.  In fact, the neighborhood association I live in is called the Sullivan’s Gulch Neighborhood Association, even though the gulch itself is now the home Interstate Route 84 and a railroad track.  The only people … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

New Rationales

Posted on January 7, 2026 by hessd

I am a great fan of Thomas D. Edsall’s columns in the New York Times.  His columns are made up of: a) a good question, b) a collection of interesting and reliable correspondents, and c) a journalistic schema that uses … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“Unnecessary Videos”

Posted on January 1, 2026 by hessd

The old Soviet joke is that there is no Tass in the Pravda and no Pravda in the Tass.  My Soviet Studies professor at Miami University, who told us that one and who spoke Russian fluently, said that Tass meant … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Flat Successes

Posted on December 30, 2025 by hessd

You know, when the celebration of your success is just flat.  Emotionally flat, I mean.  Flat like a carbonated drink that has been opened and allowed to sit for a few days.  That kind of flat. During this time of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

“We” are an evangelical nation

Posted on December 28, 2025 by hessd

I would like to share today some thoughts about social and political identity under the Trump administration.  We hear the claim that “we” are “a Christian nation.”  That was prominent in the Christmas messages of the Trump administration according to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Problems, Solutions, and LKA

Posted on December 24, 2025 by hessd

For many years, in my teaching courses in political psychology, I needed to distinguish how an issue could be described in one way or another.  Very often, the sense of what ought to be done about it would vary with … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Being in Kilter

Posted on December 17, 2025 by hessd

The word for today on my Word-A-Day Calendar is “kilter,” and the author makes the kind of comment I associate with George Carlin, who wondered aloud about what ideas like “chalant,” would do for users of English.  Every use of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

“The good stuff isn’t in the surface reading”

Posted on November 27, 2025 by hessd

I would like to tell you about this picture.  It will take just a little while because each of the elements of the picture—the woman, the hobbit, and the quotation—has a history of its own.  And then there is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment