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The wife and I are hosting Christmas this year. She is running herself ragged by insisting that everything be perfect. I'd be okay with just a tree and some lights outside; my main contribution will be lots of holiday baking after her folks arrive. But her? Oh no, we need all the decorations out...

Nope, but I am definitely in favor of serious reform. One thing I noticed after I taught in South Korea was many of my American coworkers stayed around. Most are still in Korea or they moved to Taiwan. The only Americans who returned Stateside did so for higher education. One of the reasons they...

School Shooting in Wisconsin It looks like three dead including the shooter, and six injured. I think Americans are too focused on the freedom to own any gun they want that they forgot all about how wonderful freedom from fear is.

After a sometimes frustrating semester it is nice to know that most of my students like me. One of them thanked me for a wonderful class and gave me a hug. Others also thanked me and asked to be in my Modern US History class if I ever teach it. It can be easy to focus on the students who cheat...

I wonder if they took Swift’s Modest Proposal seriously.

I’ve known people like that. The group is at the restaurant or theater except for the flake. You text them and they tell you “almost there. Bad traffic.” But there is no traffic and they haven’t even left. They just woke up and they’re scrambling to get ready like it’s the beginning of Three...

Now that much is true. The Republican party is largely a white party and with that comes white resentment and white anxiety. They put Zimmerman and Rittenhouse up on a pedestal even though those two were actively looking for an excuse to inflict violence. They couldn't celebrate the Ahmad Arbery...

It is disturbing that the far-right takes delight in Neely's death and is using Penny as a prop. That said, I highly doubt Penny was motivated by racism. He stepped up when a reasonable person would have concluded Neely was a threat to everyone. Again, there have been some recent high-profile...

I was hearing the news and in Germany, where there are over a million Syrian refugees, there is a sense of euphoria in those immigrant communities. They fled Syria when their own government dropped barrel bombs on them. Every Syrian family in Europe has a story of the civil war and they're never...

In many ways we are living in the Second Gilded Age. We have grotesque wealth inequality, nativist hysteria, white rage, a series of one-term presidents, a dysfunctional Congress, blatant corruption, open bribery, economic crises, and a rise in political violence. We've already seen white...

I'm calculating my students' grades right now. One student showed up a grand total of ONE TIME the entire semester. I take off points for absences so he has guaranteed himself a failing grade. I know he'll have a laundry list of excuses and I'll have to professionally rebut every attempt. It's...

It's not an all or nothing scenario. I'm from Southern California originally, where the shelters are full to bursting. The mild climate attracts homeless nationwide and the ludicrously expensive housing market keeps people on the streets. Kentucky and West Virginia are some of the poorest states...

While that might be a possibility (and Trump’s approval should fill anyone with shame), Penny isn’t some racist asshole like Zimmerman or Goetz. He wasn't looking for an excuse to start shooting like Rittenhouse. Remember that there have been some recent incidents in NYC where homeless people...

In this case I can't feel too sorry for Neely. The fact is many New Yorkers are sick of being harassed and threatened by crazy homeless people. I was in NYC over the summer and there were bums stinking up outdoor cafes, defecating on the sidewalks, and passed out in the bushes. I'm not talking...

Not really a whine for my part, but definitely on behalf of my wife. People are coming up to her and saying, "awww you're showing. When's the baby due?" This really annoys her because she's still processing the miscarriage (very few people know). Also, she's putting on the holiday weight so...

Honestly, part of me was hoping that he would make a clean getaway. The swiftness of the stranger would be talked about for years to come. New Yorkers gathered in their saloons would ask each other "who was that masked man?"

I swear that my students' writing gets worse every year. The older ones are all right but the freshmen were in middle school when the pandemic hit. Their teachers didn't assign much in the way of reading assignments. A lot of my younger students NEVER read a book in high school and it shows...

The Holiday Special too. I suspect that the hologram show the kids are watching is Star Wars’ equivalent to Cocomelon.

I agree. Ahsoka and Acolyte were just grim and depressing. It was like Disney decided everyone needed to be bummed all the time. Skeleton Crew is FUN.

I like soft-boiled when they're in ramen because the yolk thickens the broth. Otherwise I prefer hard-boiled because they're portable and not as messy.