Friday, June 12, 2026
Haiku Friday: At the Farmer's Market
It's the season for farmer's markets! Which is a season I love. Let's haiku about that experience this week. Here, I will go first:
I cannot resist
Strawberry jam in summer
I will have two, please.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun!
Thursday, June 11, 2026
PMT: Who was Spencer Pratt?
So there was this dude who was on four reality TV shows (none of which I have heard of): The Princes of Malibu, The Hills, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, and the British version of Celebrity Big Brother. He went to a prep school in Santa Monica and then to USC before embarking on his bizarre reality show career. [Side note: if these shows are actually about "reality," doesn't it seem odd that someone would be on four of them?]
Somehow, he (and a lot of other people) thought that this career was pretty good preparation to be in charge of a major American city, and he entered the general election for Mayor of Los Angeles. People (including himself) really thought he was going to win-- after all, he had the endorsement of Donald Trump, and was really mad about the Palisades fire and crime.
In the end he lost to incumbent mayor Karen Bass and a former Bass aide who is even further to the left.
Can we just say that maybe being a reality TV star isn't a great run-up to being in charge of anything? We've tried that experiment, and... well, you know.
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Things that give us hope (or at least distraction): New York Times Games
Once upon a time, a newspaper-- one made out of real paper-- brought all kinds of entertainment right to the front door. There was news, sure, but also sports and articles about weddings and people who lived in town. AND comics, and a crossword. Plus, coupons! If you worked it right, the paper could keep you busy for a few hours.
Newspapers lost that role in my homes when the internet came along and both decimated and changed newspapers. They became pretty spare and bleak.
The New York Times seems to have reclaimed a bit of that role, though. People love the games: Wordle, Spelling Bee, Connections, Pips, and of course the classic crossword plus its little sibling, the Mini and the Midi. It is all digital, of course, but I love the idea that it is connected to the place where we find out about politics and sports and weddings and dorky people finding an apartment.
And right now, every once in a while, we all need those distractions....
Tuesday, June 09, 2026
Does anyone ever change their mind?
Lately, I have been thinking about the stickiness of viewpoints in our modern society. I've long said that you can never change the mind of someone who is paid to have a viewpoint, but it seems to go beyond that, especially with politics.
In the recent past, two examples jump to mind. One relates to the last year of the Biden presidency, when people were arguing that he was fit for another term in office despite so much evidence to the contrary. I didn't get it: the ravages of age were pretty clear, even before that disastrous debate. Yet, people couldn't let go of the idea he would be just fine.
And, of course, the Trump voters are just as confounding. People who said they voted for him because he would bring down inflation and stay out of wars somehow are just as loyal as ever.
Part of the problem might by the psychological cost of being wrong. It is hard to admit that you were wrong, of course, but integrity demands that we do it.
And yet, here we are...
Monday, June 08, 2026
Haiku on Fake History
There was some good work last week! I thought the opportunity to create fake history would generate more submissions, but what we had was great.
There was this anonymous entry:
Franklin Roosevelt
Wheelchair’s his secret weapon
Flies and shoots lasers!
Wheelchair’s his secret weapon
Flies and shoots lasers!
And a good one from Jill Scoggins:
A. Lincoln, Vampire
Hunter: Abe slays undead. Prez
as action hero!
Hunter: Abe slays undead. Prez
as action hero!
And another anonymous poem:
Ulysses S. Grant
His horse was the strategist!
Equine battle plans.
His horse was the strategist!
Equine battle plans.
And finally, CraigA!"
Trump: it is all fake.
Lie after lie after lie,
No regard for truth.
Lie after lie after lie,
No regard for truth.
Sunday, June 07, 2026
Sunday Reflection: The unbliblical project of "Identify/Judge/Exclude"
One of the things that is hard about being a Christian right now is that many people judge you without knowing your actual beliefs-- they have this template of Christians (Republican, obsessed with abortion and LGBTQ people, etc.) and assume you fit that mold. What they do not see is the diversity of beliefs within the faith, and the fact that many of us disagree with nearly all aspects of that template.
One part of that broad-brush categorizing is a sense that Christians have a central project to identify, judge, and exclude people they think are committing a sin. Setting aside the wide variety of views on sin, the identify/judge/exclude pattern simply does not match up with what Jesus taught. For example, here is part of Matthew 9:
9As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. 10And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.13Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
The lesson isn't ambiguous: Christian churches are not meant to be temples of the pure. Nor should we imagine ourselves "pure" even if we accept those who are unpopular or make us uncomfortable. Even if you believe Christianity is about sin (which I don't), Jesus defines sin so broadly (ie, to include "lust in one's heart") that everyone-- everyone-- is in the group labeled "sinners." We all belong in the church, if we choose, with that commonality.
If only we Christians could do what Christ taught....
Saturday, June 06, 2026
A pretty good compilation...
Friday, June 05, 2026
Haiku Friday: Fake History
So, you weren't aware there is photographic evidence of Abe Lincoln and R. McDonald negotiating an end to hostilities at the Alamo?
As we run up to the semiquincentennial (the technical name for the USA's 250th anniversary), I suspect we are going to be seeing some fake history crop up. So let's make up our own and beat them to it! Here, I will go first:
President G. Ford
Secretly, a huge genius
Aliens repelled.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable formula and have some fun!
Thursday, June 04, 2026
PMT: What about that classic advice?
Right now I know a number of people who spend a lot of time thinking and talking about Donald Trump. A lot. Usually they talk to people who agree with them, so it is not like they are changing anyone's mind-- just forcing others to think about Donald Trump more than they would otherwise.
The irony is that they are not people whose lives are very much directly impacted by this administration's policies-- not those who were fired by DOGE, or lost Medicaid coverage, or are under threat of deportation. Of course, admirably, some of them are those who care about those other, more vulnerable, people and that is the source of their constant concern. I get that.
But still, a part of me wishes everyone would just ignore him. Above all else, he is driven by a desire to be seen and known, to matter and be famous. And his detractors give him exactly that.
Perhaps it would be better to simply steer a new and different course-- to set and follow a different agenda. An implicit rejection is more stinging that an explicit one, after all... and what was that advice about bullies?
Wednesday, June 03, 2026
Kids who play Little League Baseball
This photo of a Little League team, the Wildcats, got me thinking about kids I see playing baseball. It happened recently, as I was driving through Minneapolis: I heard the "clang!" of a metal bat and saw a bunch of 11-year olds out on the field.
I was terrible at baseball. I'm not good at throwing balls (it's telling that the sports I was good at were running and hockey). I was even worse at hitting them with a bat. I have distinct memories of outfielders realizing they would have some down time when I came up to bat.
But... I'm someone who can enjoy things I'm not that good at. There was something good about being outside with a bunch of kids and learning somethings.
My hunch is that far fewer kids play Little League now, but I'm glad to see some are still out there in the low light of evening, doing their best to hit a ball.
Tuesday, June 02, 2026
Last Week Tonight
Ron Fournier tipped me off that I was on the John Oliver show on Sunday-- I had no idea. You can see it here (I appear about 2:35 in):
Monday, June 01, 2026
As summer begins
There were some great haiku this week! We had this from CraigA:
Virginia summers:
Swimming through hot, humid days -
Not my favorite.
However, summer
sweat beckons the relief of
cool Virgina falls!
Swimming through hot, humid days -
Not my favorite.
However, summer
sweat beckons the relief of
cool Virgina falls!
Jill Scoggins suffers from the heat, as well:
Texas driving: Hot,
humid Houston drains me. Heat
waves shimmer ahead.
humid Houston drains me. Heat
waves shimmer ahead.
I loved this anonymous entry:
Dinner on the deck
Soft evening air and good friends
Fireflies light the yard.
Soft evening air and good friends
Fireflies light the yard.
And two from IPLawGuy. First this:
Topcat the cartoon
Did the tune inspire the show?
Or, the song inspire The Lovin Spoonful?
Did the tune inspire the show?
Or, the song inspire The Lovin Spoonful?
And then this:
The Heat in Harlem
By Graham Parker, super
Summertime tune!
By Graham Parker, super
Summertime tune!
Sunday, May 31, 2026
Sunday Reflection: Teaching, not conquering
In Matthew 20, Jesus encounters the Apostles after his resurrection:
16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
I prefer the version of this story we find at the very end of John, where Jesus makes breakfast for the Apostles on the shore, but let's deal with this one a little.
He tells the Apostles to do three things:
(1) Make disciples everywhere
(2) Baptize them
(3) Teach them.
I've always wondered about the order of this. When I was young, I viewed it as sequential (that is, we are to do things in that order- make disciples, baptize them, teach them), and it did not make sense-- how can you make a disciple, or baptize someone, if you haven't yet taught them about the faith?
Of course sometimes it does work that way, in that order. People are drawn to the faith and accept it before they have learned much about it.
But now I think it is just a list of three interdependent things, not an ordering of events, and of course teaching is primary.
I'm also struck by how this is different than conquering other cultures. It is talking to people, building relationships, and deep human connection. Of course, much of our history does not reflect that view, sadly....
Saturday, May 30, 2026
I'm not sure why this makes my laugh, but it does....
Friday, May 29, 2026
Haiku Friday: Summer Begins, for real
Memorial Day is behind us. Now we look forward to real summer: warm days, vacations, a downshift in stress. Let's haiku about that this week! Here, I will go first:
A medium twist, please
And I'd like chocolate dip
And seven napkins.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern, and have some fun!
Thursday, May 28, 2026
PMT: The not-end of a war
When he asserted that the war with Iran could only end with "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER," President Trump might have been right. The problem is, it won't be Iran that surrenders its goals for the conflict. In truth, that might not be a bad outcome-- Trump would declare victory, say that their navy was sunk, etc., and just pull out, without ever achieving his top objectives of regime change and destruction or removal of enriched uranium. Perhaps the Strait of Hormuz would re-open... but that merely returns things to the state of play before the war.
If that 'declared victory/actual defeat' doesn't happen, this will be a low-level forever war with occasional flare-ups. Here's why:
-- Iran's leaders aren't going to give up power or the uranium without a major loss of pride. And they know that they can put Trump off without giving him either thing.
-- Trump's military pressure isn't what he hoped. He did go all-out on an air war, and Iran survived. The Iranians have likely learned from the experience and will be even more resilient in the future-- they are much better at modern drone war that the US seemed to expect.
-- Geography works in Iran's favor. They have home-field advantage in the conflict, most importantly-- and that is a significant advantage. They also have supply routes, open or furtive, in several directions, including with Russia through the Caspian Sea (where the US has no possible sea presence).
-- The US public opposes the war, and if it gets hotter into the mid-terms, the war (and everything that comes with it, including high gas prices) could be a determining factor in House and Senate outcomes. That means that without a declared victory/actual defeat, Trump will politically be unable to escalate the war to the point where achieving his two top goals might be possible.
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Those who give us hope: Pope Leo
Pope Leo, the first American to become the head of the Catholic Church, chose artificial intelligence as the topic of his first encyclical, which is a pastoral letter advising on Catholic doctrine. Like some before him, Leo aimed this at a world that includes Catholics rather than simply to Catholics.
His message was nuanced and complex. He did not dismiss A.I. as a kind of evil. He was clear-eyed about the moral challenges A.I. presents to all of us. Fundamentally, Leo (like his predecessors) is in the pursuit of recognizing human dignity, and he sees the ways this is now threatened.
One prominent point he made regards the use of A.I. in warfare-- that is, the de-humanization of killing people. He argues that A.I. must be "disarmed."
He also argues that A.I. must serve humanity in whole, rather that to serve as an agent that concentrates wealth and power in fewer hands. He is right on about this, of course-- and I don't see how, in our economic system and political state, the proliferation of A.I. can do anything other that concentrate wealth and power, as the value of labor withers.
It saddens me that so many Catholic institutions (including the one where I work) seem to have bought completely into the vision of A.I. promoted by corporations. Faith organizations have the ability and duty not to take on the mantle of the wealthy to the disadvantage of the poor, and we are failing at that. Perhaps Pope Leo is pointing to a better way.
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
When AI shows us our real shortcomings
A fascinating article in the New York Times titled "Doctors, This is Why Our Patients are Using ChatGPT," written by Columbia Univ. medical professor Helen Ouyang, lays out an uncomfortable truth: sometimes AI is more humane than humans. She describes her treatment for some problems revealed by blood tests. Her own doctor was barely there for advice, urging "diet and exercise" before signing out. ChatGPT, on the other hand, offered her specific advice, allowed for a dialogue, and accompanied suggestions with encouragement. In other words, the computer creation provided the human touch that actual humans in the medical field often don't offer.
As much as the article offers positives for this one AI application, it also is a harsh critique of how humans are performing those same tasks. Medical care-- driven by profit/cost metrics and other factors-- just don't do much with the "care" part of the job.
In my own field, something similar is playing out. Big law firms are finding that AI can do much of the discovery work that young associates usually handle, and clients are pushing them towards that efficiency. That transition reveals a truth I have known since I was a young associate: that for many of those civil discovery tasks, you never needed someone billing the high rates charged for associate work. Paralegals or others could have done it just as well for less. But... the profit model for law firms depends on billing out lots of associate time.
Overall, I see more downside with AI than upside (and I will say more about that tomorrow when I write about the fascinating encyclical issued today by Pope Leo). But if it does a little to push us towards being more human and caring, I see the good in that. Thanks to Prof. Ouyang for telling that truth.
Monday, May 25, 2026
Grad poems
IPLawGuy nailed it this week:
High School grad day, yawn
A relief, time to get out
College, I was drunk
Law School, NOW I'm done!
Happy to get diploma
And start my career!
A relief, time to get out
College, I was drunk
Law School, NOW I'm done!
Happy to get diploma
And start my career!
And Christine, I have no idea....:
Old high school photo
Wearing a white collar... why?
I don't remember.
Wearing a white collar... why?
I don't remember.
I appreciate Anonymous chiming in, too!:
Cap decorations!
Glitter, sequins, bedazzle
So much sparkly joy!
Glitter, sequins, bedazzle
So much sparkly joy!
Sunday, May 24, 2026
Sunday Reflection: Loss of a mentor
I graduated from law school in May of 1990, full of ambition and lots of questionable ideas. My first job out of school-- and one of my best-- was clerking for District Judge Jan E. DuBois of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. It was a year that shaped my life, and Judge DuBois, who died last week at age 95, was a huge influence on me. The picture above (taken years later) doesn't exactly capture the joy and intellectual badinage we shared.
His son Marc wrote a fantastic obituary for him, which you can read here. It reflects the fact that Judge DuBois was hard working and remarkably talented. That impacted different people in different ways.
With the clerkship, I came in hot. On my first day, he came into the office I shared with Hope Freiwald, waving around something I had written, disagreeing with my take. I looked at his comments, and marched right into his office and made my case. Our conversation was edgy, fast, and deep. I worried I was offending him by pushing back but soon realized I was wrong-- he loved that kind of exchange. Those were some of the best discussions of my life.
Like many of my mentors and collaborators, Judge DuBois was Jewish, and that identity was important. I wonder sometimes about that; the truth is that as much as I identify (genuinely) as Christian, many more of my close fellow travelers in the law and on justice issues are Jewish than Christian. Judge DuBois, among so much else, gave me some insight into why that might be... but I will save that for another day. For now, it is enough to remember and honor someone who was better to me than I often deserved.
