Mitch Landrieu’s book,”In the Shadow of Statues,” offers deeply felt insights into the issue of Confederate monument removal.
Blog
Looking for Answers…
In the context of exploring the Lost Cause mythology of the Civil War earlier this month, I asked, “what did those (Confederate) monuments symbolize to the Black generations who grew up with them?” I thought I would find an answer following the routine I developed...
Where Did All Those Statues Come From?
In my last post, I proposed a look at the present-day conflict over removal of Confederate monuments from public spaces as a way to explore both the objective history of, and the widespread beliefs about, the American Civil War in the context of today’s culture. A...
It’s been a while…
I've been absent from "the weekly packet" for over a year. The effort of getting "JFK. The Last Speech" edited and published left me feeling as if I had nothing more to say. Then, along came COVID, the elections, and a move that I really had not anticipated. A month...
Flawless Execution
The practical aspects of slowing down with age.
Government in Your Daily Life
The Poison Squad. How the FDA began, and a good word for government.
News from the lake…
August has slipped by with a kind of Parisian ennui, and great decisions loom. Will we heat the cabin over the winter? Will this be the year when the deer finally do in the holly bushes, or should we go back to protecting them once again? These are lake decisions and...
THE 21ST CENTURY PLAGUE. MASS SHOOTINGS, ACCIDENTS INVOLVING FIREARMS, AND THE RESOLUTION OF DISAGREEMENTS BY VIOLENCE
A couple of weeks ago, one of my Amherst classmates sent me a thoughtful comment that I thought deserved more readers. I asked if I could post it as a "guest blog," and he kindly agreed. Here it is. THE 21ST CENTURY PLAGUE Through the end of May only 21 weeks...
Bad Blood. A review.
My blog, The Weekly Packet, (https://theweeklypacket.com/category/health-care/ ) of April 30, 2016 ran under the title “The Theranos evidence, waiting for a story.” In the text, I said, “… looking at the facts is like looking at individual organs at an autopsy, after...
Ink still damp from the press
Back in the 19 century, there must have been times when the weekly packet boats had just started to slip the moorings. Then a young boy came running down to the wharf and tossed the very latest newspaper on board, ink still damp from the press. That scene describes...